Chicago Tribune movie review archive
September 14, 2007
Movie review: 'Appaloosa'
Interesting performances, but not quite the best in the West
Movie review: 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'
Young stars align for romantic Manhattan fantasia
Movie review: 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People'
Movie accomplishes its title’s message
Movie review: 'Flash of Genius'
Passion only intermittent in ‘Genius’
Movie review: 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua'
Pampered pup gets lost in Mexican stereotypes
Movie review: 'Religulous'
Maher settles for too many cheap shots to score
Movie review: 'Allah Made Me Funny'
Laughter the bridge in unusual concert film
Movie review: 'Blindness'
Through the murk, a heavy load of metaphor
Movie review: 'Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine’
Pain takes shape in artist’s work
Movie review: 'The Lucky Ones'
Iraq buddy pic follows a road that’s too mapped out
Movie review: 'Choke'
‘Choke’ lacks its needed poignancy
Movie review: 'Miracle at St. Anna'
Chaos wounds Spike Lee World War II epic
Movie review: 'Nights in Rodanthe'
As a hurricane brews, this light romance never seems secure
Movie review: 'Eagle Eye'
Jumbled ‘Eagle Eye’ shoots for Orwell, lands on ‘oh well’
Movie review: 'Patti Smith: Dream of Life'
Chronicle of Patti Smith’s life worth visiting
Movie review: 'Shoot the Piano Player'
Francois Truffaut’s 2nd film struck casual magic
Movie review: 'Derek'
Interesting tales lovingly rendered
Movie review: 'Milking the Rhino'
A fascinating and often beautiful doc
Movie review: 'Forever Strong'
Rugby epic fails to take the field, win attention
Movie review: 'Lakeview Terrace'
CGI smoke can’t hide flaws in routine thriller
Movie review: 'Trouble the Water'
Katrina gets a good, deep look from people who were there
Movie review: 'Ghost Town'
As a misanthrope, Ricky Gervais brings just enough bile
Movie review: 'Mister Foe'
Prettily photographed but relationally science-fictional coming-of-age blather
Movie review: 'The Pool'
A refreshing dip into Indian life
Movie review: 'A Girl Cut in Two'
Chabrol crafts a deft love triangle
Movie review: 'Towelhead'
Film tests a bevy of boundaries
Movie review: 'Burn After Reading'
Violence kills the funny in this dour spoof
Movie review: 'The Women'
Classic gets a face-lift, to no avail
Movie review: 'Traitor'
Cheadle anchors twisty tale
Movie review: 'I Served the King of England'
‘King’ misses its chance to be classic
Movie review: 'Sixty Six'
Acting makes memoirish film feel alive
Movie review: 'Axe in the Attic'
Filmmakers load outrage, self-pity into story of Katrina’s victims
Movie review: 'The Grocer's Son'
An unengaging look homeward
Movie review: 'Hamlet 2'
To amuse, or not to amuse?
Movie review: 'Eight Miles High'
Portrait of a model barely skin deep
Movie review: 'IOUSA'
Doc filmmaker moves on to a more challenging puzzle
Movie review: 'Death Race'
Gory fun in winner’s circle
Movie review: 'In Search of a Midnight Kiss'
Worse than a solitary New Year’s Eve
Movie review: 'The Longshots'
Cliches close the lanes on inspiration
Movie review: 'Elegy'
Adaptation sands off Roth’s rough edges
Movie review: 'The Rocker'
Wilson has the beat as knockoff Pete Best
Movie review: 'Frozen River'
Writer-director makes right calls in story full of wrong turns
Movie review: 'What We Do Is Secret'
Performance saves tale of a purposeful flameout
Movie review: 'Henry Poole is Here'
Message delivered in a thin envelope
Movie review: 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'
Allen’s European tour continues successfully
Movie review: 'Fly Me to the Moon'
Animated disappointment comes in pairs
Movie review: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'
Animated disappointment comes in pairs
Movie review: 'Tropic Thunder'
Downey's the real deal in a world of fake
Movie review: 'Man on Wire'
Long-ago prank now an homage
Movie review: 'Alexandra'
Obliquely beautiful treatise on eternal pain of war
Movie review: 'Boy A'
A fraction of filmmaker’s palette paints a serious picture
Movie review: 'Hell Ride'
Biker grindhouse homage grinds on and on
Movie review: 'Bottle Shock'
Watered-down version of American wine win
Movie review: 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2'
Beyond boyfriends
Movie review: 'Pineapple Express'
Violence a buzz-kill in stoner comedy
Movie review: 'The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'
‘Mummy’ franchise heads to Asia, loses its way
Movie review: 'Swing Vote'
Aw-shucks hero channels Capra in the voting booth
Movie review: 'Yella'
Sharp start turns dull in due time
Movie review: 'Baghead'
‘Baghead’ marks a leap in skills
Movie review: 'American Teen'
Looking for reality, finding ‘The Breakfast Club’
Movie review: 'Chris and Don: A Love Story'
Compelling portrait of a love ahead of its time
Movie review: 'Indestructible'
Fighting spirit survives
Movie review: 'Kenny'
Latrine duty
Movie review: 'The Dark Knight'
A ‘Knight’ to remember
Movie review: 'Mamma Mia!'
