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One phrase - perhaps the best-known one from any 1987 release - encapsulates a critical component of '80s culture that once again crept to the fore in the late-'00s. I am, of course, referring to Gorden Gekko's "Greed… is good." A vice transfor...

Robert De Niro has made his share of nearly-unwatchable comedies so, although it’s tempting to say The War with Grandpa is the worst, I can’t say that definitively. It is, however, bad enough to deserve consideration for that dubious disti...

Consider it Free Willy with the Loch Ness Monster. It's that kind of family-friendly movie - one that focuses on the friendship between a lonely boy and an animal. In this case, the animal happens to grow up to become Nessie. The story is clever...

By the late 1950s and early 1960s, the musical had become one of the most popular motion picture genres. The list of past hits was impressive, including titles like Singin' in the Rain, South Pacific, The King and I, Oklahoma!, An American in Pari...

Until recently re-watching it, I had forgotten how funny What’s Up Doc? is. The combination of Peter Bogdanovich’s pacing, Buck Henry’s humor, and the actors’ comedic timing makes for one of the funniest outings of the 1970s. Moreover, ...

Whip It, the directorial debut of actress Drew Barrymore, is a sports film that uneasily straddles the divide that exists between comedy and drama. Built upon a mountain of clichés, the screenplay wallows in artificiality and, although some of th...

As a satire about the absurdity of war and the way the news media covers it, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot has surprisingly dull fangs. Coming from Lorne Michaels and Tina Fey, this is especially surprising since neither is known for pulling punches. Neverth...

One reasonable way to judge a romantic comedy is to ask how strong a rooting interest the viewer has in the coupling that is destined to occur at the end of the film. In Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, the desire is lukewarm. The central flaw here...

If all it took was verisimilitude and atmosphere to define a movie, The Witch would earn a near-perfect rating. Unfortunately, despite a creepily effective setting and authentic setup, the movie suffers as a result of a frustratingly uneven screenpla...