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As we head into Oscar season, “Precious” is the kind of movie that’s going to draw praise from many quarters while forming the basis for a lot of political and sociological arguments.
“The Men Who Stare at Goats” makes comedic hay out of an apparently true effort by the U.S. Army to develop psychic super-soldiers who would conquer the enemy with their minds instead of guns. But while Jon Ronson’s non-fiction book on the subject is probably quite the page-turner, this satirical screen adaptation veers so wildly in tone and temperament that it rarely delivers as either a comedy or a timely satire.
Could someone please keep Jim Carrey and director Robert Zemeckis away from cherished holiday classics? We’ve already had to endure Carrey mugging it up as the Grinch while Zemeckis turned “The Polar Express” into a bloated and freaky-looking theme park attraction, and now these two have gone and put the stink on Charles Dickens’ beloved “A Christmas Carol.”
Many of the musicians and craftsmen interviewed in “This Is It” talk about Michael Jackson’s perfectionism, so it begs the question: Would Michael Jackson have wanted this movie of rehearsal footage to be seen by mass audiences?
“Napoleon Dynamite” director Jared Hess has once again dived to the bottom of the bins at Goodwill to make the costumes and décor of his new comedy, “Gentlemen Broncos,” as eye-assaultingly unpleasant as possible.
Given my somewhat idiosyncratic taste in family films, I should probably start this review with a disclaimer — if you thought I was crazy for championing “Meet the Robinsons” and “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium,” then I’m probably never going to convince you that “Astro Boy” is a delightfully funny and poignant family film that’s not afraid to address adult themes.
The great women of the 20th century deserve better than what they’ve been getting from 21st century female filmmakers.
Blending a sardonic sense of humor with a healthy dose of things that go bump in the night, “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” is a mostly entertaining horror-comedy that introduces us to a world which, with any luck, we’ll get to know better over the course of a few more movies.
With his controversial new film “Antichrist,” is writer-director Lars von Trier suggesting that women commit evil acts because they have so often been wrongly accused of witchcraft and devilry over the centuries? Might he be implying that women actually deserve all that bad press?
Lacking both sense and sensibility, “Law Abiding Citizen” tries to be a man-against-the-system drama, but the movie can’t decide whether the audience is supposed to root for the man, the system, both or neither.
There’s so very much to like about Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers’ adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved book “Where the Wild Things Are” — it fleshes out the original’s themes brilliantly, it’s lovely to look at and listen to — but it winds up being a well-crafted vehicle that never soars. While many of the individual filmmaking choices are intelligent, the finished product lacks that spark of magic that marks a classic.
Yes, yes, there are only seven basic stories, and there’s nothing new under the sun, ob-la-di, ob-la-dah, I get it. Authors and playwrights and filmmakers take familiar characters and situations and use them to tell new and different stories, because it’s all been done before.
While Sundance fave “An Education” isn’t quite the unassailable piece of perfection that early reviews touted it as being, this smart and sexy story of a British teen girl’s flowering into ripeness circa 1961 heralds the arrival of Carey Mulligan, a young actress whose burgeoning career will no doubt be divided into the periods before this movie and after it.
This sci-fi film avoids big ideas, but makes the proceedings such fun that you’re willing to forfeit the smart satire this might have been for the trashy adventure flick that it is.
This remake makes you long for the complex characters of “High School Musical.”
The documentary has moments of impact but doesn't have the focus that "Sicko" had and doesn't work when Moore pulls out his "Roger & Me" shtick.
For all its pedigree, the film is an all-too-routine fright flick saddled with lazy writing and characterization and not much in the way of suspense or terror.
There’s deadpan humor, and then there’s “is this even funny?” The cast plays it so straight that to respond with laughter almost feels like chuckling at a funeral.
Adults and kids alike will enjoy the gags — some smart, some silly — in this comedy about an inventor who makes food fall from the sky.
“I Can Do Bad All By Myself” gives us another heroine who needs a man and Jesus to rescue her.
Antarctica-set murder mystery lacks the smarts of original graphic novel and turns Kate Beckinsale's character into a crybaby.
The film is a stirring adventure tale that’s guaranteed to garner some well-deserved attention for Shane Acker, an animator making his feature directorial debut.
The “Crank” filmmakers are back with their over-the-top style, but this time they've drained the joy out of it, by piling on too much traditional narrative and plot.
This shrill, witless rom-com gives Sandra Bullock a truly grating character to play, leaving the audience with no one to root for.
“Office Space” director Mike Judge collects hilarious scenes that never add up to an actual coherent movie.
"At The Movies" Lyons and Mankiewicz dish and take criticism"At the Movies" critics Ben Mankiewicz and Ben Lyons have dished it out and taken it since joining the show last fall.
The great, Martin Scorsese was once quoted as saying that, "Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out" and it somehow seems that with the eclectic mix of movies released last year, there were a great deal of films to consider award worthy as they were in frame …
Here are the replacements for Ebert and RoeperAllison told you yesterday that both Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper were leaving their film review show, At The Movies. Ebert has been off the show since 2006 because of health problems and Roeper couldn't come to terms on a new contract.
If we want or expect to see change in the world we need to first realize that we cannot vote change into office, a new president, while powerful, should never be our first or final solution.
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