Movies starring Dan

Note: some spoilers discussing differences between the book and movie.I’ll admit to being disappointed by the newest adaptation of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild. The motion capture technology that creates a dog out of the efforts of a...

Spoiler Alert! Nothing overt but I hint at some plot developments that some readers may not want to know about until after they’ve seen the movie. Depends on your concerns about a “virgin movie-going experience.” Despite the name...

Captain Underpants (or, to use the full, far-too-long title, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie) gets the summer’s animated roster off to a low-key start. The first of four high profile big-screen cartoons to grace theaters over the n...

When it comes to movies, I am not a crusader. Rarely do I find the content of a motion picture objectionable on ethical grounds. Then again, films as morally repugnant as Captivity don't come along too often (thankfully). There is no requirement...

Writer/director Paul Schrader makes moody, low-budget movies about isolated people. While his highly regarded reputation as a screenwriter is deserved (he wrote, among other titles, Raging Bull and Taxi Driver), his directorial resume is checke...

When Pierce Brosnan took over the role of James Bond for Goldeneye, much was made about how the franchise was being "modernized." In reality, the only apparent changes were cosmetic. Brosnan's 007 was easily connected to the character previously p...

Center Stage proves that all the sports movie cliches can be as successfully applied to ballet as to baseball, basketball, football, boxing, ice skating, skateboarding, karate, etc. With a plot that is constructed entirely out of formula situation...

Spoiler Note: The review reveals the name of a couple of high profile actors who make cameo appearances. I think these are supposed to be surprises, although they’re inconsequential. Nevertheless, if you don’t want to know, don’t re...

Despite being blessed with well-designed period sets and top-tier acting, this collaboration between Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes and director Michael Engler fails to take flight. I’m not one who normally issues demerits for a slow p...

Chaplin is Sir Richard Attenborough's account of the life and times of film great Charlie Chaplin. The story picks up in 1894, when Charlie is five, and lasts until 1972, five years before his death in 1977. Along the way, Attenborough gives us g...