S.O.S.! Frantic pace deflates musical’s charms
Movie review: 'Space Chimps'
Look, laughs fizzle
Movie review: 'The Last Mistress'
Costumes change, themes stay the same
Movie review: 'Elsa & Fred'
Sweet and feisty, late-in-life lovers charm
Movie review: 'Step Brothers'
After this ‘Step,’ time to grow up
Movie review: 'The X-Files: I Want to Believe'
Gillian Anderson keeps it interesting, but newest chapter no improvement on predecessors
Movie review: 'Brideshead Revisited'
No ‘Masterpiece’ in these theaters
Movie review: 'CSNY: Deja Vu'
Another war, and they’re carrying on
Movie review: 'Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired'
Cool appraisal of an overheated case
Movie review: 'Praying with Lior'
‘Praying’ follows boy with Down syndrome as he prepares for bar mitzvah
Movie review: 'My Father My Lord'
Modern take on a biblical test
Movie review: 'Meet Dave'
Murphy’s latest occupies middling ground
Movie review: 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army'
The ‘Boy’ is back, in a sequel with bite
Movie review: 'Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D'
An argument for the 3-Defense
Movie review: 'Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot'
A highlights package, but no ‘Hoop Dreams’
Movie review: 'Encounters at the End of the World'
Herzog again goes to extremes to teach a lesson
Movie review: 'Tell No One'
French twist on twisted American themes
Movie review: 'Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson'
This doctor kept an in-depth diagnosis at bay
Movie review: 'The Wackness'
Hello, drug fog, my old friend
Movie review: 'Diminished Capacity'
Tale’s charm steamrollered by faux whimsy
Movie review: 'Hancock'
A disaster beyond Will Smith’s star powers
Movie review: 'Mother of Tears'
Director offers more than gore
Movie review: 'OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies'
Thicket of a title hides few laughs
Movie review: 'Finding Amanda'
Writer/director should have handed off 2nd job
Movie review: 'My Winnipeg'
Oh, it’s Guy Maddin’s Canada
Movie review: 'Wall-E'
Pixar cleans up: This trash robot will be collecting hearts
Movie review: 'Wanted'
Chicago’s the setting for some sour gun porn
Movie review: 'Brick Lane'
Tale of expat Bangladeshis in London too condensed
Movie review: 'Get Smart'
Updated ‘Smart’ leaves viewers nostalgic for laughs
Movie review: 'The Love Guru'
No enlightenment, few laughs on this guru’s path
Movie review: 'Kit Kittredge: An American Girl'
Film sure to please many American girls
Movie review: 'Mongol'
International cast, crew illuminate young Genghis
Movie review: 'Refusenik'
Resilient spirits survived the Soviet Union
Movie review: 'Blind Mountain'
No-frills human rights tale packs emotional punch
Movie review: 'Surfwise'
Off the grid, on the beach
Movie review: 'Up the Yangtze'
Documentary shows the human toll of progress
Movie review: 'The Duchess of Langeais'
Rivette finds a dark modern heart in his Balzac adaptation
Movie review: 'Fugitive Pieces'
Holocaust tale a low-key, effective adaptation
Movie review: 'The Happening'
What if they gave an apocalypse and no one cared?
