Screen
Frightful remake
Plenty gory, but graced by a jovial sense of humor and an enjoyably guts-centric use of 3-D, director Craig Gillespie’s remake of the 1985 vampire film Fright Night may not tickle the fancies of those who have a close personal friendship with the older version. I ...
Nolan delivers again
Inception is one of the most complicated stories I’ve ever seen on the big screen, but if you can figure out what’s going on, it’s an amazing movie filled with mind-boggling visuals and an intriguing exploration of the subconscious. It might also be the best movie ...
Perry gets serious
It’s dated, theatrical and overthe-top. In the 35 years since the play’s premiere, it still doesn’t cut black men a lot of slack...
For ‘Shutter Island,’ the wait may be worthwhile
Movies can be like wine: Once uncorked, they don't often last long on the shelf. But Hollywood history could be a lot kinder to the postponed "Shutter Island," and the movie's last-minute date change might actually work to the thriller's advantage...
Crass and fun
It`s not good to start a review by saying that the film wasn’t anywhere near as bad or as stupid as I was afraid it’d be, but that’s exactly how I felt about the inane satire MacGruber. Crude and sophomoric, it still had lots of laughs and a surprisingly polished ...
Origins of evil, zombies and a film festival on the rise
It’s a cool spring evening with a bit of a breeze coming in off the mountains — just enough to slam a few doors and lift a few curtains. Old iron gates swing on their hinges in the courtyard. Though it’s too dark to clearly see the surrounding peaks, there’s a ...
M. Night trips and falls in the dark
According to The Last Airbender — the latest 3-D offering in theaters, yet barely functional in 2-D or even 1-D — the world’s separate kingdoms are built around fire, air, water, earth and impenetrable, rock-hard exposition. Bringing those first four to the ...
Special effects addicts only
If you’re a fan of special effects and seek entertainment on the big screen, a few hours of escape and some righteous butt-kicking and loud explosions, and if you’ve already enjoyed Transformers and have forgiven Michael Bay for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen...
Abridged and confusing
In a future where the government keeps a tight rein on the populace, the annual reminder of an earlier failed uprising is The Hunger Games, a televised battle to the death of teens chosen from each of 12 districts. When her young sister Prim (Willow Shields) is ...
Making a game of it
Most graphic novel-based films shed the visual style of the original work, though a few have tried to present a hybrid view, notably Sin City and Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy, but Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is the first to offer up a unique hybrid where the action, ...
Realism thwarted
Made with or without U.S. Department of Defense cooperation, fictional films about the American military favor narratives in which (mostly) men buck authority, risk their necks in bouts of jealous infighting and go the lone-wolf route in pursuit of the enemy. Act ...
