Screen

42...

Special Event: Relief Benefit...

The Act of Killing...

For some movies, seeming funny is enough. The Hangover Part II only has to show up to succeed. At once pushy and lazy, the sequel follows the 2009 smash, which has become the most lucrative R-rated comedy in history. Isn’t that depressing? I find that depressing...

ACT OF VALOR After the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a terrorist plot against the U.S., a team of Navy Seals is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt to foil the attack. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles ...

Writer/director Sofia Coppola has made a movie that says nothing about people with nothing interesting to offer who steal from famous people who do nothing to be famous. And unless you’re a talk-show conspiracy theorist, it’s kind of hard to get too worked up about ...

When Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds and this year’s breakout actress, Jessica Chastain of The Tree of Life and The Help, can’t make much out of a political thriller, you know something’s off with both the political and the thriller components...

Art saves lives. That’s not hyperbole or exaggeration. Creating art as a release has let countless razorblades sleep soundly in their drawers. Consuming art that expresses what someone can’t say themselves, something that tells them “you’re not alone” or distracts ...

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY...

Nostalgia, like love, erodes rough edges; it fills in gaps, paints clean what was scuffed and forgives copious small sins in the name of happiness. I’m sorry, but none of the Star Wars movies have been perfect. Although some are demonstrably (and laughably) worse, ...

Just when I thought that the summer was going to be defined by great films, I watched Green Lantern. Based on a storyline that’s more suited for Saturday morning cartoons than a cinematic production, the film had the awkward feel of a children’s made-for-TV ...

I love it when people argue about whether a certain year was “good” or “bad” for film. It is one of the sillier movie debates a person can have, ranking only behind “Best Adam Sandler Movie” and “Worst Moment in the Star Wars Prequels.” Every year is a good year ...