Chicago Tribune movie review archive
Downey Jr. adds dash to superhero
Something borrowed, all right
This time, war’s fog envelopes filmmaker
Hunt’s directorial debut gracefully negotiates family ties
Truth gets lost in ambiguous marital tale
The ill effects of development
A maddening, majestic classic returns
‘White Castle’ charms lost on way to Gitmo
Nobody’s fooled by obvious plot twists
Heroine adds much to study in contrasts
A few pages in the life of John Lennon’s assassin
Surplus of plagues overwhelms fine acting
Poker movie, Reynolds’ face fold
Breakup comedy finds itself on a solid foundation of humor
Character actor excels in low-key lead performance
Aging-chorus doc strikes a chord
It looks good, but the flavor doesn’t last
Master responds with a masterpiece
Horror flick shows some brains
Dull road leads to a bright ending
Limp serial-killer plot can’t harry Al Pacino’s ’do
Self-serving doc offers helpings of annoyance
Kentucky Derby doc can’t stay on track
Secrets of life and love arrive in everyday life
Casting, writing doesn’t pass the test
Keanu’s the dull, pretty boy in this version of ‘Cops gone wild’
French confection fits its title
Timing’s off, but in just the right way
Sibling, political rivals in 1960s Italy
Love’s labors: win, lose or family ties
Shows that hundreds of the World War II-era Japanese warriors have survived into old age
Charming despite requisite training sequences and a cartoonishly evil opponent
Clooney can’t QB a screwball winner
Script sends book’s charm out to sea
All-stars on both sides of the cameras
Break dancing lives, internationally
Casino comedy crosses line from quirk to jerk
Adapted tale of card-shark MIT students never feels real
Thanks to family ties, Iraq film rises above genre
Hybrid comedy leaves laughs in the dust
Michael Caine the gem in this flawed heist film
Steel magnolias in Lebanon
Excess of symbolism, gore dull film’s bite
Chinese ‘E.T.’ should still call home
Remembering it’s a movie, ‘Pettigrew’ perseveres
Conspiracy theory pays off in lively bank heist flick
Fun-free effort earns a thin envelope
Much more than ‘The Match Game’
Unexpected joy in wake of atrocities
Girls do rock, not so this doc
Oscar near-miss still a prize
Tale of two sisters rests on a wildly uneven foundation
When Chicago was the center of the political universe
Teen fable needs more than a whiff of creativity
Back to Rio, where the boys became men
Oscar winner explores the morality of survival
Like ‘Groundhog Day,’ with more shooting and less Sonny and Cher
Early nostalgia for the YouTube generation
In a cinematic land, where the nerdy outsider is king
‘Signal’s’ 3 parts aren’t harmonious
An exception to the February doldrums
Interfaith pairings maintain cinematic interest
The Old West, Eastern European style
Dumber’n a family reunion in the cousins-can-marry belt
Art school romance knows what it likes
Birthing film delivers one point of view
A chance for another rooting interest on Oscar night
Surprising ‘Streets’ keeps on steppin’
Tale of a camcorder and some cold, dead hands
Colorful, fast-moving adventure
‘Jumper’ leaps about but never goes anywhere
'Definitely' a date movie
Recalling older, funnier romantic comedies
If the wit, characters are killers... It must be Belgium
Too many comics don’t spoil the country cooking
Comedy road show brings laughter, tears
Overlooked actress, film astound
On torture, where we started, where we are now
Rudd’s presence detected, but film’s charms are still ephemeral
Not a bad film, actually, just functional and relatively tasteful
Shedding light on a sordid WW II chapter
Female empowerment seizes the high ground in Tibet
Director’s 2nd feature shows style, promise
More like ‘unwatchable,’ despite presence of Lane
A dance film with the right moves
3-D effects amp up U2’s cool
‘Steep’ shares the spills and the thrills
Doc accounts for diverse representation of precincts in 2004
Trio’s road to adulthood twists, turns in the mountains
Echoes of 9/11 stir when a visitor to New York starts throwing its weight around
