“Forgettable” probably isn’t a word you’d expect to use to describe a film starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson and Sam Shepard. But unfortunately, that’s one of the most apt when pondering “Safe House.”Continue reading →

In The Woman in Black, the child who became a star playing a boy wizard convincingly makes the transition from Harry Potter to Arthur Kipps. From scene one of this ghost story adapted from British author Susan … Continue reading →

There’s little mystery about “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.”This 3-D sort-of sequel wears its formula-for-dollars purpose with pride, delivering a dash of cinematic nonsense that represents Hollywood calculation at its shrewdest and most shameless.Again … Continue reading →

Rachel McAdams wakes up in the hospital after a serious car accident with no memory of the past five years of her life and discovers she’s married to Channing Tatum, lives in a spacious, boho-chic loft and has … Continue reading →

In “Red Tails,” the famed Tuskegee Airmen get the John Wayne-style heroic rendering they very much deserve, but in a hackneyed and weirdly context-less story that does them a disservice.Long a pet project of his, George … Continue reading →

If a movie is cheesy and knows it’s cheesy — if it embraces the soft, gooey texture and pungent aroma of its own fromage — does that make it any more palatable as a meal?That is … Continue reading →

“The Woman in Black” very nearly suffocates under the mounting weight of its gothic kitsch — an abandoned house, child ghosts, spooky dolls, oh my! — but nevertheless summons ornately crafted, old-fashioned suspense.This is the second … Continue reading →

It owes a great debt to the found-footage concept behind “The Blair Witch Project,” has some of the aesthetic and tonal touches of “Cloverfield” and probes the same sorts of philosophical notions about the burden of power that … Continue reading →

The so-called thriller “Man on a Ledge,” about a disgraced cop who threatens to jump off a building to divert attention from a heist going on across the street, isn’t even implausible in a fun way.You … Continue reading →

The debut of a new action movie starring Liam Neeson is becoming an early-in-the-year movie tradition.Taken, featuring Neeson as a hell-bent dad out to rescue his daughter from sex slavery, debuted in January … Continue reading →

Mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano rocks in Steven Soderbergh’s high-velocity action movie Haywire. Former Baton Rouge resident Soderbergh, a filmmaker capable of making mainstream crowd-pleasers and art-house eccentricities, aims for the jaw with Haywire. Though the … Continue reading →

On the surface, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close seems a can’t miss project. Based on a best-selling novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film’s cast is crowded with Oscar winners and Oscar nominees. Another Oscar nominee, Stephen … Continue reading →

French writer-director Michel Hazanavicius’ homage to Hollywood’s silent, black-and-white past creates something unexpectedly new.The Artist, a Cannes Film Festival favorite that’s collecting more honors during this high season for movie awards, is a … Continue reading →

Yes, “Contraband” follows the tried-and-true One Last Job formula. Yes, Mark Wahlberg is nestled deep within his comfort zone as a former master criminal who’s lived a dangerous life and gone straight.Still, this is a solid … Continue reading →

Sugary sweet movies that focus on religion are usually straight to DVD fare. Sure, they’ll always have an audience, but these movies rarely have what it takes to cross over and compete with other mainstream films. “Joyful Noise,” … Continue reading →

Two powerful women — one an actress, the other a politician — and two talented filmmakers form the quartet that make The Iron Lady possible.Starring in the based-in-fact but fictionalized The Iron Lady, Meryl … Continue reading →

Ripping cues from the many exorcism-based horror flicks produced since that mother of exorcism movies, The Exorcist, debuted in 1973, The Devil Inside blends standard exorcism movie scenarios with phony “found film” footage of the kind seen … Continue reading →

Could the quietly effective career-spy in the feature-length film adaptation of John le Carré’s classic spy novel, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, be any more of a contrast to James Bond than he is?In … Continue reading →

Sometimes, reacting to a movie is all about the expectations you bring with you walking into it. “We Bought a Zoo” is about a family that . buys a zoo. It’s as high-concept as you can get, outside … Continue reading →

The latest project from Steven Spielberg returns the director to the subject for which he’s won three Academy awards. Following the World War II-era dramas — 1993’s Schindler’s List and 1998’s Saving Private Ryan — Spielberg … Continue reading →

It’s no surprise that the grief-drenched Sept. 11 drama “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” should turn out incredibly mawkish. A cloying exercise in sentimentality, the film also winds up extremely annoying, even infuriating.Director Stephen Daldry’s film, … Continue reading →

Following the Harry Potter, Twilight and The Lord of Rings series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, likely the first installment of a new round of hit movies based on a vastly popular literary source, … Continue reading →

With blockbuster films like "Adventures of Tintin" and "War Horse" coming to the theater in the same week, there is no doubt that director Steven Spielberg is a master at his craft."War Horse," which will be Spielberg's second … Continue reading →

A trio of creators blends talents for the ultimate boy’s adventure movie. Director Steven Spielberg, producer Peter Jackson and Belgium artist and writer Hergé are the principals behind the computer-animated, 3-D The Adventures of Tintin. … Continue reading →

Hollywood has commandeered Sweden’s big literary export, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” without compromising the story’s Scandinavian roots or its top-of-the-world, Seasonal Affective Disorder sense of barrenness, even hopelessness.It could have been transplanted Stateside for … Continue reading →