 | ...Around (2008)  February 25, 2009 For much of its length ...Around seems like a companion piece to Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). It could be titled Doyle Simms's 4 Years Off. It's not only that the leading character Doyle Simms is glib a ... more |
 | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)  |
 | 2012 (2009)  |
 | 21 (2008)  April 10, 2008 When the movie "21" was announced with Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne, it sounded like a winner. When everybody else involved in "21" was mentioned, it was doomed to be a loser. "21" came from "Bringing Down the House," a nonfiction b ... more |
 | 3 Women (1977)  |
 | 300 (2007) |
 | 3:10 to Yuma (2007)  |
 | 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2008) |
 | 40 Year Old Virgin, The (2005) |
 | 500 Days of Summer (2009) August 12, 2009 The independent film 500 Days of Summer is as refreshing as hot air. It might be subtitled The Dog Days of August. It's as independent as a hula hoop. 500 Days of Summer was cheered by sweaty reviewers at t ... more |
 | About a Boy (2002)  |
 | About Schmidt (2003) February 1, 2003 Payne capsized an actor and a novel in this misfire About Schmidt drives another nail in the coffin of irony. About Schmidt is as lacking in irony as its blatant crayon drawing ending. It's a synthetic antidote to a ... more |
 | Ace in the Hole (1951) |
 | Adventureland (2009) April 9, 2009 Was young actor Jesse Eisenberg in the latest Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden? He should have been. He's as cute as a puppy. Eisenberg's doggone precious looks are in evidence all over his latest movie ... more |
 | Age of Innocence, The (1993) |
 | Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) June 9, 2009 Listen to the audio interview with Martin Scorsese (MP3 format, approximately 90 minutes). My interview with Marty Scorsese was in his apartment in Los Angeles, high in the hills ... more |
 | Alice In Wonderland (2010) March 14, 2010 Maybe I'm not as jaded as I should be. Maybe I'm still too wide-eyed. But I found Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland to be a treasure trove full of delight and near-amazement. The imagery is bold and ravishing. Alice in Wonderl ... more |
 | Alien (1979) |
 | All About Eve (1950) |
 | All Fall Down (1962)  |
 | All God's Children Can Dance (2007) |
 | All the President's Men (1976) |
 | Almost Famous (2000) |
 | American Gangster (2007) |
 | American Splendor (2003) |
 | American, The (2010) September 1, 2010 In the first five minutes of The American, popular movie star George Clooney shatters his image. I like actors who shatter their image, -- e.g., Paul Newman in Robert Altman's Buffalo Bill & the Indians (1976) -- but most ... more |
 | Angels and Demons (2009) May 11, 2009 Angels and Demons performs a miracle. It makes 2 hours seem like 4 hours. Angels and Demons should thrill, but director Ron Howard's suspense has no edge or vitality. Most of it is running, panting, doggy-paddling. And si ... more |
 | Apartment, The (1960) |
 | Apocalypse Now (1979) |
 | Apocalypto (2006) |
 | Apostle, The (1997) |
 | Appaloosa (2008) November 27, 2008 I give thanks for westerns. Every time they seem to be about to gasp their last, dusty breath, one comes along to give them a bit of renewed life. Bless it, the western genre will not die. Last year it was the excellent remake 3:10 to Yuma< ... more |
 | As Good as It Gets (1997) |
 | Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The (2007) |
 | Astronaut Farmer, The (2007) March 8, 2007 The Astronaut Farmer is one of those movies that you don't believe for a moment while you're watching it, but you leave with a warm glow. But by the time you've driven home, you realize you've been conned. It's one of those synthetic-looki ... more |
 | Atonement (2007) |
 | Avanti! (1972)  |
 | Avatar (2009) |
 | Aviator, The (2004) |
 | Away from Her (2008) |
 | Babe (1995) |
 | Babel (2006) |
 | Bad Habits (2007) |
 | Ballad of Cable Hogue, The (1970) |
 | Ballonatic, The (1923) |
 | Bambi (1942) |
 | Bank Job, The (2008) |
 | Barton Fink (1991) |
 | Battle Cry (1955) |
 | Battle of Algiers, The (1966) |
 | Beautiful Mind, A (2001) |
 | Beauty and the Beast (1991) |
 | Because I Said So (2007) February 15, 2007 There are chick flicks and upchuck flicks. The movie Because I Said So is an upchuck chick flick. In Because I Said So, Diane Keaton gives the worst performance of her storied career. She goes to the head of the line as contender for a Razzie ... more |
 | Beer League (2006) |
 | Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) |
 | Beguiled, The (1971) |
 | Ben-Hur (1959) |
