Monthly Archives: January 2013

Michael Shannon plays a villain with “impulse control issues” in the bike courier thriller “Premium Rush.” Shannon fans will salivate at the thought of that. Nobody can turn on the scary like Michael Shannon.

 Who knew there was this much fun left in glee clubs this long after “Glee!” jumped the shark? “Pitch Perfect” is a frothy, funny, dizzy and derivative farce set in the competitive world of college a cappella groups, “Glee!” without … Continue reading →

There’s an inviolable law of animated films — the more “names” you have in the voice cast, the weaker you know your film is.

 “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is wistful, witty, romantic and sentimental, almost a “Breakfast Club” for the new millennium. It’s not high school as it really was and is. It is high school as it really should be.

“The Perfect Family” might have been perfectly edgy and controversial — ten years ago. The material — a devout Catholic wife and mother who is so active in her parrish that she’s up for “Catholic Woman of the Year” — … Continue reading →

“People Like Us” is a well-acted weeper that walks an unsteady line between the emotional and the darkly comical. It’s about a guy who realizes he has a half sister, and who injects himself into her life without explaining who … Continue reading →

You can be forgiven for puzzling over the first 30 minutes of “People v. The State of Illusion.” An odd blend of documentary, docu-drama and motivational speech, the question “What are they trying to sell me here?” leaps to mind … Continue reading →

“Peace, Love  & Misunderstanding” is a forgiving little trifle, an open air feast of Woodstock Generation cliches. How much you forgive this easygoing romantic comedy depends on your tolerance for tie-dye, Jane Fonda, senior citizens who never outgrew their ’60s … Continue reading →

Norman, the young hero of the animated delight “ParaNorman,” hears dead people. He sees them, too. So there’s no sense trying to comfort him because you think he’s missing his dead grandma too much. “Grandma’s in a better place.” “In … Continue reading →

The stars of “The Paperboy,” the ones who did their due diligence anyway, must be kicking themselves. They didn’t get to work with the Lee Daniels who directed the Oscar winning “Precious,” but were stuck with the Lee Daniels who … Continue reading →