Movies with music written by John Debney

While many movies claim to be based on true stories, Dreamer takes it one step further. The film's official name is Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story. The word "inspired" allows a lot of creative license. In fact, very little of what happens in ...

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...

Many times, it is possible to make a snap determination about a movie based on its trailer. Happily, in the case of The Emperor's New Groove, any such judgment is likely to be in error. That's because the trailer makes the movie seem like one of ...

Finally, a 2007 sequel that's demonstrably better than its predecessor! Alas, considering how bad Bruce Almighty was, that's damning with faint praise. The central problem with Evan Almighty is that the filmmakers pack too much plot into what sho...

The typical Garry Marshall film (Pretty Woman, Raising Helen) can be classified by a few words: contrived, insipid, and predictable. Georgia Rule, while not the worst work Marshall has done, is a limp misfire. There are moments during the course ...

In style, if not substance, The Greatest Showman is reminiscent of the Disney film, Newsies. Like the 1992 live-action musical, The Greatest Showman comes to life when the characters are singing or dancing but struggles through the sequences i...

An interesting question occasioned by the release of Hannah Montana: The Movie is whether the motion picture incarnation of the popular TV show is catching the backend of the pop phenomenon wave. Certainly, when the 3D Miley Cyrus concert movie wa...

It's 1693 and a trio of witches (Winifred, played by Bette Midler; Sarah, played by Sarah Jessica Parker; and Mary, played by Kathy Najimy) are preparing a spell that will ensure them immortality and eternal youth. However, before the magic is...

Home Again, Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s contribution to the dying romantic comedy genre, isn’t likely to cause an instant revival. Artificial and reeking of white privilege, this is the kind of movie that causes regular folks to shake their head...

One of the most depressing movie-going experiences I can think of is to sit through about 90 minutes of a so-called "comedy" and not laugh once. Unfortunately, that is becoming an all-too-common occurrence. Rob Schneider's The Hot Chick is the mo...