Movie review: 'The Incredible Hulk'
Cold War icon reappears ahead of schedule, yet right on time
Movie review: 'War, Inc.'
War satire lacks the wit, drive to go all in
Movie review: 'The Edge of Heaven'
Message survives a raft of contrivances
Movie review: 'Savage Grace'
Tawdry story lacks a complementary zest
Movie review: 'When Did You Last See Your Father?'
A fertile return to family genre
Movie review: 'Kung Fu Panda'
DreamWorks’ latest cartoon elevates above the usual animated features
Movie review: 'You Don't Mess with the Zohan'
Sandler back to play in another topical sandbox
Movie review: 'Bra Boys'
Surf and social ills, Down Under
Movie review: 'Shotgun Stories'
Escalation of hatred and pain feels natural
Movie review: 'A Four-Letter Word'
An adults-only affair
Movie review: 'The Foot Fist Way'
Famous friends can’t make it funny
Movie review: 'The Promotion'
Script’s individualism shines through
Movie review: 'The Children of Huang Shi'
Film crafts a statue rather than a life
Movie review: 'Bigger, Stronger, Faster*'
Documentary examines personal, professional scope of steroids
Movie review: 'Sex and the City'
The ‘girls’ are back and better than ever
Movie review: 'The Strangers'
Scary movie needs no footnotes
Movie review: 'The Fall'
Director’s tricks get in the way of his film
Movie review: 'Mister Lonely'
Pretty images, a pretty outre group
Movie review: 'Constantine's Sword'
Handled in a spirit of honest inquiry
Movie review: 'Bab' Aziz'
Film full of parables not for believers only
Movie review: 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'
'Indiana Jones 4' full of action, but forgets to have a good time
Movie review: 'Roman de Gare'
Style trumps story in Hitchcock homage
Movie review: 'The Singing Revolution'
Estonian history comes alive
Movie review: 'Reprise'
Hybrid a winner
Movie review: 'The Animation Show 4'
Roundup keeps it short and sweet
Movie review: 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'
Franchise needs a prince of a director
Movie review: 'Jellyfish'
Whimsy keeps characters afloat
Movie review: 'The Witnesses'
Graceful foreshadowing of the tragedy to come
Movie review: 'Before the Rains'
‘Rain’ too reliant on its look
Movie review: 'Dark Matter'
A fine job of displaying contrasts
Movie review: 'How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer'
These girls make light work of heavy issues
Movie review: 'Irina Palm'
’60s icon makes an affecting star
Movie review: 'Body of War'
Arresting subject, wavering focus
Movie review: 'Speed Racer'
Through a plot matrix, brightly Wachowskis are back, bearing a childhood memory
Movie review: 'What Happens in Vegas'
This dud’s for you
Movie review: 'Son of Rambow'
‘Rambow’ taps into childhood creativity
Movie review: 'At the Death House Door'
A chaplain’s journey to the other side of a debate
Movie review: 'Redbelt'
‘Redbelt’ is round 10 for Mamet, and it’s better than a draw
Movie review: 'America the Beautiful'
Film’s insights into beauty culture largely obvious
Movie review: 'Iron Man'
Downey Jr. adds dash to superhero
Movie review: 'Made of Honor'
Something borrowed, all right
Movie review: 'Standard Operating Procedure'
This time, war’s fog envelopes filmmaker
Movie review: 'Then She Found Me'
Hunt’s directorial debut gracefully negotiates family ties
Movie review: 'Fade'
Truth gets lost in ambiguous marital tale
Movie review: 'The Unforeseen'
The ill effects of development
Movie review: 'Last Year at Marienbad'
A maddening, majestic classic returns
Movie review: 'Baby Mama'
Bringing down ‘Baby’
Movie review: 'Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'
‘White Castle’ charms lost on way to Gitmo
Movie review: 'Deception'
Nobody’s fooled by obvious plot twists
Movie review: 'Tuya's Marriage'
Heroine adds much to study in contrasts
Movie review: 'Chapter 27'
A few pages in the life of John Lennon’s assassin
Movie review: 'The Life Before Her Eyes'
Surplus of plagues overwhelms fine acting
Movie review: 'Deal'
Poker movie, Reynolds’ face fold
Movie review: 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'
Breakup comedy finds itself on a solid foundation of humor
Movie review: 'The Visitor'
Character actor excels in low-key lead performance
Movie review: 'Young@Heart'
Aging-chorus doc strikes a chord
Movie review: 'My Blueberry Nights'
It looks good, but the flavor doesn’t last
Movie review: 'Flight of the Red Balloon'
Master responds with a masterpiece
Movie review: 'Zombie Strippers'
Horror flick shows some brains
Movie review: 'The Forbidden Kingdom'
Dull road leads to a bright ending
Movie review: '88 Minutes'
Limp serial-killer plot can’t harry Al Pacino’s ’do
Movie review: 'Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?'