Bouquets for Heigl, not so the script
Cast on the ‘Money,’ not so the script
Moral more noteworthy than laughs in ‘Sunday’
‘Bucket List’ a hokey look at living and dying
Surviving the revolution within, without
‘Honeydripper’ moves to a rhythm only Sayles hears
Anyone can sprout into a hero, says new Veggie Tales film
Greatness courses through Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation, Daniel Day-Lewis performance
Study of Nazi art heists suffers from soft focus
‘Fireworks’ illuminates Iranian domestic life
Cobain biopic a matter of tastes
At 25, ‘Diva’ stands up to the spotlight
Story of lotteries and luck could be richer
‘Orphanage’ adopts mysterious restraint
War’ backers lack will to succeed
Thanks to Johnny Depp, ‘Todd’ retains its flavor despite some trimming
More albatross than ‘Treasure’
Music strikes a chord, but story trips up ‘Walk Hard’
Initial fumblings precede a prize pic in ‘Juno’
Contrived ‘Holiday’ a long way from perfect
Classic apocalyptic vehicle carries Will Smith halfway home
All the notes are falsetto as Chipmunks return
Plot strings twist too conveniently in ‘Kite Runner’
Deep characters thrive on N.Y.C. roots
Memoir of catastrophe inspires a masterpiece
Young stars infuse ‘Grace’ with feeling
‘Walker’ should have taken a narrower path
Life with father, but only at the end
Not a comfy ‘Chair,’ but stars support the film
After a decade away, Coppola aims high but misses
‘P.S.’ a love letter that gets misdelivered
Hero’s outsized, but story is small, sweet
‘Compass’ points to thrills, not controversy
‘Atonement’ a tale twice told well
‘Strength and Honor’ lacks consistency and credibility
‘Revolver’ gets another spin, still misfires
‘Romance & Cigarettes’ oddly harmonic
A sharp look—and poke—at holiday commercialism
‘Bible’ tests limits of family, faith, love
A trilogy with a singular vision
‘Memories’ succumbs to soap, but Watanabe keeps battling
Sly princess is enchanting
‘Margot’ is difficult company but worth the effort
‘Mist’ envelopes another strong King adaptation
Unique singer gets a biopic to match
Take Dickens, add sugar, get ‘August Rush’
‘Hitman’ armed with video game violence, speed
‘This Christmas’ sings thanks to its capable cast
‘Milarepa’ a philosophical, familiar pleasure
‘Choking Man’ recalls that A-Ha feeling
Draggin’ tale: Until the fiery beast shows up, ‘Beowulf’ feels less than epic
‘Magorium’ dodges the treacle and ends up a treat
‘Southland Tales’ a wreck from which you can’t look away
‘Cholera’ adaptation lacks spark of love
Shocks for shocks’ sake weaken ‘Redacted’
‘Jerusalem’ takes a too-soapy approach to bubbling strife
‘Naked Boys’ on film show their shortcomings
Serial thriller: Coens back to ‘Fargo’ form—minus the laughs
Ho ho hum: ‘Fred Claus’ not naughty, nice enough to register
‘Lions’ never puts money where its mouths are
‘P2’ another entry in the woman-haters canon
‘Clash’ star Joe Strummer elevates his posthumous documentary
Bad story leaves ‘Rails & Ties’ derailed
‘Darfur Now’ a documentary with an urgent beat
‘King Corn’ an entertaining look at an unappetizing topic
‘Electric Apricot’ a shadow of its inspiration
Superfly vs. Serpico: It’s the ’70s again (and that’s a good thing) as Denzel and Russell face off
Lots of buzz, but it could ‘bee’ better
Lumet’s power to intrigue undiminished
Drama doesn’t trust its tale enough to stay true
Making friends in the hereafter
Final cut or not, this ‘Blade Runner’ is memorable
The endangered, misunderstood shark
Controversy gets too light a look in Carter film
‘Crude Impact’ message could use a coat of sobriety
When the curtains went up on New York
Hacked off by a dull 'Saw'
‘Real Life’ a charmer of the pre-raunch school
‘Lake of Fire’ tackles abortion as a white-hot national divide
‘Music’s’ melodrama drowns out message
Hopkins indulges himself in ‘Slipstream’
‘Control’ a beautiful look at an unhappy mind
Drug kingpins the lynchpin of films this week and next
‘Bella’ all sides and no entree
‘Rendition’ about torture, sans feeling
