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In 1927, with much fanfare, The Jazz Singer was released. As every movie-lover knows, this otherwise unremarkable motion picture possessed one crucial asset: it was the first film to use recorded sound, and ushered in the "talkie" era. The trans...

Tag line #1: "An action-packed international thriller starring Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver, and soon-to-be Superman Henry Cavill." Tag line #2: "A box office disaster with perhaps the most uncharismatic action hero of the decade in a preposte...

If one was going to cite a movie title for truth in advertising, it might be James Mangold’s Bob Dylan bio-pic, A Complete Unknown because, at the end of the proceedings, it’s an apt description of the main character. The reason it clear: Mang...

Confetti is an excellent study of what happens when someone botches Christopher Guest's mockumentary format. A supposed satire of extravagant weddings and reality shows, Debbie Isitt's feature displays little in the way of wit or insight. It's lo...

Take a real-life feel-good story about personal heroism and use it as the basis for a generic screenplay. Lather on some prestige. Hire an Oscar-winning actress and a bunch of supporting performers with nominations on their resumes. Promote the ...

Crazy Heart is the country music version of The Wrestler: a grizzled veteran whose days in the spotlight are behind him struggles to keep going while seeing the world through a haze of regret and booze. The story is unremarkable; the alcoholic com...

Every summer it seems there's a pleasant surprise lurking in an unexpected place. This year, Cyrus is a candidate. The cast might lead one to believe this is a Judd Apatow movie; after all, three of the four principals (John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill...

My reaction to The Darjeeling Limited is much the same as for most of Wes Anderson's previous efforts: it's an easy movie to admire but more difficult to like. Technically and thematically, there's a lot in The Darjeeling Limited to arrest the atte...

Daylight is an action picture without a villain. Frankly, it doesn't have much of a plot, either. Or characters, for that matter. In fact, the so-called dramatic elements of this movie are so shaky that you wonder if the filmmakers spent all o...

Thank god for Jake Gyllenhaal.  Absent his performance, Demolition would have been a more unbearable slog than it is. It’s rare when a good performance can save a bad movie but it can make some of the more tedious parts watchable. The problem with...