I don't know, I rather like the trailer. The time is certainly right for a parody of musical biopics. Dewey Cox looks like the kind of singer who can sing a medley of his hit.,

The posters make it look like the biography of a transexual. In fact, that's exactly what I thought it was--the biography of a real-life transexual named Dewey Cox whom I'd never heard of. That would have been far more interesting to me than a mock-doc produced to give John C. Reillly a chance to exercise his "musical chops."

Enchanted is a fish-out-of-water comedy in which a fairytale maiden finds her Prince Charming, winning her the emnity of the Prince's evil stepmother (who would have to give up her power if he married). So the evil queen pushes the maiden down a magic well whose bottom is a manhole cover in Times Square, where the maiden turns into a live-action Amy Adams. Eventually she is joined by the Prince, a sentient chipmunk, the Queen's henchman (sent to kill the maiden) and eventually the evil Queen herself.

Fortunately the naive and perky maiden Giselle meets the charming and throroughly decent single father Robert Philip, who has given up on romance and fairy tales and has to deal with a maiden who knows romance and fairy tales are real, and proves it in Manhattan. Since Giselle retains some of the magical traits of animated film maidens, Robert's cynicism is doomed.

This is a clever premise, and the filmmakers pull it off reasonably well thanks to some inspired casting. Amy Adams, in what I believe is her first major lead, plays it with the sweetness and naivety that she did with her roles in Catch Me if You Can and Junebug; her perkiness is a bit annoying at first (imagine what a live-action Snow White would be like) but she pulls the role off, managing the transition from two-dimensional fairy tale maiden to (still magical) three-dimensional woman quite well. Dempsey is just fine as her earthly romantic interest, as is James Marsden as Prince Edward, who gets some of the best laughs, and Timothy Spall, as the henchman. Susan Sarandon overplays the wicked Queen, but who wouldn't.

The film has some big laughs, especially in the two big production numbers. The climax occurs with a costume ball, which is charming, and a battle against a CGI dragon (not bad, and fortunately not outwearing its welcome).

The songs (mostly sung by Ms. Adams) are forgettable, but the production numbers accompanying them make them worthwhile, and the method Giselle uses to make her dresses is priceless. The traditionally animated scenes are rather cartoonish; I wish the animators had spent more time on them to make them look more like early Disney animated features which were feasts for the eyes. Since most of the film is live-action, this is a minor quibble.

All in all, not a major film, and some missteps, but it's sweet, often funny, and I came out with a smile on my face. And, who knows, it may give more starring roles to Amy Adams, which I wouldn't mind at all.

I vaguely remember seeing the trailer for "The Graduate" when I was a teenager and thinking it looked really boring. Fortunately I went to see it anyway and loved it, of course.

On the other hand, I've seen trailers in which an appealing moment isn't actually in the movie. The Alan Bates/Julie Andrews film "Duet for One" was a pretty steady downer, but the trailer had a scene in which he and she were sitting together and laughing. Not in the film at all. It was probably a reaction to a misread line.

Word.

I really think the poster artist superimposed Reilly's head on someone else's body.

I liked American Gangster (SPOILERS AHEAD),

though some of the fine ensemble were kind of neglected so far as developing character, mostly providing a frame for outrageous outfits and a place of almost caricature in the plot -- in a 90 minute film this wouldn't be such a viable complaint, but this thing lasted nearly 3 hours.

Much as I liked many scenes, including the adrenalizing bust at the end of the hunt, the tete-a-tete between Frank and Richie, the street scenes artfully shot to capture the dirtiness and meanness of NY in the 70s, and lines like "Love me like a cop, Frank, not like a lawyer!", the whole thing seemed somewhat cliched and unoriginal. It's fair to say that, since it's based roughly on actual events, there are going to be events that are prosaic, people who live out the stereotype, and life that is full of walking cliches.

Somehow, though, I find it hard to find much memorable in the notion that gangsters can be guys with their own kind of integrity, who love their mamas, who go to church regular, and feel they are doing the right thing for their social group. This is a concept that gangster movies have been offering us for at least half a century and I sort of feel like I've gotten it.
At one point in the film, I heard a man in front of me mutter to his partner, after the scene where Lucas and one of his brothers (Cuba G, I think) heatedly argue about selling quality product and so on, "Look, they've turned into Italians."

Well, sure, Lucas had learned a lot both from his mentor Bumpy and from the mafiosos and the point seems to be that, yeah, the line of work you're in shapes who you are a certain way -- or you go bust.

The scene where they tear apart the Army transport plane to find the big dope shipment was somewhat reminiscent of the famous scene where they tear apart an automobile in...The French Connection? The suspense there is somewhat muted for most audience members over a certain age who will remember the famous news story about the H secreted in soldier coffins.
But suspense is not paramount, given the basic structure of the story...the fact that we know it's based on actual events is a signal in advance that Richie's hunt will not fizzle out.

The film does leave you with good water-cooler questions to chat about -- what would YOU do with a million in unmarked bills, especially if you were a poorly-paid cop struggling to make ends meet and pulling long shifts? Are cops who keep confiscated drug money a cut above cops who are just on the pad? I think it was G. B. Shaw who said that there's no such thing as tainted money, that money has no intrinsic moral aura, it's just money.

That one:

Befade, here's how I look at the whole gangsters-love-mama/pet dogs/hug children theme--

If it's an idea you like, then it's a "timeless theme"

If it's one you're tired of, then you call it a "cliche."