Self-serving doc offers helpings of annoyance
Movie review: 'The First Saturday in May'
Kentucky Derby doc can’t stay on track
Movie review: 'J’Entends Plus la Guitare'
Secrets of life and love arrive in everyday life
Movie review: 'Smart People'
Casting, writing doesn’t pass the test
Movie review: 'Street Kings'
Keanu’s the dull, pretty boy in this version of ‘Cops gone wild’
Movie review: 'Priceless'
French confection fits its title
Movie review: 'Chaos Theory'
Timing’s off, but in just the right way
Movie review: 'My Brother is an Only Child'
Sibling, political rivals in 1960s Italy
Movie review: 'Blindsight'
Into the dark, thin air
Movie review: 'The Favor'
Love’s labors: win, lose or family ties
Movie review: 'Wings of Defeat'
Shows that hundreds of the World War II-era Japanese warriors have survived into old age
Movie review: 'Ping Pong Playa'
Charming despite requisite training sequences and a cartoonishly evil opponent
Movie review: 'Leatherheads'
Clooney can’t QB a screwball winner
Movie review: 'Nim's Island'
Script sends book’s charm out to sea
Movie review: 'Shine a Light'
All-stars on both sides of the cameras
Movie review: 'Planet B-Boy'
Break dancing lives, internationally
Movie review: 'The Grand'
Casino comedy crosses line from quirk to jerk
Movie review: '21'
Adapted tale of card-shark MIT students never feels real
Movie review: 'Stop-Loss'
Thanks to family ties, Iraq film rises above genre
Movie review: 'Run, Fat Boy, Run'
Hybrid comedy leaves laughs in the dust
Movie review: 'Flawless'
Michael Caine the gem in this flawed heist film
Movie review: 'Caramel'
Steel magnolias in Lebanon
Movie review: 'Teeth'
Excess of symbolism, gore dull film’s bite
Movie review: 'CJ7'
Chinese ‘E.T.’ should still call home
Movie review: 'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day'
Remembering it’s a movie, ‘Pettigrew’ perseveres
Movie review: 'The Bank Job'
Conspiracy theory pays off in lively bank heist flick
Movie review: '10,000 BC'
Agreeably bone-headed
Movie review: 'College Road Trip'
Fun-free effort earns a thin envelope
Movie review: 'The Life of Reilly'
Much more than ‘The Match Game’
Movie review: 'War/Dance'
Unexpected joy in wake of atrocities
Movie review: 'Girls Rock!'
