The first Night at the Museum movie benefited from low expectations: Ben Stiller in a kids movie with tons of effects? Greater men than him have been felled by lesser beasts. It could have been direly stupid, but instead, it was really charming fun. A sequel? They couldn’t possibly take a [...]

I will not apologize for giving this movie a strong Matinee with Snacks rating. I came out of it all pumped and gleeful and satisfied, and if anyone wants much more than that from a Terminator movie, well it also has some freaking great sequences and effects.
When I think of director McG, I think [...]

I actually enjoyed this prequel novel better than its more famous companion, The DaVinci Code. Angels and Demons the film makes good use of the lessons learned from treading on the Catholic Church’s toes last time, and almost completely defangs the author’s voice and intent. As directed by Ron Howard, who is solid [...]

If you have just come out from under your rock, here is the 11th Star Trek movie, more accurately Star Trek Zero, a full-on reboot and reinterpretation of the four-decade cult phenomenon. Star Trek Nemesis (10) broke the rule of only even-numbered Star Trek movies are any good, and this Star Trek (inconveniently titled [...]

Full disclosure:  I watched the X-Files television series until the first movie came out.  I was so disgusted with the transparent clumsiness of the story (so much more forgivable on TV) that I stopped watching the show.  Curiosity and a cautious sort of press buzz (”it’s a stand-alone episodes even non-fans can love!”) drew me [...]

Wow, what an experience! The movie starts hard core with a crime in progress, a common every-day cinema crime. All the rules are being broken again and again, making what was a workaday heist into a peek into the madness behind the perpetrator’s madness. The Joker’s paradigm is eschew predictability, and the [...]

The short version:  Prince Caspian (the movie) is gorgeous and a total snore.  All the best effects houses worked on the computer and practical effects.  The locations are in the stunning environments of the Czech Republic, Poland, and New Zealand.  Every dollar of that budget is on that screen, trembling to blow your mind.  Aslan [...]

Make no mistake: This movie is only worth Matinee price with snacks if you go into it with the right attitude. Do not go in here expecting “an action movie” or an “up with people especially girls” kind of flick. This is basically PG-13 porn. Think about it – barely feasible [...]

I must say up front that I am a Trekker, specifically Next Generation cast and I don’t wear costumes to premieres. What I like best about Star Trek movies in general (unlike say, the X Files movie) is they operate on a higher level than the episodes, but complement and/or add to the existing [...]

Chamber is my least favorite of the 4 Potter books due to the disjointed narrative and sub-narrative, but this is a bang up adaptation of it nevertheless. Lots of fun and action, laughs and mystery, and really, isn’t that why we love Harry Potter? That and Daniel Radcliffe is starting to grow into [...]