‘30 Days’ sucks the fun out of graphic novel
Afflecks unite in almost-there flick
Pinter’s the clue to the riddle of ‘Sleuth’s’ return
‘Lars’ quirks fail to enchant
Doc a portrait of a tiny artist (who may be part of a big fraud)
‘Ira and Abby’ a rare recent decent rom-com
Chop off a star if you’re not up for highly experimental cinema
In the capable hands of director Susanne Bier, Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro inhabit 2 wounded souls
Unfortunate fork in the ‘Road’
‘Maid’ serves as a reminder of societal connections
‘Broken’ apt name for a metaphoric clunker
Animated ‘Ten Commandments’ rules in casting voices
Striking, even breathtaking, in visual artistry
‘Night’ adds nice digital splashes to a dry plot
Blanchett’s still fine, but 2nd ‘Elizabeth’ film is mostly silly
‘Canvas’ starts out strong, drifts away
‘Final Season’ rung up by sports cliches
Educational and often moving but puts hagiography ahead of history
Tricia Regan draws viewers into the lives of many of the youngsters and their families, and you’ll want to stay through the credits
‘Heartbreak’ both Stiller’s and audience’s
Throwback thriller ‘Michael Clayton’ carries itself with ’70’s cinematic ease
‘Darjeeling’ journey has heart enough for outsiders
‘Jesse James’ a western of unconventional beauty
An action film with a morally ambiguous heart
‘Lust, Caution’ controversy outstrips its strengths
Wild about ‘Harry,’ not so much about ‘Seeker’
‘Cheese’ enhanced by its local flavor
Long ago, in an ocean not so far, far away
‘Shadow Company’ falls in with contract soldiers
A vision quest, a cautionary tale
A ‘Feast’ that leaves discerning viewers wanting
‘Rock’ the foundation on which ‘Game Plan’s’ charms rest
‘Fidel’ shows political transformation through a child’s eyes
‘Care’ floats on an ocean of coincidences
Filmmaker Jason Kohn finds compelling subjects to make his case that “the rich steal from the poor, while the poor steal the rich.”
Neither good nor lucky, ‘Chuck’ just charmless
Amanda Bynes’ Snow White remake is fair, not fairest
Don’t think for a minute this is the last of these movies based on a video game
Near miss ‘Hunting Party’ never decides what it’s shooting for
Characters find themselves inside the pages of ‘Jane Austen’
'King’s’ search reveals the lost treasure of old L.A.
'Dedication’ sticks with plot annoyances
Straight man pretends to be gay and stealthily woos the female of his dreams!
'December Boys’ get a boost from the star in their midst
'Fierce’ ideas get lost in a puzzling script
Focused ‘Devil’ puts a face on Darfur genocide
‘Czech Dream’ spins a hoax on consumerism
"Death Wish" with a guilty conscience
An unusually strong crime thriller
Investigates various mind-sets of young men trained for battle
There are few things more frustrating than watching a feature-length movie that would have made a very funny 30-minute short
It's hard not to be seduced by the big heart of this chaotic, colorful movie
Ultimately settles for being the "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" of historical romances
It has the air of an officially sanctioned tribute rather than a probing study, but it's stirring all the same
Boasts a compelling story on-screen and off
Sixty minutes per sitting is precisely the right amount of time to spend with Fox
Brings a wagon of new ammunition and a nervous restlessness to territory staked out a half-century ago by the original
Feels like the end of the line, a cackle of jokey desperation that morphs very quickly into the sound of gurgling blood
The not-funniest comedy of the year so far
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
Should come with a warning that it may cause bruising from heavy-handed dialogue
B-movie fans who find their way to Adam Green's gory schlock extravaganza are going to like it
Effectively blends contemporary and recent interviews with film and tape recordings
This warm, easygoing ensemble drama is set on both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian divide
©2008 Metromix.com
