Search for 2008
Marvel Comics must really like The Punisher. This is their third attempt to bring him to the big screen. There's a saying that "the third time's a charm," but it doesn't apply here. More appropriate is this baseball-related statement: "Three str...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-12-05
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Drugs)
Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE
Director: Lexi Alexander
Cast: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Doug Hutchison, ...
"Bond. James Bond." Once, those three words stood nape hairs on end for fans of the action/adventure genre. A lot has transpired since 1963 when Dr. No was brought to the screen, but Bond has been a great constant through all those years. One...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-11-14
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Sexual Situations)
Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE
Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, ...
It has become tiresome to travel to a multiplex seemingly every other Friday to see the latest remake of a foreign horror film. For the most part, the problem isn't that these productions are remakes but that they're bad remakes. In some cases, t...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-10-10
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: HORROR
Director: John Erick Dowdle
Cast: Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Jay Hernandez, ...
Filmmakers love weddings. The reasons are obvious: so many characters, so much potential for drama and romance, so many things that can go wrong. Weddings are also events that most people, in one way or another (whether as a guest or a participan...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-10-03
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Situations, Profanity)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Jonathan Demme
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mather Zickel, ...
In the Rambo canon, where does this one fit? The tone is closer to First Blood but the body count is more Rambo III. No matter how one dices and slices this new Rambo, the first one in 20 years, it will likely please fans of the long-in-the-tooth...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-01-25
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: ACTION
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, Paul Schulze, ...
The Reader is closer to a near miss than a rousing success but, on balance, this is still worth seeing for those who enjoy complexity and moral ambiguity within the context of a melodrama. Based on the novel by Bernhard Schlink, the film asks bi...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-12-12
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Situations, Nudity)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Stephen Daldry
Cast: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, ...
Most directors, upon entering a genre with which they lack familiarity, adhere strictly to "the book." David Mamet, however, throws "the book" out the window. The resulting movie, a mixed martial arts concoction called Redbelt, is different than ...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-05-02
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Violence)
Genre: ACTION/DRAMA
Director: David Mamet
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Alice Braga, ...
Religulous is the much-anticipated collaboration between one of the guys responsible for Borat and Curb Your Enthusiasm (Larry Charles) and the Politically Incorrect stand-up comedian (Bill Maher). The problem with the movie, whose title compresse...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-10-03
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Situations)
Genre: DOCUMENTARY
Director: Larry Charles
Cast: Bill Maher
Since 1997, Titanic fans have been yearning for a re-teaming of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Revolutionary Road is the opportunity they have awaited, but the results may cause as much distress as joy. Directed by Winslet's husband, Sam Men...
U.S. Release Date: 2008-12-25
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Situations, Nudity)
Genre: DRAMA
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, ...
It's time to start looking back at 2008. This year, I'll start this three-part series with a look at screen nudity. Before getting to the specifics, let me establish some parameters and provide a few definitions. For the purposes of this column, I'...