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Anomalisa offers evidence that animated films are not necessarily the sole province of children. In fact, this one isn’t even designed for all adults. Charlie Kaufman has always been something of an acquired taste. Anomalisa highlights Kaufman at h...

If the goal of Bel Ami was to capture a fleeting flavor of Dangerous Liaisons, the intention should be deemed a failure. Based on Guy de Maupassant's 1885 novel, Bel Ami is the meandering, unfocused tale of the rise of an unprincipled opportunist i...

In the history of motion pictures, there has never been a more romanticized couple then Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. When it was revealed that their sizzling on-screen chemistry had an off-screen component, they became the biggest story ...

In the past few years, CGI animated films have fallen into a depressing rut. The objective has become getting a product out the door rather than taking the time and effort to produce something memorable. The result has been a generic, formulaic m...

The Golden Compass, the long awaited cinematic adaptation of Philip Pullman's well-respected novel, is an adequate but not inspired translation of the source material. Writer/director Chris Weitz (one of the American Pie guys) brings a style that i...

The mention of Pinocchio generally stirs up memories of the 1940 Disney animated feature, which (at the time) was the greatly anticipated follow-up to 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Today, Disney’s Pinocchio is regarded as one of the...

In 1998, Bobby and Peter Farrelly pushed the raunchy comedy envelope with their breakout hit, There's Something about Mary. Since then, two things have changed: the Farrelly Brothers have become softer (Exhibit A: their PG-13 2005 romantic comedy, ...

In late 1978, a small horror film opened in Bowling Green, Kentucky (before moving on to Chicago and New York City) that would change the face of the genre. Initially dismissed by many serious critics as unworthy of attention or praise, the motion...

It has often perplexed me why there have been relatively few fantasy adventure animated films. With their mix of monsters, magic, and heroism, they would seem to be an ideal fit to captivate the imaginations of children and adults alike. Putting asid...

I approached Love Hurts with modest expectations. The well-worn concept – that of a retired assassin forced back into action to save the woman he loves – feels like a high-floor/low-ceiling concept: the kind of thing that’s never going t...