Girls do rock, not so this doc
Movie review: 'The Band's Visit'
Oscar near-miss still a prize
Movie review: 'The Other Boleyn Girl'
Tale of two sisters rests on a wildly uneven foundation
Movie review: 'Chicago 10'
When Chicago was the center of the political universe
Movie review: 'Penelope'
Teen fable needs more than a whiff of creativity
Movie review: 'City of Men'
Back to Rio, where the boys became men
Movie review: 'The Counterfeiters'
Oscar winner explores the morality of survival
Movie review: 'Semi-Pro'
Not even semi-funny
Movie review: 'Vantage Point'
Like ‘Groundhog Day,’ with more shooting and less Sonny and Cher
Movie review: 'Be Kind Rewind'
Early nostalgia for the YouTube generation
Movie review: 'Charlie Bartlett'
In a cinematic land, where the nerdy outsider is king
Movie review: 'The Signal'
‘Signal’s’ 3 parts aren’t harmonious
Movie review: 'Still Life'
An exception to the February doldrums
Movie review: 'David & Layla'
Interfaith pairings maintain cinematic interest
Movie review: 'Summer Love'
The Old West, Eastern European style
Movie review: 'Witless Protection'
Dumber’n a family reunion in the cousins-can-marry belt
Movie review: 'Honey and Clover'
Art school romance knows what it likes
Movie review: 'The Business of Being Born'
Birthing film delivers one point of view
Movie review: Oscar-nominated shorts
A chance for another rooting interest on Oscar night
Movie review: 'Step Up 2 the Streets'
Surprising ‘Streets’ keeps on steppin’
Movie review: 'George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead'
Tale of a camcorder and some cold, dead hands
Movie review: 'The Spiderwick Chronicles'
Colorful, fast-moving adventure
Movie review: 'Jumper'
‘Jumper’ leaps about but never goes anywhere
Movie review: 'Definitely, Maybe'
'Definitely' a date movie
Movie review: 'Fool's Gold'
Recalling older, funnier romantic comedies
Movie review: 'The Hottie and the Nottie'
Verdict: not so hot
Movie review: 'In Bruges'
If the wit, characters are killers... It must be Belgium
Movie review: 'Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins'
Too many comics don’t spoil the country cooking
Movie review: 'Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show'
Comedy road show brings laughter, tears
Movie review: '4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'
Overlooked actress, film astound
Movie review: 'Taxi to the Dark Side'
On torture, where we started, where we are now
Movie review: 'Over Her Dead Body'
Rudd’s presence detected, but film’s charms are still ephemeral
Movie review: 'The Eye'
Not a bad film, actually, just functional and relatively tasteful
Movie review: 'Nanking'
Shedding light on a sordid WW II chapter
Movie review: 'Daughters of Wisdom'
Female empowerment seizes the high ground in Tibet
Movie review: 'Tre'
Director’s 2nd feature shows style, promise
Movie review: 'Untraceable'
More like ‘unwatchable,’ despite presence of Lane
Movie review: 'How She Move'
A dance film with the right moves
Movie review: 'U2 3D'
3-D effects amp up U2’s cool
Movie review: 'Steep'
‘Steep’ shares the spills and the thrills
Movie review: 'Election Day'
Doc accounts for diverse representation of precincts in 2004
Movie review: 'Times and Winds'
Trio’s road to adulthood twists, turns in the mountains
Movie review: 'Cloverfield'
Echoes of 9/11 stir when a visitor to New York starts throwing its weight around
Movie review: '27 Dresses'
Bouquets for Heigl, not so the script
Movie review: 'Mad Money'
Cast on the ‘Money,’ not so the script
Movie review: 'First Sunday'
Moral more noteworthy than laughs in ‘Sunday’
Movie review: 'The Bucket List'
‘Bucket List’ a hokey look at living and dying
Movie review: 'Persepolis'
Surviving the revolution within, without
Movie review: 'Honeydripper'
‘Honeydripper’ moves to a rhythm only Sayles hears
Movie review: 'Note by Note'
They love a piano
Movie review: 'The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything—A Veggie Tales Movie’
Anyone can sprout into a hero, says new Veggie Tales film
Movie review: 'There Will Be Blood'
Greatness courses through Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation, Daniel Day-Lewis performance
Movie review: 'The Rape of Europa'
Study of Nazi art heists suffers from soft focus
Movie review: 'Fireworks Wednesday'
‘Fireworks’ illuminates Iranian domestic life
Movie review: 'Kurt Cobain About a Son'
Cobain biopic a matter of tastes
Movie review: 'Diva'
At 25, ‘Diva’ stands up to the spotlight
Movie review: 'Millions'
Story of lotteries and luck could be richer
Movie review: 'The Orphanage'
‘Orphanage’ adopts mysterious restraint
