Search for 2008

Cadillac Records, while not a "musical" in the traditional sense, is close to 50% musical content and 50% drama. Accordingly, it's about 50% good and 50% bad. The re-creations of some of the most noteworthy blues and early rock tunes from the '50...

Clint Eastwood's Changeling falls into a common trap: by trying to do too much, it accomplishes too little. If the film feels overstuffed and poorly focused, that's because the screenplay, credited to Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, atte...

What potentially could have been the greatest asset possessed by Che - its unapologetic length - turns into its greatest detriment. One frequent complaint about cinematic biopics is that too much condensation is required and, as a result, key aspe...

Sometimes, the conversion of a novel into a movie can result in a loss or diminution of the author's tone or the book's characters. With Choke, director Clark Gregg has maintained writer Chuck Palahniuk's voice but the men and women populating the...

Christmas movies and dysfunctional families go together like hands and gloves. Whether a comedy or a drama, from the absurd to the sublime, Christmas trees are often coupled with family divisions. While films like National Lampoon's Christmas Vaca...

For the second installment of The Chronicles of Narnia, director Andrew Adamson has caught a severe case of Lord of the Rings-itis. While the 2005 adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe kept close to the tone of the book, Prince Caspia...

City of Ember has almost anything one could want from a science fiction-based family adventure film: likeable characters, an imaginative setting, and a fast pace. The third item on that list is notable. Recognizing that children often have limite...

The average American production about teachers and students invariably turns into an inspirational melodrama in which some great life lesson is imparted. All of these movies - from Dead Poets Society to Mr. Holland's Opus to Dangerous Minds to Fre...

Cloverfield is to the monster movie as The Blair Witch Project was to the ghost story. This movie is going to divide audiences. There are those who will be unable to endure nearly 90 minutes of constantly moving hand-held camerawork. Some will e...

The premise underlying The Curious Case of Benjamin Button might sound more appropriate for a science fiction tale than a meditative drama. Indeed, the concept of a man aging backward has formed the basis for more than one sci-fi tinged story - fr...