Monthly Archives: December 2012

A bright, socially awkward boy tries to make sense of 9/11 and find some closure with the father he lost on what he calls “the worst day” in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. The film, based on a Jonathan Safran … Continue reading →

Of course, “Expendables 2” is all good fun and games and recycled catchphrases. Until somebody gets hurt. A lot of somebodies. When you’re filling the screen with every big screen action star of the past 25 years — except for … Continue reading →

“What to Expect When You’re Expecting” is a “Valentines Day” take on impending parenthood. Assorted couples cope with pregnancies, planned and unplanned, adoption and the epic change that is coming to their lives. It’s wafer-thin, but it has plenty of … Continue reading →

 The writer of “Training Day” and “Harsh Times” brings us more cop movie grit with “End of Watch,” a vivid series of impressionistic sketches of a year in the lives of two Los Angeles police officers. These aren’t the corrupt … Continue reading →

“The Five Year Engagement” plays like a five episode R-rated story arc from “How I Met Your Mother.” With more profanity and more explicit sex. And considerably less drinking.

Tracy Letts’ searing stage thriller “Killer Joe” comes to the screen with all its nervous laughs, its jittery fear and sexual sweat intact. It’s yet another showcase for the new and improved Matthew McConaughey — in the title role — … Continue reading →

“We Need to Talk About Kevin” is a horror movie for parents. Strip away the showy flashbacks — cutting between several pasts and several points in the present — and it’s “We Need to talk About Damien.” Because the only … Continue reading →

In the movies, the old saying goes, some stars wear the hat. And sometimes, the hat wears them. Say whatever else you want about Sylvester Stallone’s kitschy 1995 turn as futuristic comic book judge-jury-executioner Judge Dredd, the dude wore the … Continue reading →

The things young Isabella Rossi sees on her fateful trip to Rome! She sees bodies contort into pretzels and climb walls and fling themselves across rooms, breaking restraints as they do. She sees blood and hears all manner of blood-curdling … Continue reading →

 In “The Details,” the Devil isn’t in the you-know-whats. It’s in Tobey Maguire’s eyes. He’s got the crazy eyes of the deranged, the bug-eyes of the shocked, the dazed eyes of the comically dismayed. All of which come in handy … Continue reading →