Monthly Archives: January 2013

The rules of screen romance don’t change much, from country to country, culture to culture. The cinematic language of love is universal. Thus the French romance “The Names of Love” plays with conventions that American filmgoers will find familiar and … Continue reading →

“Real Steel” is “Transformers” meets “The Champ,” a cute, occasionally sentimental father-son bonding picture with Rock’Em Sock’Em boxing robots as its backdrop.\

Gus Van Sant’s “Restless” is predicated on an old movie truism — the quirkiest romances begin at funerals. That’s where Enoch (Henry Hopper) meets Annabell (Mia Wasikowska). He’s a morbidly curious funeral-crashing teenager who lives in a rundown mansion, wears … Continue reading →

Stephen Myers knows his boss’s talking points so well he can stand in for him, reciting them as technicians adjust the lights for the next presidential debate. “My religion, what I believe in, is called the Constitution of the United … Continue reading →

Rachel Weisz has her best role since her Oscar winning turn in “The Constant Gardener” in “The Whistleblower,” another tale in which she plays an idealistic, morally complicated woman in pursuit of a deadly truth.

Toes are tapping, feet are shuffling and boots are bouncing in the opening to the new “Footloose.” Kids are dancing and frolicking, having a few beers to the title song of a 1984 movie, a tune by Kenny Loggins. Then … Continue reading →

  There’s something irresistible about a the underdog’s plight, something glorious about a “Cinderella Story” in sports. “The Mighty Macs” is a movie that taps into that, telling us of the glory days of  Immaculata College’s women’s basketball team. This … Continue reading →

Here are this year’s WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) Awards nominations for writing in the movies ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Flight, Written by John Gatins; Paramount Pictures Looper, Written by Rian Johnson; TriStar Pictures The Master, Written by Paul Thomas Anderson; The … Continue reading →

The first movie to go into wide release in 2013 misses, by mere days, a qualifying run for the 2012 Oscars. Thus “Texas Chainsaw 3D” can’t enjoy the hype of the just-as-bloody “Django Unchained.” Well, there are other differences. “Chainsaw … Continue reading →