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Body of Lies is an adult thriller with such a high narrative density that even a brief trip to the restroom may result in key plot points being lost. The film is the antithesis of a slick, superficial feature like Eagle Eye. It both demands and re...

The Boys in the Boat is an old-fashioned, uplifting story about the triumph of underdogs. The film radiates the same level of classiness often associated with its director, George Clooney. Sentimental without being saccharine, this based-on-histor...

Warning: This review contains spoilers.The word “epic” is thrown around carelessly when discussing motion pictures. With its sprawling tapestry and mini-series length, Edward Yang’s obscure (at least in the West) 1991 gangster drama, A Br...

Bucking the summer movie empty spectacle approach, Captain Fantastic is about something. Despite the title, which might stir images of a superhero story, this is a human drama about the bonds that hold and sever families and the conflict between two ...

The scenario presented in Captive State would almost certainly have worked better in a mini-series format. The filmmakers’ low-budget approach of minimizing special effects might have allowed for an expansion of the narrative over a six or ei...

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...

Carnage is a French dark comedy made with an A-list cast and filmed in English. Adapted from the play God of Carnage by the play's scribe, Yasmina Reza, and director Roman Polanski, Carnage makes no attempt to "open up" the stage production. With t...

What happens when movie producers cross Three's Company with Masterpiece Theater? The result would be similar to what Touchstone Pictures has provided with Casanova, a farcical romantic comedy period piece. It's worth noting that producing a farc...

Watching Cheri, I felt like someone had turned back the clock by about 15 years. The early-to-mid-1990s were a fertile time for literate, lavish adaptations of period piece literature, with frequent destinations being Europe between the early-1800...

The average movie about the abortion debate tends to be preachy, melodramatic, and unbearably solemn. So, it comes as something of a shock that the latest venture to the front line of the pro-life/pro-choice battle is actually a comedy. Director/...