As good as any of the Best Picture nominees, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES may be the best movie of 2009. Brilliatnly acted and directed. Part crime drama, part love story, it all works and completely engages the audience. And i dare anyone to admit they saw the twist coming. It's too well done to … Continue reading THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES

The original Swedish title of this grim murder mystery is Men Who Hate Women. They weren't kidding! Rape, savage beatings, strangulations, asphyxiations, and videotaped perversion -- not to mention anti- Semitic Nazi serial killings... THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is well-done, if long and bleak, with a large cast of characters who may leave … Continue reading THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Bullets, bombs & a bazooka! Anyone expecting anything more is among THE LOSERS who didn't like this movie. It was everything I expected after seeing the trailer. Sure there are plot holes you could fly a Huey through, but who cares? Morgan channels his inner Holden and the rest of The Losers are great. Jason … Continue reading THE LOSERS

I don't know how much Disney paid these sea creatures for their cooperation, but the performances! Scene after scene of jaw-dropping, how'd-they-do-that camerawork, with the animals patiently waiting for their close-up or tracking shot or cue to do something dazzling. It's shamelessly anthropomorphic, but the eco-threat message is lightly handled and there's mercifully little predator-gobbles-prey … Continue reading OCEANS

Forgettable fun with acting that doesn't quite rise to the outsize requirements. Save one performance: where the heck has Jason Patrick been all these years? His "Mr. Big"-style villain crackles with malice, so it's good he'll be around for THE LOSERS 2 (?). That said, an unrecognizable Chris Evans is likable and Jeffrey Dean Morgan … Continue reading THE LOSERS

If you take a DATE to this unfunny comedy, expect her to call it an early NIGHT. How can they take two talented people like Fey & Carell and put them in this stinker. There are maybe six laughs in the whole thing. What a waste of time and money. Filled with boring cliches. Two … Continue reading DATE NIGHT

James Marsden and Martin Lawrence are the only sparks of life in this flatliner. Intriguing as it may have sounded, Neil LaBute was the wrong choice to direct given his inability to get good performances out of a killer cast. The comic timing is all wrong, punchlines are misdelivered, and it even gets sappy although … Continue reading DEATH AT A FUNERAL

It takes a long time to get going, the pacing is sluggish, and it goes on forever. The lead is weak and Nicolas Cage is in his annoyingly affected mode. One of the movie's principal running gags is an 11- year-old girl who says "fuck" and "cunt" and kills people, which is unfunny, forced, and … Continue reading KICK-ASS

Ultra-violent & ultra funny. This is a movie that lives up to its name. KICK-ASS kicks ass! There isn't a false note. It all works, even the touchy-feely moments add to the story because they are punctuated with laughs & bullets. Summer movie season starts right now & all that follow be prepared, because KICK-ASS … Continue reading KICK-ASS

It's Avatar under the Wild Palms, although nowhere near as clever as the latter and of course not as ravishing as the former. The premise of SURROGATES is enough to keep you entertained yet at the same time wishing it didn't seem patched together from so many other creepy- world-of-the-future movies. Willis does what's necessary, … Continue reading SURROGATES