Milk is magnificent. It is a phenomenal triumph in every conceivable way. Intellectually compelling and emotionally heartrending, the film is one of the most profound and inspiring presentations of an American political leader I have ever seen.

[Read more →]

They just don’t make movies like Australia anymore. And we are all the better for it. Confusing schmaltz for genuine emotion and aesthetics for legitimate art, Australia is what you get when the film projector overheats and the only thing that comes out is pure corn syrup.

[Read more →]

When I recently described the plot of the Scandinavian film, Let the Right One In to a friend, her response was, “It sounds just like Twilight.” Suppressing a shudder, I replied that it was nothing like the juvenile, canned ham that constituted last week’s screen adaptation of the popular novel about teenaged bloodsuckers. Let the [...]

[Read more →]

One thing’s for sure: Vince Vaughn is no Scrooge. The increasingly doughy star must love Christmas. He hasn’t graced a film since this time last year in the ridiculous Fred Claus. Now he’s back in Four Christmases, a holiday offering that is the cinematic equivalent of candy cane. They have no nutritional value whatsoever, and [...]

[Read more →]

Forget everything you may have heard about Twilight being The Lost Boys for the 21st century. Forget the gushing adulation of the hordes of teenage girls (and not a few adults) lining up to see their favorite novel transported to the big screen. While there hasn’t been this sort of mob devotion since the first [...]

[Read more →]

The inelegantly titled Quantum of Solace is both the leanest and the meanest James Bond film ever made. At 105 minutes, it’s the shortest of the series, but is so bloated with breathless, high-speed action sequences that neither your pocketbook nor your watch will feel cheated. Dark and humorless, Quantum of Solace is devoid of [...]

[Read more →]

This is an abridged version of a review I wrote for Christianity Today Movies. To read the rest of this review, click here.
Good luck pinning Danny Boyle down. The director of such wildly divergent films as Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Millions and Sunshine chews through genres the way some actors chew through scenery. Yet in [...]

[Read more →]

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is a worthy, if inconsequential sequel to its 2005 frontrunner. While still high on laughs, this revisit throws in a lot more “drama,” diluting some of the fun factor that drove the original.

[Read more →]

Role Models is like a comfortable old sweater. It may be somewhat threadbare and out of fashion, but you wear it because it’s familiar and snug and makes you feel cozy.

[Read more →]