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Jindabyne, an adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story "So Much Water So Close to Home," is an examination of a fractured family and how mistakes and miscommunication can lead to the widening of pre-existing fissures. While these themes are in t...

When the focus is on comedy, Joy Ride hits and misses with gusto and some of its most outrageous gags deliver big laughs. The problem is that co-creator/director Adele Lim has delusions of crafting a dramatic foundation for the humor and the since...

When it comes to bad movies, King Kong lovers have a plethora of choices but only three merit true consideration: King Kong Escapes, the 1968 Japanese film with a Blofeld-style villain named after Britain’s most beloved Time Lord; King Kong ...

If Knock at the Cabin was an episode of the old TV series “The Outer Limits,” it would be regarded as middling and forgettable. Such descriptors seem kind, however, when applied to a 100-minute production that requires an admission fee. A medi...

Last Breath has epic potential but opts instead to present its gritty survival story with as little fat as possible – so little, in fact, that it cuts too close to the bone at times. Based on a true story, it tracks its documentary source materi...

If Richard Curtis watches Last Christmas, he will likely do so with a smile on his face. In approach, tone, and intent, this is very much like the kind of film Curtis makes and bears more than a passing resemblance to his unlikely now-classic ...

I recommend The Last Kiss, but not without a misgiving or two. This movie is essentially a celebration of yuppie angst. It's about people in their late 20s who have issues with commitment and monogamy, who have lost their way and are trying to fin...

There's no "rule" determining that religion-oriented movies are necessarily poorly made. Indeed, there are examples aplenty of serious minded, reverent motion pictures that work not only for pious viewers but for those with a secular outlook. The ...

It’s taken two spin-offs to transform one of the most surprisingly delightful animated franchises in recent years into an obvious toy commercial. When The LEGO Movie debuted three years ago, it was hailed for being more than what many people...

While watching Liar Liar, it occurred to me that the chief problem with this film is that it has a script. If Jim Carrey had been unleashed without such silly, incidental constraints as plot and dialogue, who knows where things might have gone? A...