With LADY IN THE WATER, M. Night Shyamalan wanted to achieve two things. He wanted to find the magic that exists in daily life if we only had the wit to see it, and he wanted to get even with the film reviewers that didn’t like his last film. Or couple of films. In the… Read More »
STRANGER THAN FICTION
In STRANGER THAN FICTION, Will Ferrell bravely sets aside the manic side of his personna in favor of that personna’s innate sweetness. It’s a bold move and one that is not without charm, but it’s also one that should have been better served than it is by a script that takes far too long to get… Read More »
HAPPY FEET
When it comes to moviedom, penguins are as close as it gets to a sure thing, hit-wise. This is something irresistible about this unlikely bird and the way it’s so easy to anthropomorphize its sturdy waddle and formal wear. To his credit, George Miller, director, co-author, and conceiver of the story as a whole, doesn’t… Read More »
PAN’S LABYRINTH
The combination of war and her mother’s remarriage to a Fascist captain proves to be too much for Ofelia, the heroine of Gullermo del Toro’s arresting fable of power and powerlessness. The time is 1944, the place is northern Spain, but the landscape is that of the imagination and, in del Toro’s hands, that is… Read More »
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM
It’s not that NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM is a bad film, it’s just that it’s not a particularly inspired one either. Fine special effects, an interesting plot line, and competent direction, those are all there and greatly appreciated. Still, the very best thing about this fantasy aimed squarely at kids is that it reminds us… Read More »
CHARLOTTE’S WEB
A spider that sucks the blood out of her victims is a tough sell as the sympathetic heroine of any story, much less one directed at kids. Yet, using the perfect blend of warmth and bite, and not a little humor, CHARLOTTE’S WEB has been doing that for over 40 years. A film version, such… Read More »
GHOST RIDER
GHOST RIDER is the first guilty pleasure of 2007. Driven along strictly by the personalities involved, never surrendering to an internal logic that might slow things down to bring them back to earth, it barrels along a dicey path between camp and melodrama and rises above them both while never for a moment demanding to be… Read More »
THE BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
THE BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA is an exquisite children’s film marketed at older kids, and thereby in danger of losing the adult demographic, an audience that would love it as much, if not more, than those kids. Though it directly addresses the darker side of being a kid, bullies, parents who aren’t perfect, it also speaks… Read More »
MEET THE ROBINSONS
One day geeks may indeed rule the world, if they don’t already, that is, and when they do, we could do worse that the scenario presented in MEET THE ROBINSONS. Much worse. Based on the book, “A Day with the Robinsons” by William Joyce, this gentle tale of family lost and found is a wild… Read More »
NEXT
NEXT is a lackluster bit of nothing that fails to work up much interest in itself, much less in the audience unfortunate enough to be watching it. Based on an excellent story, “The Golden Man”, by Phillip K. Dick, this adaptation by ary Goldman, Jonathan Hensleigh, and Paul Bernbaum gut what is best in Dick’s… Read More »
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- …
- 38
- Next Page »