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For a movie like Here, which eschews the norms of narrative filmmaking in favor of something experimental, the first question to ask is whether the story, stripped bare of the director’s approach, is worth telling. The second question is whether...

I don’t know whether co-writer/director Brett Haley developed The Hero with Sam Elliott in mind but, regardless, the fit is perfect. A character actor best known for appearing in Westerns, Elliott made himself a recognizable fixture on TV an...

Few working directors display the versatility of Richard Linklater. Equally comfortable making high-concept art films, experimental outings designed for mass consumption, and multiplex-friendly fare, Linklater has brought to the screen projects as...

Low, gray clouds scud across the sky while the grass of a seemingly-endless plain ripples in response to the prompting of a spring breeze. Thunder rumbles in the distance. On another day, a bright sun gazes down on those same fields while cattl...

Hostage represents Bruce Willis' latest attempt to produce a thriller with the kind of broad appeal exhibited by his most successful big-screen endeavor, Die Hard. The largest potential drawback to enjoying this movie is getting past some of the p...

To the extent that How Green Was My Valley is remembered, its reputation is rooted in infamy. At the 1942 Oscars, it overcame the competition to take home the Best Picture trophy. That competition included Citizen Kane, which has become widely ac...

What would an after school special look like if it was made by the producers of Fear Factor? Although it's hard to say for sure, How to Eat Fried Worms provides a reasonable approximation. Despite being based on a popular children's book, the mot...

What were they thinking?To anyone who was a fan of the original 1970s run of the comic book (written by Steve Gerber and drawn primarily by Gene Colan), it seemed unlikely that a live-action film could recapture the absurd zaniness that the creato...

With Hugo, Martin Scorsese has accomplished what few in Hollywood are willing to try: make a movie for adults that arrives without sex, violence, or profanity and earns a PG-rating. It's a fairy tale for mature viewers, but the airy exterior hides ...

Somewhere, buried within the innards of writer/director Kim Nguyen’s The Hummingbird Project, is the skeleton of a compelling techno-thriller. Unfortunately, Nguyen overreaches in attempting to add an element of meaning to what works best a...