 | Beowulf (2007) November 29, 2007 700 A.D. is now 21st Century American 3-D. It's a hell of a transformation. As a would-be litterateur, I should be aghast at what has become of Beowulf, which was once the bane of English majors. At least some of us. But as a film fan ... more |
 | Big Lebowski, The (1998) |
 | Big Red One, The (1980) |
 | Big Shave, The (1967) |
 | Big Sleep, The (1946) |
 | Birdcage, The (1996) |
 | Birds, The (1963) |
 | Birth of a Nation, The (1915) |
 | Black Dahlia, The (2006) |
 | Blind Side, The (2009) |
 | Bliss (2007) July 14, 2009 Bliss is a provocative voyage across the exotic landscape and placid waterways of Turkey. Set in an intriguing locale, based on an important novel, Bliss is the tale of diverse culture and sharp -- sometimes brutal -- confli ... more |
 | Blood Diamond (2006) December 14, 2006 Blood Diamond is a movie zircon. It doesn't cut glass, but it cuts plot, character, and credibility. It could be Hotel Rwanda, but instead it's Motel Deep-Six. What is most bothersome about Blood Diamond is that it tries to be an incisive ... more |
 | Blood Work (2002) |
 | Blow-Up (1966) |
 | Blowout (1981) |
 | Body of Lies (2008) |
 | Bonnie and Clyde (1967) |
 | Bottle Shock (2008) September 4, 2008 Movie ads in the newspapers are a great barometer of … nothing. Except perhaps gullibility. Studios often get pseudo-reviewers who are their lackeys to trumpet praise over the least deserving of movies. These dupers get their names in ... more |
 | Bourne Ultimatum, The (2007) |
 | Boys are Back, The (2009) October 9, 2009 The Boys Are Back is a poignant and rowdy celebration of a broken family dealing with grief and drastic change. It has a lame title and a rambling story, but it also has an outstanding performance by Clive Owen and beautiful Austral ... more |
 | Brave One, The (2007) |
 | Braveheart (1995) |
 | Breaking Away (1979) |
 | Breathless (1959) |
 | Brick (2006) |
 | Brideshead Revisited (1981) |
 | Bridges at Toko-Ri, The (1954) |
 | Bridges of Madison County, The (1995) |
 | Brokeback Mountain (2005) |
 | Broken Arrow (1950) |
 | Brothers Bloom, The (2009) May 27, 2009 The Brothers Bloom is a movie about con men that winds up conning itself. It is one of those films that should be better than it is. The Brothers Bloom has a first-rate cast, a good basic plot, and great locales. But ... more |
 | Bucket List, The (2007) |
 | Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) |
 | Bugsy (1991) |
 | Bulworth (1998) |
 | Burn After Reading (2008) |
 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) |
 | California Split (1974) |
 | Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) September 25, 2009 Michael Moore titled his most recent film Capitalism: A Love Story, probably because in Capitalism you never have to say you're sorry. And Moore never says he's sorry as he trashes Capitalism in America. An assault o ... more |
 | Capote (2005) |
 | Carlito's Way (1993) |
 | Cars (2006) |
 | Casablanca (1942) |
 | Casino (1995) |
 | Casino Royale (2006) |
 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) |
 | Catch and Release (2007) February 8, 2007 Don't worry, Ben. Your marriage to Jennifer is still safe. "Catch and Release," Jennifer Garner's latest film, will not cause Ben Affleck any husband-envy. It's a harmless romantic comedy that will garner Garner no awards and middling succ ... more |
 | Catch Me If You Can (2002) |
 | Catch-22 (1970) |
 | Changeling (2008) |
 | Charlie Wilson's War (2007) January 3, 2008 Few people know how our government works. Even fewer know how it is supposed to work. Over the years I've received countless phone calls promoting a political candidate. I ask the caller: "Who is the Secretary of Agriculture?" No o ... more |
 | Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) |
 | Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005) |
 | Children of Men (2007) January 11, 2007 Children of Men is a glorious mess. It's a Frankenstein monster of a movie. Part sci-fi, part thriller, part action genre, part religious allegory, it flays and lumbers after meaning-- sending off occasional sparks of style. Concocted by direc ... more |
 | Children of Paradise (1946) |
 | Chinatown (1974) |
 | Chloe (2010) March 23, 2010 Chloe is an atrocious movie. It's artsy-fartsy-tartsy. A female voice-over at the beginning says, "I can become your unflinching dream." I flinched. Pretension does that to me. Chloe is con ... more |
 | Christmas Story, A (1983) |
 | Cinderella Man (2005) |
 | Cinema Paradiso (1988) |
 | Citizen Kane (1941) |
 | City Island (2010) May 14, 2010 In City Island, actor Andy Garcia reveals a range and humanity he's seldom, if ever, exhibited. Usually Garcia is a bit mannered as an actor, but as New York Corrections Officer Vince Rizzo, he gives what well may be his best pe ... more |
