Charlie St. Cloud: Sailing Takes Me Away
Sometimes being a film critic means being a straight guy who spends hours pondering the meaning of Zac Efron. It’s not that bad, actually....
The Kids Are All Right: Laser Has Two Mommies
When I heard that Annette Bening and Julianne Moore were playing a lesbian couple in a movie, I thought, “That sounds like it’ll work.”...
Dinner for Schmucks: American Idiot
Maybe the best part of Dinner for Schmucks is the opening credit sequence. It shows the construction of an elaborate diorama, depicting a daytime...
Los Angeles Thames
Even over the phone, Jay Thames is a massive presence. He has a sandblaster of a voice, and his words come tumbling out with...
I Can See Cleary Now: Ramona and Beezus
The shadow of America’s recession hangs heavily over Ramona and Beezus. Wow, that’s a portentous opening sentence. It’s true, though — the very first...
Inception Puts You in a Sleeper Hold
It’s often said that movies don’t obey the logic of the real world but the logic of dreams. Take Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight...
Your Mom Loves You Too Much, Cyrus
If you’ve had your fill of comedies that feature men who are unable or unwilling to grow up, you should really check out Cyrus....
Winter’s Bone: Welcome to the Dolly House
Certain movies inspire my fellow film critics to throw the word “authentic” around. This is a wobbly concept to begin with when talking about...
Despicable Me: One to Gru On
The trailer for Inception has caused a stir in movieland by being mysterious and not giving away too much of the movie’s plot. Well,...
Eclipse: Lady Ante Bella
The Twilight movies have frustrated me, not because they’re made out of junk but for the opposite reason. Stephenie Meyer’s mega-selling series of novels...