Movie review: 'Charlie Wilson's War'
War’ backers lack will to succeed
Movie review: 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'
Thanks to Johnny Depp, ‘Todd’ retains its flavor despite some trimming
Movie review: 'National Treasure: Book of Secrets'
More albatross than ‘Treasure’
Movie review: 'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story'
Music strikes a chord, but story trips up ‘Walk Hard’
Movie review: 'Juno'
Initial fumblings precede a prize pic in ‘Juno’
Movie review: 'The Perfect Holiday'
Contrived ‘Holiday’ a long way from perfect
Movie review: 'I Am Legend'
Classic apocalyptic vehicle carries Will Smith halfway home
Movie review: 'Alvin and the Chipmunks'
All the notes are falsetto as Chipmunks return
Movie review: 'The Kite Runner'
Plot strings twist too conveniently in ‘Kite Runner’
Movie review: 'Starting Out in the Evening'
Deep characters thrive on N.Y.C. roots
Movie review: 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'
Memoir of catastrophe inspires a masterpiece
Movie review: 'Grace is Gone'
Young stars infuse ‘Grace’ with feeling
Movie review: 'The Walker'
‘Walker’ should have taken a narrower path
Movie review: 'The Savages'
Life with father, but only at the end
Movie review: 'Man in the Chair'
Not a comfy ‘Chair,’ but stars support the film
Movie review: 'Youth Without Youth'
After a decade away, Coppola aims high but misses
Movie review: 'P.S. I Love You'
‘P.S.’ a love letter that gets misdelivered
Movie review: 'The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep'
Hero’s outsized, but story is small, sweet
Movie review: 'The Golden Compass'
‘Compass’ points to thrills, not controversy
Movie review: 'Atonement'
‘Atonement’ a tale twice told well
Movie review: 'Strength and Honor'
‘Strength and Honor’ lacks consistency and credibility
Movie review: 'Revolver'
‘Revolver’ gets another spin, still misfires
Movie review: 'Romance and Cigarettes'
‘Romance & Cigarettes’ oddly harmonic
Movie review: 'What Would Jesus Buy?'
A sharp look—and poke—at holiday commercialism
Movie review: 'For the Bible Tells Me So'
‘Bible’ tests limits of family, faith, love
Movie review: 'It is Fine! Everything is Fine!'
A trilogy with a singular vision
Movie review: 'Memories of Tomorrow'
‘Memories’ succumbs to soap, but Watanabe keeps battling
Movie review: 'Enchanted'
Sly princess is enchanting
Movie review: 'Margot at the Wedding'
‘Margot’ is difficult company but worth the effort
Movie review: 'The Mist'
‘Mist’ envelopes another strong King adaptation
Movie review: 'I'm Not There'
Unique singer gets a biopic to match
Movie review: 'August Rush'
Take Dickens, add sugar, get ‘August Rush’
Movie review: 'Hitman'
‘Hitman’ armed with video game violence, speed
Movie review: 'This Christmas'
‘This Christmas’ sings thanks to its capable cast
Movie review: 'Milarepa'
‘Milarepa’ a philosophical, familiar pleasure
Movie review: 'Choking Man'
‘Choking Man’ recalls that A-Ha feeling
Movie review: 'Beowulf'
Draggin’ tale: Until the fiery beast shows up, ‘Beowulf’ feels less than epic
Movie review: 'Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium'
‘Magorium’ dodges the treacle and ends up a treat
Movie review: 'Southland Tales'
‘Southland Tales’ a wreck from which you can’t look away
Movie review: 'Love in the Time of Cholera'
‘Cholera’ adaptation lacks spark of love
Movie review: 'Redacted'
Shocks for shocks’ sake weaken ‘Redacted’
Movie review: 'O Jerusalem'
‘Jerusalem’ takes a too-soapy approach to bubbling strife
Movie review: 'Naked Boys Singing'
‘Naked Boys’ on film show their shortcomings
Movie review: 'No Country for Old Men'
Serial thriller: Coens back to ‘Fargo’ form—minus the laughs
Movie review: 'Fred Claus'
Ho ho hum: ‘Fred Claus’ not naughty, nice enough to register
Movie review: 'Lions for Lambs'
‘Lions’ never puts money where its mouths are
Movie review: 'P2'
‘P2’ another entry in the woman-haters canon
Movie review: 'Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten'
‘Clash’ star Joe Strummer elevates his posthumous documentary
Movie review: 'Rails & Ties'
Bad story leaves ‘Rails & Ties’ derailed
Movie review: 'Darfur Now'
‘Darfur Now’ a documentary with an urgent beat
Movie review: 'King Corn'
‘King Corn’ an entertaining look at an unappetizing topic
Movie review: 'National Lampoon presents Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo'
‘Electric Apricot’ a shadow of its inspiration
Movie review: 'American Gangster'
Superfly vs. Serpico: It’s the ’70s again (and that’s a good thing) as Denzel and Russell face off
Movie review: 'Bee Movie'