 | Clear and Present Danger (1994) |
 | Clockmaker, The (1973) |
 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) |
 | Cloverfield (2008) January 31, 2008 I think when they started filming Cloverfield, somebody accidentally dropped the camera. Someone else said, "Cool." So they kept dropping the camera. And they threw it, and jerked it, and kicked it. And it went into terminal spasms. < ... more |
 | Coco Before Chanel (2009) October 29, 2009 French biographical dramas are a mixed bag. Coco Before Chanel is a mixed Chanel bag. French films of its ilk usually emphasize character, evocative settings, substantial performances, and often a sense of predestined foreboding. Th ... more |
 | Color of Money, The (1986) |
 | Contender, The (2000) |
 | Conversation, The (1974) |
 | Cool Hand Luke (1967) |
 | Coraline (2009) February 19, 2009 Coraline is a mesmerizing tale with macabre stitching. There's no blood, but Coraline is a haunting horrorfest located in a weird wonderland. Coraline is the animated story of Coraline Jones (winningly voic ... more |
 | Cove, The (2009) |
 | Crank (2006) |
 | Crazy Heart (2009) |
 | Criminal (2004) |
 | Crimson Tide (1995) |
 | Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The (2008) |
 | Da Vinci Code, The (2006) |
 | Damned United, The (2009) |
 | Dances with Wolves (1990) |
 | Dark Knight, The (2008) |
 | Darling (1965) April 1, 1966 John Schlesinger's Darling is a film of excessive and self-defeating brilliance. Schlesinger is intelligent, but his approach is one-dimensional. His characters are fashionable types, his symbols are too often gimmicks; and Darling b ... more |
 | Date Night (2010) April 23, 2010 In today's movie comedies, wit is as rare as Angostura bitters. If movie comedies were stored at the supermarket, most would be in the day-old section. They certainly aren't fresh. Comedy doesn't have to be raw, but it ... more |
 | Dear Frankie (2004) |
 | Deer Hunter, The (1978) |
 | Defiance (2008) January 5, 2009 Defiance runs for 137 minutes, but that doesn't make it an epic. It just makes it long. Near the beginning, we are informed on screen that Defiance is "a true story." It may be a true story, but it is not truly told. ... more |
 | Deja Vu (2006) |
 | Departed, The (2006) |
 | Devil Wears Prada, The (2006) |
 | Dick Tracy (1990) |
 | Dinner for Schmucks (2010) August 7, 2010 Rodents have often been the stuff of comedy. From Mickey and Minnie to Mighty Mouse to Remy the Rat to Despereaux, they've made us smile. In Dinner for Schmucks they're the stuff that dreams are made of. Barry (Steve ... more |
 | Dirty Dozen, The (1967) |
 | Dirty Harry (1971) |
 | District 9 (2009) |
 | District B13 (2004) |
 | Disturbia (2007) April 26, 2007 "Disturbia" is a well-made, very entertaining thriller. It shouldn't be. Reflecting Alfred Hitchcock, it should be just another in a long line of Hitch wannabe retreads. But it's much better than that. "Disturbia" -- a contrivance ... more |
 | Don't Look Now (1973) |
 | Don't Pave Main Street: Carmel's Heritage (1994) |
 | Double Indemnity (1944) |
 | Doubt (2008) |
 | Down to Earth (2001) February 22, 2001 Chris Rocks plays it safe and clean in Down to Earth It had all the signs of being a disaster -- two directors, four writers, a duration of under 90 minutes and negative pre-release buzz. But despite the warning signs, Down to Earth is ... more |
 | Dr. Strangelove (1964) |
 | Duchess, The (2008) |
 | Duel (1971) |
 | Duplicity (2009) |
 | Earthquake (1974) |
 | Eastern Promises (2007) |
 | Edge of Darkness (2010) February 4, 2010 Edge of Darkness gives Mel Gibson's career a needed jolt, actually several jolts. Every time the movie threatens to lag, there's a startling shock of violence -- and Gibson is usually right in the middle of it. Mel l ... more |
 | Eiger Sanction, The (1975) |
 | El Cid (1961) |
 | Elf (2003) |
 | Emperor of the North Pole (1973) |
 | English Patient, The (1996) |
 | Erin Brockovich (2000) |
 | Evening (2007) July 5, 2007 What's the difference between slasher films and chick flicks? In slasher films they suffer less, and they die quicker. Evening, bless its banal heart, is a chick flick in all its fatuous glory. Evening has a stellar cast, which includes some o ... more |
 | Everybody's Fine (2009) November 12, 2009 Film historian and critic Tony Macklin joins Josh to talk about Roland Emmerich's latest disaster movie 2012, plus three movies set in Britain in the 1960s and '70s (Pirate Radio, The Damned United, An Education ... more |
 | Exorcist, The (1973) |
 | Express, The (2008) |
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