Cineman Syndicate presents the following Mini Reviews for August 6 and 8, 2008:

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. The Judd Apatow workshop turns its full attention to recreational drugs and the result is an enjoyable case of reefer madness. The misadventures of a pothead process server (Seth Rogen) and his hilariously addled dealer (James Franco) can be traced to a potent strain of pot the former is smoking when he witnesses a murder. One can detect traces of Police Academy, Pulp Fiction and  The A-Team, plus Seventies-era cop shows like Mannix. Turning the duo into paranoid action heroes means the movie is more slapstick spoof than rambling ode to Mary Jane. But there's a sentimental residue about friendship to cut any harshness. (R) GOOD COMEDY. Director - David Gordon Green; Lead - Seth Rogen; Running Time -112 minutes. Capsule review by John P. McCarthy. 

HELL RIDE. A wannabe badass biker flick that plays like a Kill Bill - Death Proof hybrid minus the genre-deconstruction angle, this dreary homage to Quentin Tarantino (who executive-produces) concerns three motorcycle-riding renegades who are surrounded by babes, outfitted with guns, and at war with a rival gang. Although it boasts an unnecessarily convoluted plot and self-consciously skuzzy aesthetics, the film is primarily frustrating because writer, director and star Larry Bishop does nothing clever or novel with biker film conventions. Instead, it's just a procession of limp sex scenes, bloody murders, second-rate Tarantino verbiage, and laughable tough-guy posturing in which Bishop acts like the epitome of über-macho awesomeness. (R) BORING DRAMA.  Director - Larry Bishop; Lead - Larry Bishop; Running Time - 85 minutes. Capsule review by Nick Schager.

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2. Yes, those pants are still traveling as our four heroines -- best friends who share a pair of jeans that magically fits all of them -- go off on their first adventures as college students the summer after freshman year. It's all rather deadly serious with endless talk about emotions and precious little actual feeling as they wrestle with boyfriend troubles, learn about themselves, and discover how complicated family can be. All of which are fires all young women must pass through, but they're handled here with such simplicity, and with such slathered-on sentimentality, that it couldn't be phonier. (PG-13) BORING COMEDY. Director - Sanaa Hamri; Lead - America Ferrera; Running Time - 117 minutes. Capsule review by MaryAnn Johanson.

(COPYRIGHT 2008 BY CINEMAN SYNDICATE LLC)

Photo:  John P. McCarthy, Editor of Cineman Syndicate.