Monthly Archives: January 2013

A decent-enough opening weekend of the year at the box office, with the lone “new” wide release doing $23 million, at 3D ticket prices. “Texas Chainsaw 3D” wins with a $23 million take. “Django Unchained” is holding audience better than … Continue reading →

It took decades of increasingly mediocre TV series and Data-dull movies to beat Star Trek to death. But J.J. Abrams brings it all back to basics, and back to life, with a rousing “How Scotty Met Sulu” prequel about how … Continue reading →

As frightening as the word is, you don’t put “cancer” in a movie’s title if you want people to come see it. Thus, the serio-comic “I’m With Cancer” was renamed “50/50.” Those are our hero’s odds of surviving the malignancy … Continue reading →

It’s interesting to track the growing cinematic sophistication of those preaching/filmmaking brothers of Sherwood Baptist Church from “Facing the Giants” to their breakout hit “Fireproof” to their latest film. Writer Stephen Kendrick and writer-director-actor Alex Kendrick have mastered building suspense, … Continue reading →

Bad timing allowed “What’s Your Number?,” a mildly raunchy romantic comedy about a woman lamenting her sexual history as she resolves to finally save herself for Mr. Right, to come out mere months after the too similar “Bridesmaids.”

Whatever its shortcomings, director Jim Sheridan and stars Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts deserved better than the give-away-the-store trailer that Universal delivered for “Dream House.” Screenwriter David Loucka? Oh yeah, HE deserved a trailer that drops the film’s … Continue reading →

Emilio Estevez wrote, directed and took a supporting role in “The Way,” an easy-going road picture that plays right into his father, Martin Sheen’s wheelhouse.

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 →