Monthly Archives: January 2013

“Killer Elite” is a guy’s movie and makes no bones about it. It’s an old-school straight-no-chaser action picture about an ex-CIA agent who hunts down assorted troopers from the British Special Forces to save an American agent from a vengeful … Continue reading →

“Twilight” alumnus Taylor Lautner makes his debut as a leading man in an action film tailor-made — ahem — for him. “Abduction” puts Lautner in motion and never goes very far wrong as long as he remains in motion.

  There’s a hint of incredulity to the rave reviews for the alcoholic love story “Smashed.” And since its director, James Ponsoldt, made a previous film about an alcoholic baseball umpire (“Off the Black”), that slack-jawed shock is aimed at … Continue reading →

There’s always been something that screamed “CARTOON” about that potty-mouthed pixie, Sarah Silverman. Even at her most outrageous, the edgy comic’s disarming, Betty Boop by way of Betty Rubble voice intentionally softens that edge. Silverman’s demeanor and material, in which … Continue reading →

Two hardened criminals drop in to rob a store. They beat the daylights out of the proprietor, his wife. An employee cowers behind a counter, until he summons up his guts and hurls himself at the brutes. And as others … Continue reading →

A couple of producers on board Gareth Edward’s “Godzilla” project with Warners have “departed.” But the film supposedly now has a pretty firm start date. Seriously? It occurred to me on first hearing about this that Warners announced it to … Continue reading →

Here’s one thing the movies get wrong pretty consistently — the reaction of seemingly rational people upon seeing the supernatural, the impossible, the miraculous. “Red Lights” is a promising psychological thriller that gets that detail just right.

Canadian actress-turned-director Sarah Polley landed Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman for her first directorial outing since the Oscar-nominated “Away From Her.” Unfortunately, the mopey anti-romance she stuck them in didn’t take advantage of their full talents, and the … Continue reading →