Movie Reviews
Hot-buttered opinion on the latest flicks
Review: New Moon Is Either Just Fine or Way Mopey, Depending On Who You Are
Summit Entertainment
Should you go see New Moon? Does it matter what we say? You're going to see New Moon. But if you have any lingering doubts about the second film in The Twilight Saga, we're here to help. Below is a handy clip 'n' save chart matching your own personality with a customized review of the most hyped film of the year.
Find the category that best matches you, and the truth about New Moon will follow:
Review: Broken Embraces Kinda Like a Telenovela for Film Snobs
Universal Pictures International
Review in a Hurry: Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar returns with more high drama and more Penélope Cruz. Broken Embraces is full of sex, betrayal, money and blackmail—sort of a telenovela for film snobs. The mix of surrealism and passion resonates, but the plodding pace threatens to suck the life out of this tale.
Review: Planet 51 Really Familiar—And Not in a Good Way
Columbia Pictures
Review in a Hurry: Sure, every story has already been told, but there still could have been a smidgen of originality in this role-reversal alien-invasion pic. Staring bright animation and the voices of Justin Long and Dawyne Johnson, Planet 51 follows a hilarious concept with weak execution and way too many references to better films.
Review: The Blind Side All Heartstrings and Sandra Bullock
Warner Bros.
Review in a Hurry: The Blind Side doesn't pretend to be anything but a heartstrings-tugging "feel good" movie. Swelling music, tearful epiphanies, all that sentimental crap is here in spades. But something funny happens at the end of the movie: You feel good.
Review: Nic Cage at His Crazy Best in Bad Lieutenant
First Look Pictures
Review in a Hurry: You may have heard that Nicolas Cage acts completely insane in the title role of a New Orleans cop who becomes a heavy drug user. It's true...but "completely insane" is relative in the case of this particular actor, and this isn't as over-the-top as, say, The Wicker Man. But it is an engaging cop caper complete with Cage craziness, and that's enough.
Review: Pirate Radio a Joyous Li'l Flick About Old Dudes Saving Rock 'n' Roll
Focus Features
Review in a Hurry: Rock 'n' roll and the high seas make an unlikely but jolly combination in this exuberantly directed film by Love, Actually writer-director Richard Curtis. Wisely, Curtis avoids any deep, thoughtful messages or significant thematic matter—that approach would just sink this ship.
Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox Just Simply Fantastic
Fox Searchlight
Review in a Hurry: Awkward-humor auteur Wes Anderson, Oscar-winner George Clooney, and Willy Wonka creator Roald Dahl come together for a stop-motion animated feature that doesn't seem like it should make any sense at all—but it totally does. Fantastic, indeed.
Review: 2012 Is Total Disaster-Porn Overload!
Sony Pictures
Review in a Hurry: Beyond ridiculous and overstuffed with dizzying computer effects, director Roland Emmerich's 2012 is a disaster pic that pulls no destructive punches. But at more than 2.5 hours, it's close to one earthquake too many.
Review: Precious Is Everything Oprah Says It Is
Lionsgate
Review in a Hurry: How about this for a night at the movies: Emotional and physical abuse, incest, and a role that will forever taint the usually jolly image of comedienne Mo'Nique. Precious is an exhausting but worthwhile ride, a movie that shines a light on the dark side of humanity and the opportunity to rise above it.
Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats Silly and Outdated, Despite Clooney Cool
BBC Films
Review in a Hurry: Ditched by his wife, reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) makes a semi-suicidal beeline for Iraq. There he encounters apparent psychic soldier Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who spins a dubious yarn about a special psy-ops program and leads his new compadre into a hippies-versus-soldiers conflict that feels about 40 years too late.
Review: Doc-Style Alien Fright Flick The Fourth Kind Just Feels...Fake
Simon Vesrano / Universal Pictures
Review in a Hurry: Actress Milla Jovovich, in the role of Actress Milla Jovovich, hosts an odd mashup of supposedly "found" footage and reenacted scenes featuring herself and other name actors as they tell us a dubious and occasionally scary "true" story involving UFO abductions in Nome, Alaska, (as portrayed herein by a town in Bulgaria).
Review: A Christmas Carol Dark 'n' Faithful—Despite All the Jim Carrey 3-D
Disney
Review in a Hurry: No "humbugs" here. Disney animates Charles Dickens' timeless tale of a Christmas-hating miser without, well, Disney-fying it. Devoted Dickens fans will even appreciate the darkness and social commentary—if not all the Jim Carrey.
