Indiana Jones is the kind of beloved cinematic icon whose fourth movie, set age-appropriately years after his last films, could stain his charming persona forever. The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull does veer dangerously away from its more archaeologically relevant predecessors, but it is still very much in the spirit of the original series. […]

This was my third Universal Studios comedy in a short time, and I was starting to worry. I am so glad this one was last! Writer/star Jason Segel was lovable and full of heart on Freaks and Geeks, but is he funny? Yes! The premise is promising: Segel is dumped […]

I’m not so much into the comic book movies.  Outside of Superman and Batman, my experience is limited and my interest less.  I have never seen or read any work based on Iron Man until this one, so I cannot speak to its fidelity to the canon.  I do see a crapload of movies, however, […]

American Zombie is a tiny little mockumentary that you may need to exert some effort to find, but I hope you will find it as well worth it as I and my companions did. Grace Lee directs (and costars as the in-film documentary’s codirector) this story of the zombie community’ struggles to function in […]

Simon Pegg is best known in the States for his lead turns in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Written by Michael Ian Black with Pegg, Run Fatboy Run is a real life Peter Pan coming of age movie and not a genre-lambasting lark as Pegg’s usual screenwriting tendencies. In tone, it […]

In classic screwball comedy tradition, everything in this delicious film takes place in a short span of time, with a tight circle of inter-related characters, and all much larger than life. It’s got old-fashioned romance, whip cracking dialogue, gooey gowns and overblown design, and it is an absolute treasure of a movie. My […]

A certain Seussian purist I know refused to see this movie with me (or at all) on the grounds that’s all wrong and is doing with Jim Carrey what Aladdin did with Robin Williams. Statistically speaking, that is the most likely scenario from the people who brought you Ice Age, but… She also […]

Phillippa Gregory’s book, on which this film is based, is truly excellent. I purposefully did not refresh my memory on the details so that I could let the film unfold on its own merits. Not doing so is a mistake I have suffered for in the past. The plot of the novel […]

Long did I put off watching this film – it’s lonely watching foreign screeners with no companion and I kept hoping for a reprieve, until finally I had to complete my Oscar ballot. And yet I struggle still to find the words to describe this film. Marion Cotillard’s win? Totally justified. Best […]

I confess, I was a little squeamish about seeing this movie. My companion’s a Ryan Reynolds fan, but he’s an unproven lead for me. Abigail Breslin is adorable but clearly she is more the framing device for the movie’s story than the meat of the thing, so I can’t rely on her to […]