Search for John

Reduced to its essence, David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method is little more than an historical romantic tragedy. Since the film's three principals were pioneers in the field of psychotherapy, it goes without saying there's a lot of dialogue about ...

In the movies, like in real life, it isn't enough just to have a heart in the right place. Good intentions are nice, but they need to be backed up by an intelligent script telling an involving story. In the case of Dangerous Minds, we get an idea...

Where are the flying cows when you really need them? Dante's Peak is obviously predicated on the dubious idea that bigger is better. 1996's Twister brought in hundreds of millions at the box office by showcasing relatively small (if something s...

In the Pantheon of Marvel Comics superheroes, Daredevil is more of a demi-god than a full-blown deity. He's a notch below Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, The Hulk, and The X-Men. 20th Century Fox has acknowledged this when determining Daredevil's...

For longtime fans of the X-Men comic books, “The Dark Phoenix Saga” has been the Holy Grail. As crafted by Chris Claremont and John Byrne (with an assist from Dave Cockrum), the epic narrative, which was a major element of The Uncanny X-Me...

Pity poor Eliza (Hope Davis). On the surface, her family seems normal. She lives with her husband, Luis (Stanley Tucci), in a nice, Long Island home only a short distance from her parents' house. Under that roof are her mom, Rita (Anne Meara), ...

Dear John delivers pretty much what one would expect from an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel: a high-profile downer of a Harlequin romance. There's a market for this sort of movie, which lays it on thick and does everything possible to make ...

Death Sentence is Death Wish for the 2000s. However, in place of the slow-burn intensity of Charles Bronson, we have the guilt-riddled stylings of Kevin Bacon. It's easy enough to guess at what director James Wan was trying for with Death Sentenc...

Watching The Debt, I was reminded of how entertaining a well-executed Cold War thriller can be. Although elements of this movie, based on the 2007 Israeli film Ha-Hov, have a kinship to Steven Spielberg's Munich, the overall thrust is more in line ...

Christmas movies like this are enough to turn one into a Grinch or at least make one wish that the filmmakers would get a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Future. Why it is so hard to make a decent Christmas comedy? Not every movie has to be on ...