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Review: 'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3'

Loud, abrasive and, thanks to the actors, not half bad

In a summer movie season highlighted thus far by invigorating franchise revamps ("Star Trek"), comedies about wild drunken nights ("The Hangover") and an old, crotchety guy in a flying house ("Up"), it would be easy for a film with a silly title like "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" to get lost in the shuffle. But thanks to dependable Denzel Washington and an outrageous John Travolta, this style-over-substance, beat-the-clock thriller turns out to be a decent summer ride.

'Tropic Thunder'

Ben Stiller makes fun of Hollywood so you won't have to

The last time Ben Stiller took on the roles of writer, producer, director and star in a film was 2001's "Zoolander," where Stiller satirically skewered the absurdity and pointlessness of the fashion industry. He uses a similar technique to examine movie-making and his own profession and outdoes himself with the action-comedy "Tropic Thunder," which is easily one of the funniest movies you'll see this year.

Live at the Movies 'Step Brothers'

Here is a fact: Writer Adam McKay brings the best out of Will Ferrell. Their first movie, "Anchorman," was a hilarious film full of interesting characters and one-liners. "Talladega Nights" was a solid comedy that showed Ferrell and John C. Reilly were one funny duo. Now, McKay, Ferrell and Reilly have teamed up for the funniest movie of the year.

Live at the Movies 'The Dark Knight'

There are many adjectives that have been used to describe comic-book movies, but unless you're talking about special effects or sound editing, "award-worthy" isn't one of them. "The Dark Knight," however, is probably going to change that.