Reviews and commentaries about classic movies, long-forgotten titles, and new releases.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (movie 2014) review: Andrew Garfield is back in Marc Webb’s sequel that reeks of corporate demands. Emma Stone and Dane DeHaan costar.
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RoboCop (movie 2014) review: José Padilha remake has curious ideas and characters that are superficially developed. Joel Kinnaman and Abbie Cornish star.
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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (movie 2014) review: Chris Pine and Keira Knightley are miscast in Kenneth Branagh’s mid-level failure.
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Ender’s Game (movie 2013) review: Gavin Hood’s self-important yet superficial dystopian thrill-ride. Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford star.
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The Fifth Estate (movie 2013) review: Benedict Cumberbatch creates a fuzzy Julian Assange in Bill Condon’s two-dimensional WikiLeaks’ drama.
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Una Noche (movie 2012) review: Lucy Mulloy proves herself a capable screenwriter-director with this mostly Havana-set refugee drama.
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Elysium (movie 2013) review: Matt Damon is turned into a conventional superhero in Neill Blomkamp’s well-intentioned but uneven dystopian drama.
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Pacific Rim (movie 2013) review: Guillermo del Toro delivers a relentlessly loud and dumb (but effective) action + horror mix. Charlie Hunnam stars.
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The Lone Ranger (movie 2013) review: Johnny Depp is a key problem in Gore Verbinski’s bloated action Western. Armie Hammer costars as the title character.
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World War Z (movie 2013) review: Brad Pitt stars alongside breathtaking zombie masses in Marc Forster’s splashy but dramatically disjointed horror thriller.
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The East (movie 2013) review: Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling’s thriller suffers from an overabundance of self-seriousness that ultimately works against its socially conscious message.
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The Hangover Part III (movie 2013) review: Todd Phillips’ threequel has turned out to be a waste of time, money and talent. Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis star.
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The Great Gatsby (movie 2013) review: Leonardo DiCaprio is a charismatic presence in Baz Luhrmann’s flashy transfer of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Carey Mulligan costars.
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Antiviral (movie 2012) review: Brandon Cronenberg gutsy thriller is too emotionally detached for its own good. Caleb Landry Jones and Sarah Gadon star.
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War on Whistleblowers (movie 2013) review: Robert Greenwald presents an indictment of the United States government and its eagerness to maintain its dirty secrets hidden from view.
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To the Wonder (movie 2012) review: None of the talent involved can disguise the fact that the latest Terrence Malick poem is a huge disappointment. Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams …
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Dark Horse (movie 2011) review: A fantastic supporting cast (Mia Farrow, Donna Murphy et al) makes this tenebrous Todd Solondz comedy a must-see. Jordan Gelber has the lead role.
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The Canadian (movie 1926) review: Silent era star Thomas Meighan and its rugged Alberta setting are the key reasons to check out William Beaudine’s rural drama. Also with Mona Palma.
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The Loves of Pharaoh (movie 1922) review: Future Best Actor Oscar winner Emil Jannings chews the scenery in this disappointing Ernst Lubitsch epic. Dagny Servaes and Harry Liedtke costar.
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Little Caesar (movie 1931) review: Edward G. Robinson is an iconic all-American gangster in Mervyn LeRoy’s landmark but creaky crime drama. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. costars.
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Barry Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby in Going My Way. Going My Way (movie 1944) review: Leo McCarey’s Oscar-winning sentimental blockbuster. Going My Way (movie 1944) review: Multiple Oscar winner starring …
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A Face in the Crowd (movie 1957) review: A hammy Andy Griffith and a didactic Budd Schulberg hinder Elia Kazan’s political drama with Patricia Neal and Anthony Franciosa.
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The Goose Woman with Louise Dresser and Jack Pickford. The Goose Woman (movie 1925) review: The Goose Woman (movie 1925) review: Great Louise Dresser in Clarence Brown silent classic At …
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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 …
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The Sadist with Arch Hall Jr. The Sadist (movie 1963) review. The Sadist (movie 1963) review: Curious B flick Say what you will about Arch Hall Jr. (and I know …
Captain Phillips (movie 2013) review: Tom Hanks’ American seaman is the wrong central character in Paul Greengrass’ unsatisfying political thriller. Barkhad Abdi costars.
Only God Forgives (movie 2013) review: Ryan Gosling and a malevolent Kristin Scott Thomas star in Nicolas Winding Refn’s sadistic thriller.
Man of Steel (movie 2013) review: Henry Cavill is badly hindered as the titular character in Zack Snyder’s costly and drab Superman reboot. Amy Adams and Michael Shannon costar.
Iron Man 3 (movie 2013) review: Otherwise worthy Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr. collaboration is irritatingly marred by its pandering to the overseers of the Chinese market.
Stoker (movie 2013) review: A personable Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman star in this technically accomplished but narratively deficient Park Chan-wook thriller.
South (movie 1919) review: Explorer Ernest Shackleton and his landmark Antarctic expedition are depicted in beautiful and harrowing detail in this silent era documentary.
Chloe, Love Is Calling You (movie 1934) review: Old indie mixes reactionary ideas about interracial love with vengeance and voodoo in tragic actress’ final little-seen film.