Movies starring Zooey Deschanel

Lately, comedies seem to come in two flavors: profane raunch-fests that seek to garner laughs via shock tactics and big-screen sit-coms. Despite Zooey Deschanel's repeated utterance of the word "fuck" and a dud of a threesome, Our Idiot Brother fal...

When assessing the small motion picture sub-genre of the "fantasy comedy," it's necessary to acknowledge that the impregnable pinnacle is occupied by Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride, a classic whose prominence may never be challenged. Your Highnes...

(500) Days of Summer is a romantic comedy for those who don't often like romantic comedies. Or, to put it another way, it's for those who appreciate the emotions but are unenthusiastic about the clichés and formulas that contribute to the cookie-...

Gigantic is an offbeat romantic comedy that almost - but not quite - works. The characters and situations are a little too quirky for their own good. Everyone is skewed off-center and, while that can be charming in small measures, Gigantic overdo...

Elf is being hailed in some quarters as the next great Christmas classic. The people making such a pronouncement must have seen a different cut of the movie than the one shown to me. Elf is a feather-light motion picture that embraces the Christm...

Bridge to Terabithia is an example of a movie that does not deliver what the marketing campaign promises. Instead, it delivers something richer and more meaningful. Disney, in its infinite wisdom, is trying to make the film look like a watered do...

By now, I'm tired of penguins. After Madagascar, March of the Penguins, and Happy Feet, it's time to move on to some new species of beast or fowl. Yet I must admit that of the four recent penguin-centered movies, Surf's Up is the most entertaining...

One of the longest films of the fall (both in terms of title length and running length) is The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It seems every bit as long or longer than its 160 minutes. Parts of the movie are brilliant in a ...

Winter Passing is a classic example of a pedestrian motion picture being lifted out of mediocrity by an arresting lead performance. Zooey Deschanel doesn't just elevate Winter Passing; she carries it. There are other things to be said in favor of...

All the Real Girls is an anti-Hollywood romance; a tonic for all those weary of the usual cinematic overglamorization of love. Anchored deep in the bowels of reality, this movie proves that love can be just as affecting and effectively realized wh...