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Three years after the modest 2013 hit Now You See Me, the filmmakers decided to make an ill-advised sequel, even though the original had all the earmarks of a stand-alone film. Sure enough, the second installment underwhelmed, shedding nearly ever...

Since this is a thriller, there must be a twist. One goes into a movie like The Number 23 with this expectation. However, not only is the twist telegraphed early but it is presented in a clumsy and unconvincing manner. Other films have employed ...

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a miscalculation of Magic Kingdom-sized proportions. Designed for and targeted at prepubescent girls, the holiday-themed fantasy adventure drowns in CGI, underdeveloped characters, and a plot utterly devoi...

Eddie Murphy's 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor is one of those movies that, at least from a creative perspective, neither deserves nor warrants a sequel. What's the point? More of the same, it seems. Any time a movie makes $130 million in the...

Eddie Murphy does not make "comebacks", because, according to him, he hasn't been out of the spotlight. But, following three critical and box-office flops (The Distinguished Gentleman, Beverly Hills Cop III, and Vampire in Brooklyn), Murphy is hop...

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is essentially Homer's "The Odyssey" by way of the Coen Brothers with an assist from Preston Sturges (the title comes from the Sturges film, Sullivan's Travels). Or, to put it another way, it's a period piece road movie ...

O.J.: Made in America, an epic documentary from Ezra Edelman, explores not only the rise and fall of one of football’s iconic players, but the status of race relations in America and the impact of celebrity-worship on modern culture. Althoug...

The Object of My Affection, based on the novel of the same name by Stephen McCauley, is a pleasant romantic comedy that asks (and tries to answer) questions about the nature of love, sex, family, and friendship. And, while some of the solutions ar...

We don't get many idea-based science fiction films these days so, when one comes along, it represents a welcome change of pace from the fantasy space opera that has co-opted the genre. Despite being tarted up with enough action to stave off boredom...

Probably every review written of Observe and Report will mention, in one context or another, Paul Blart: Mall Cop. The connection is understandable: both are satirical looks at the trials and tribulations of life as a private security guard (a.k.a...