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The Jane Austen Book Club is an example of how a movie can follow the general plot of a book yet fail to capture the spirit. The problem is a simple one to identify: much of the enjoyment derived from Karen Joy Fowler's novel comes from the way in...

Every time audiences are presented with a reasonably well-made serial killer movie, they line up for it. Why? Human beings are irresistibly fascinated by the lurid, the horrifying, and the depraved, and what could be more attention-grabbing than ...

The Lost City is probably best viewed as a romantic comedy spiced by adventure elements rather than the other way around. Regardless, it’s passably sweet entertainment but, just as it’s unlikely to stick in the craw, it won’t hold a place in...

It’s one of the oldest stories in the book – a mismatched pair, thrown together out of necessity, fight their way through a series of complications to find redemption and discover that their experiences have created a powerful bond between...

Martian Child wants to make us cry. It nearly made me gag. This is an exercise in shameless and inept emotional manipulation. The film doesn't try to hide what it's doing. If you don't cry, it hasn't worked. There's not a single genuine human e...

I think that if I had a deeper connection to the He-Man universe, I might have reacted more positively to the 2026 Masters of the Universe. It's apparent to me, even as an outsider, that there's a whole lotta fan service going on. Too much, in fac...

It's an axiom that if a group of teenagers ventures into the woods during the course of a motion picture, something bad is going to happen. Mean Creek is evidence that there are times when even the most uninspired clichés can result in compelling...

When it comes to using dialogue as a mechanism to drive a movie, few (not named David Mamet) are better than Aaron Sorkin with his rat-a-tat-tat approach and ability to craft monologues as living things. After having had a hand in writing some...

Moneyball illustrates what can happen when a non-fiction book that's more about ideas and processes is translated into a feature film. There's a lot of fascinating information in Moneyball (although, to be fair, it's questionable how much interest...

There's something a little annoying about a movie that tries this shamelessly to be endearing and family friendly. Typically, these kinds of films feature Santa Claus in a significant role. Here, there is no Santa but there is a 243-year old guy ...