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Sunshine Cleaning

There has been much discussion and debate recently about the simplistic and juvenile handling of characters in female-oriented motion pictures, with perhaps Confessions of a Shopaholic being the poster child for what's wrong with many of these movi...

Run Time: 1:30
U.S. Release Date: 2009-03-13
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Situations)
Genre: COMEDY/DRAMA
Director: Christine Jeffs
Cast: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, ...
Swing Vote

In the past, it has been difficult to get the public interested in political films. This is especially true of younger viewers who are not old enough to participate in the voting process. 2008 may be different, however, with the "rock star" candi...

Run Time: 1:59
U.S. Release Date: 2008-08-01
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity)
Genre: DRAMA/COMEDY
Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Cast: Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, Paula Patton, ...
Synecdoche, New York

With Charlie Kaufman, the writer of such movies as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, one expects something weird and wonderful. So it will come as no surprise that "weird" is an apt descriptor for Synecdo...

Run Time: 2:05
U.S. Release Date: 2008-10-24
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Situations, Nudity)
Genre: COMEDY/DRAMA
Director: Charlie Kaufman
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, ...
Taken

If there are any 24 fans who have wondered what the TV series might be like if Liam Neeson replaced Kiefer Sutherland, Taken provides an opportunity to have that question answered. Neeson's Bryan Mills uses nearly all the Jack Bauer tactics, inclu...

Run Time: 1:33
U.S. Release Date: 2009-01-30
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Situations)
Genre: THRILLER
Director: Pierre Morel
Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, ...
Tale of Despereaux, The

As animated films go, The Tale of Despereaux represents adequate family entertainment. The quality is nowhere near the level we have come to expect from Pixar but, since there are no Pixar films in theaters this time of year, The Tale of Despereau...

Run Time: 1:30
U.S. Release Date: 2008-12-19
MPAA Rating: "G"
Genre: ANIMATED
Director: Sam Fell, Robert Stevenhagen
Cast: (voices) Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, ...

Tradition dictates that "Best of" and "Worst of" lists should appear in late December, so as to capture the entire year's worth of films. In honor of the U.S. Thanksgiving (where the turkey is the traditional meat), I'm going to be pre-emptive this ...

Traitor

Traitor is an uncommonly intelligent espionage thriller that explores the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by agents who go deep undercover in the service of their country. For movies that revolve around terrorist organizations and acts, there a...

Run Time: 1:55
U.S. Release Date: 2008-08-27
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity, Mature Themes)
Genre: THRILLER
Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Cast: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Neal McDonough, ...
Transporter 3

The Transporter movies remind me of the Bond films of the '70s and '80s, in which each new installment tried to one-up its predecessor in terms of inventive and outrageous action set pieces. Without a doubt, Transporter 3 offers more innovative wa...

Run Time: 1:40
U.S. Release Date: 2008-11-26
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Sexual Situations)
Genre: ACTION
Director: Olivier Megaton
Cast: Jason Statham, Natalya Rudakova, Robert Knepper, ...
Tropic Thunder

Just when it was starting to look like the concept of a "funny comedy" has gone out of vogue, along comes Pineapple Express and its cinematic cousin, Tropic Thunder. The latter film, which has emerged from the warped mind of Ben Stiller, is a litt...

Run Time: 1:46
U.S. Release Date: 2008-08-13
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drugs)
Genre: COMEDY/ACTION
Director: Ben Stiller
Cast: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., ...
Twilight

In a statement that borders on the obvious, this review is not being written for the legions of loyal fans who have made Stephanie Meyer's novel Twilight the most popular piece of young adult literature to come along since Harry Potter left Hogwart...

Run Time: 2:02
U.S. Release Date: 2008-11-21
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Sexual Situations)
Genre: ROMANCE/HORROR
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, ...