Lots of buzz, but it could ‘bee’ better
Movie review: 'Before the Devil Knows You're Dead'
Lumet’s power to intrigue undiminished
Movie review: 'Martian Child'
Drama doesn’t trust its tale enough to stay true
Movie review: 'Wristcutters: A Love Story'
Making friends in the hereafter
Movie review: 'Blade Runner: The Final Cut'
Final cut or not, this ‘Blade Runner’ is memorable
Movie review: 'Sharkwater'
The endangered, misunderstood shark
Movie review: 'Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains'
Controversy gets too light a look in Carter film
Movie review: 'Crude Impact'
‘Crude Impact’ message could use a coat of sobriety
Movie review: 'The Gates'
When the curtains went up on New York
Movie review: 'Saw IV'
Hacked off by a dull 'Saw'
Movie review: 'Dan in Real Life'
‘Real Life’ a charmer of the pre-raunch school
Movie review: 'Lake of Fire'
‘Lake of Fire’ tackles abortion as a white-hot national divide
Movie review: 'Music Within'
‘Music’s’ melodrama drowns out message
Movie review: 'Slipstream'
Hopkins indulges himself in ‘Slipstream’
Movie review: 'Control'
‘Control’ a beautiful look at an unhappy mind
Movie review: 'Mr. Untouchable'
Drug kingpins the lynchpin of films this week and next
Movie review: 'Bella'
‘Bella’ all sides and no entree
Movie review: 'Rendition'
‘Rendition’ about torture, sans feeling
Movie review: '30 Days of Night'
‘30 Days’ sucks the fun out of graphic novel
Movie review: 'Gone Baby Gone'
Afflecks unite in almost-there flick
Movie review: 'Sleuth'
Pinter’s the clue to the riddle of ‘Sleuth’s’ return
Movie review: 'Lars and the Real Girl'
‘Lars’ quirks fail to enchant
Movie review: 'My Kid Could Paint That'
Doc a portrait of a tiny artist (who may be part of a big fraud)
Movie review: 'Ira & Abby'
‘Ira and Abby’ a rare recent decent rom-com
Movie review: 'Hannah Takes the Stairs'
Chop off a star if you’re not up for highly experimental cinema
Movie review: 'Things We Lost in the Fire'
In the capable hands of director Susanne Bier, Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro inhabit 2 wounded souls
Movie review: 'Reservation Road'
Unfortunate fork in the ‘Road’
Movie review: 'Live-In Maid'
‘Maid’ serves as a reminder of societal connections
Movie review: 'Broken'
‘Broken’ apt name for a metaphoric clunker
Movie review: 'The Ten Commandments'
Animated ‘Ten Commandments’ rules in casting voices
Movie review: 'Khadak'
Striking, even breathtaking, in visual artistry
Movie review: 'We Own the Night'
‘Night’ adds nice digital splashes to a dry plot
Movie review: 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age'
Blanchett’s still fine, but 2nd ‘Elizabeth’ film is mostly silly
Movie review: 'Canvas'
‘Canvas’ starts out strong, drifts away
Movie review: 'The Final Season'
‘Final Season’ rung up by sports cliches
Movie review: 'I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Wiesenthal'
Educational and often moving but puts hagiography ahead of history
Movie review: 'Autism: The Musical'
Tricia Regan draws viewers into the lives of many of the youngsters and their families, and you’ll want to stay through the credits
Movie review: 'The Heartbreak Kid'
‘Heartbreak’ both Stiller’s and audience’s
Movie review: 'Michael Clayton'
Throwback thriller ‘Michael Clayton’ carries itself with ’70’s cinematic ease
Movie review: 'The Darjeeling Limited'
‘Darjeeling’ journey has heart enough for outsiders
Movie review: 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'
‘Jesse James’ a western of unconventional beauty
Movie review: 'The Kingdom'
An action film with a morally ambiguous heart
Movie review: 'Lust, Caution'
‘Lust, Caution’ controversy outstrips its strengths
Movie review: 'The Seeker: The Dark is Rising'
Wild about ‘Harry,’ not so much about ‘Seeker’
Movie review: 'I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With'
‘Cheese’ enhanced by its local flavor
Movie review: 'Sea Monsters 3-D'
Long ago, in an ocean not so far, far away
Movie review: 'Shadow Company'
‘Shadow Company’ falls in with contract soldiers
Movie review: 'Into the Wild'
A vision quest, a cautionary tale
Movie review: 'Feast of Love'
A ‘Feast’ that leaves discerning viewers wanting
Movie review: 'The Game Plan'
‘Rock’ the foundation on which ‘Game Plan’s’ charms rest
Movie review: 'Blame it on Fidel'
‘Fidel’ shows political transformation through a child’s eyes
Movie review: 'If I Didn't Care'
‘Care’ floats on an ocean of coincidences
Movie review: 'Manda Bala'
Filmmaker Jason Kohn finds compelling subjects to make his case that “the rich steal from the poor, while the poor steal the rich.”
