Like the boy that shares its name, the Harry Potter series stumbled from the gate, saddled not entirely unexpectedly with inexperience and immaturity. But then, as with the boy, something truly wonderful—even magical—happened. It grew into something to be immensely, colossally, button-poppingly proud of. Unlike nearly every adaptation Hollywood produces, the Harry Potter films, taken [...]

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Kung Fu Panda 2 is disappointing only because it is not the original Kung Fu Panda, a rare animated action-packed adventure that managed to delight adult filmgoers as well as kids not by injecting sophisticated humor but by making a story of a fat Panda bear incontestably exciting. The second entry in the trilogy (this [...]

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A version of this review first appeared in The Colorado Springs Gazette. To read this review at its original source, click here.
Following the Red Riding Hood screening, I expressed my feelings about the film to a colleague who was lucky enough to have been otherwise occupied. “Was it really that bad?” she asked. “Bad?” I [...]

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