Reviews and commentaries about classic movies, long-forgotten titles, and new releases.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) movie review: Andrew Garfield is back in Marc Webb’s sequel that reeks of corporate demands. Emma Stone costars.
RoboCop (2014) movie review: José Padilha remake has curious ideas and characters that are superficially developed. Joel Kinnaman stars.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) movie review: Chris Pine and Keira Knightley are miscast in Kenneth Branagh’s mid-level failure.
Ender’s Game (2013) movie review: Gavin Hood’s self-important yet superficial dystopian thrill-ride stars Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford.
Captain Phillips (2013) movie review: Tom Hanks’ American seaman is the wrong central character in Paul Greengrass’ unsatisfying political thriller.
The Fifth Estate (2013) movie review: Benedict Cumberbatch creates a fuzzy Julian Assange in Bill Condon’s two-dimensional WikiLeaks’ drama.
Una Noche (2012) movie review: Lucy Mulloy proves herself a capable screenwriter-director with this mostly Havana-set refugee drama.
Elysium (2013) movie review: Matt Damon is turned into a conventional superhero in Neill Blomkamp’s well-intentioned but uneven dystopian drama.
Only God Forgives (2013) movie review: Ryan Gosling and a malevolent Kristin Scott Thomas star in Nicolas Winding Refn’s sadistic thriller.
Pacific Rim (2013) movie review: Guillermo del Toro delivers a relentlessly loud and dumb (but effective) action + horror mix. Charlie Hunnam stars.
The Lone Ranger (2013) movie review: Johnny Depp is a key problem in Gore Verbinski’s bloated action Western. Armie Hammer costars.
World War Z (2013) movie review: Brad Pitt stars alongside ravenous zombie masses in Marc Forster’s splashy but dramatically disjointed horror thriller.
Man of Steel (2013) movie review: Henry Cavill is badly handicapped in Zack Snyder’s costly and drab Superman reboot. Amy Adams costars.
The East (2013) movie review: Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling’s thriller suffers from an overabundance of self-importance that derails its message.
The Hangover Part III (2013) movie review: Todd Phillips’ threequel is a waste of money and talent. Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis star.
The Great Gatsby (2013) movie review: Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent in Baz Luhrmann’s overly flashy transfer of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel.
Iron Man 3 (2013) movie review: Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr. collaboration marred by its pandering to the overseers of the Chinese market.
Antiviral (2012) movie review: Brandon Cronenberg’s debut feature is too emotionally detached for its own good. Caleb Landry Jones + Sarah Gadon star.
War on Whistleblowers (2013) movie review: Robert Greenwald presents an indictment of the U.S. government and its dirty secrets.
To the Wonder (2012) movie review: None of the talent involved can disguise the fact that the latest Terrence Malick poem is a huge disappointment.
Stoker (2013) movie review: Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman star in technically accomplished but narratively deficient Park Chan-wook thriller.
Dark Horse (2011) movie review: A fantastic supporting cast (Mia Farrow, Donna Murphy et al) makes Todd Solondz’s tragicomedy a must-see.
The Canadian (1926) movie review: Thomas Meighan and its rugged Alberta setting are the key reasons to check out William Beaudine’s rural drama.
The Loves of Pharaoh (1922) movie review: Future Best Actor Oscar winner Emil Jannings chews the scenery in this disappointing Ernst Lubitsch epic.
South (1919) movie review: Explorer Ernest Shackleton and his landmark Antarctic expedition are depicted in beautiful and harrowing detail.
Little Caesar (1931) movie review: Edward G. Robinson is an iconic all-American gangster in Mervyn LeRoy’s landmark but creaky crime drama.
Barry Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby in Going My Way. Going My Way (1944) movie review: Leo McCarey’s Oscar-winning sentimental blockbuster. Going My Way movie review: Multiple Oscar winner starring Bing…
A Face in the Crowd (1957) movie review: A hammy Andy Griffith and a didactic Budd Schulberg hinder Elia Kazan’s political drama with Patricia Neal.
Swampland race relations: Old indie mixes reactionary ideas about interracial love with vengeance and voodoo in tragic actress’ final little-seen film.
The Goose Woman with Louise Dresser and Jack Pickford. The Goose Woman (1925) movie review: The Goose Woman movie review: Great Louise Dresser in Clarence Brown silent classic At the…
Huckleberry Finn movie: Lewis Sargent toplines sentimental William Desmond Taylor effort. Huckleberry Finn (1920) movie review: Huckleberry Finn movie review: Sentimental Fare Directed by Eventual Murder Victim Directed by William…
The Sadist with Arch Hall Jr. The Sadist (1963) movie review: The Sadist movie review: Curious B flick Say what you will about Arch Hall Jr. (and I know many…