Movie review: 'Good Luck Chuck'
Neither good nor lucky, ‘Chuck’ just charmless
Movie review: 'Sydney White'
Amanda Bynes’ Snow White remake is fair, not fairest
Movie review: 'Resident Evil: Extinction'
Don’t think for a minute this is the last of these movies based on a video game
Movie review: 'The Hunting Party'
Near miss ‘Hunting Party’ never decides what it’s shooting for
Movie review: 'The Jane Austen Book Club'
Characters find themselves inside the pages of ‘Jane Austen’
Movie review: 'King of California'
'King’s’ search reveals the lost treasure of old L.A.
Movie review: 'Dedication'
'Dedication’ sticks with plot annoyances
Movie review: 'Freshman Orientation'
Straight man pretends to be gay and stealthily woos the female of his dreams!
Movie review: 'December Boys'
'December Boys’ get a boost from the star in their midst
Movie review: 'Fierce People'
'Fierce’ ideas get lost in a puzzling script
Movie review: 'The Devil Came on Horseback'
Focused ‘Devil’ puts a face on Darfur genocide
Movie review: 'Czech Dream'
‘Czech Dream’ spins a hoax on consumerism
Movie review: 'The Brave One'
"Death Wish" with a guilty conscience
Movie review: 'Eastern Promises'
An unusually strong crime thriller
Movie review: 'In the Valley of Elah'
Investigates various mind-sets of young men trained for battle
Movie review: 'Mr. Woodcock'
There are few things more frustrating than watching a feature-length movie that would have made a very funny 30-minute short
Movie review: 'Across the Universe'
It's hard not to be seduced by the big heart of this chaotic, colorful movie
Movie review: 'Silk'
Ultimately settles for being the "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" of historical romances
Movie review: 'In the Shadow of the Moon'
It has the air of an officially sanctioned tribute rather than a probing study, but it's stirring all the same
Movie review: 'Vanaja'
Boasts a compelling story on-screen and off
Movie review: 'Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman
Sixty minutes per sitting is precisely the right amount of time to spend with Fox
Movie review: '3:10 to Yuma'
Brings a wagon of new ammunition and a nervous restlessness to territory staked out a half-century ago by the original
Movie review: 'Shoot 'Em Up'
Feels like the end of the line, a cackle of jokey desperation that morphs very quickly into the sound of gurgling blood
Movie review: 'The Brothers Solomon'
The not-funniest comedy of the year so far
Movie review: 'Exiled'
I enjoyed a lot of it, but even those wary of To's eastern/western ethos cannot help but admire the stern panache of the best sequences
Movie review: 'The Hottest State'
Should come with a warning that it may cause bruising from heavy-handed dialogue
Movie review: 'Hatchet'
B-movie fans who find their way to Adam Green's gory schlock extravaganza are going to like it
Movie review: 'Deep Water'
Effectively blends contemporary and recent interviews with film and tape recordings
Movie review: 'The Bubble'
This warm, easygoing ensemble drama is set on both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian divide
