James Ward Byrkit completes his journey from storyboard artist (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) to story man (Rango) to writer-director with this overextended but mostly enjoyable trip into the Twilight Zone. (The writing is sharp and clear; the direction tends toward jittery-jumpy, with frequent fades to black thrown …
Arrogant rookie reporter Ben Sheperd (Shia LaBeouf) sets out to make history by exposing a former member of the Weather Underground, currently on the run from the law for a murder he allegedly committed 30 years ago. Nick Sloan (Redford) apparently learned more from watching action movies than his time …
Home-style sci-fi about the rise of the nerds, and easily the best time you will have watching black and white video-quality footage on the big screen this year. Also, quite possibly the feel-icky movie of the summer. Computer Chess tells the story of an early-'80s computer chess convention in San …
From a cast and crew of virtual unknowns — only producer Rose Troche (Go Fish) rang a bell — comes a curious quest to restore passion. A youngster accidentally beans one of his two mommies with a ball and the shock of the impact is enough to engender a lifestyle …
In the decades since Linda Blair first hocked up a pea-soup facial, Hollywood xerographers have found in demonic possession a perennial cash absorber. Director James Wan (Saw, Insidious) stylishly resists the easy temptation of schlock-shocks and CGI as a means of supplanting storytelling. For its its first hour, this fact-based …
"I've seen it all, counselor," intones worldly-wise dealmaker Brad Pitt. "It's all shit." This is very close to the point of The Counselor. Pretty shit, pricey shit, exciting shit, lovable shit, even enduring shit - but still shit. The counterargument, to the extent that one is offered, is so brief …
Nicolas Cage is a caveman daddy trying to deal with Modern Youth. That is all.
Easy Rider for a decadent generation, Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus and 2012 is a smart but sour South American road movie that doesn't know what to do with its drug-fueled revelations. Say this for star Michael Cera — he's willing to play unlikable. Here, he's Jamie, an ill-mannered …
Documentary about married artists Ushio and Noriko Shinohara.
Matthew McConaughey plays a bag-of-bones, good ol' boy piece of sex-addled trailer trash who has the misfortune to bang the wrong (female) intravenous drug-user (HIV+) in the wrong way (sans condom) in the wrong place (darkest Texas) at the wrong time (the panicked, unmedicated '80s). Suddenly, he's cast out among …
A mere 23 years after his last feature, Chilean surrealist Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, The Holy Mountain) returns to the screen, older and yes, possibly wiser. The loony-goony visuals are still in play, but there's a sympathy for the audience, a desire to put things to good and even meaningful …
Aw, the folks behind Insidious and Sinister seem to have gotten away from the ol' title formula for this one. What about Malevolent? Foreboding? Malcontented? Anyway, this is a scary movie with supernatural elements.
Reader critic Scott Marks calls it a great modern noir!
In the hands of crackerjack conjurer Ricky Jay, a deck of playing cards holds the same potential threat as a ninja warrior’s throwing stars. Many remember Jay’s card-flinging act on Merv or the Carson show, while others know him as David Mamet’s good-luck charm. This mesmerizing documentary follows Jay as …
Ken Scott's Canadian comedy Starbuck made enough money stateside to earn him a seat in the director's chair for this subtitle-free rehash. Who better than beefy Vince Vaughn to star as a professional sperm donor who falls victim to a class action lawsuit brought against him by hundreds of the …