Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio and Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) joined forces to make Revolutionary Road, a drama that flew under the radar in December 2008 and received lukewarm reviews from critics, despite being one of the best of the year. This emotional and shocking tale will be available on DVD this coming Tuesday, June 2, 2009. (more…)

The wizards at Pixar have done it again. Up, their 2009 entry for Best Animated Film of the Year, is, undoubtedly, going to be the Best Animated Film of the Year. Funny, emotional, exciting and intelligent, this one will once again leave the teams at DreamWorks Animation and Fox Studios drinking away their nights in disgust at the prospect that once again their work will be overshadowed by a superior product.

Up, from the director of Monsters, Inc. and the writers of Wall-E and Ratatouille, two of the best animated films ever, is about an old man named Carl Fredricksen, who, facing eviction from his quaint little home that is the last barrier to a major construction project, decides to set out on the adventure he always dreamed of: to go see Paradise Falls (a la Angel Falls) in South America. Of course, unwilling to let people tear down his house, he does this via an unconventional way by attaching thousands of helium balloons, uprooting his foundation and floating away, with the creature comforts of his own living room intact. Too bad the chubby, annoying Boy Scout is stuck on his deck.

Read the rest of our Up movie review.

First there was Paul Blart, and then there was Taken. It was only January 2009, and we had two major – and surprise – hits on our hands. I remember when I first watched the movie preview for Taken, the Liam Neeson-starring thriller that looks and feels a lot like a B-grade version of The Bourne Identity. The movie looked cool – I was interested in seeing it – but my initial reaction was that no one else would, the studio would give it little promotion and it would open to around $8 million and fade into obscurity shortly thereafter. (more…)

A lot of people shrugged off Valkyrie due to the presence of Tom Cruise, his American accent while portraying a German and the eye patch he wears throughout much of the picture. Then again, not that many people shrugged it off, as the Nazi film went on to make $200 million worldwide, proving that despite the star’s antics over the last few years, he is still a box office threat. (more…)

Many times, second chances are not an option, but in the case of Ron Howard and Tom Hanks, the two were granted an golden opportunity to make amends for the dismal thriller The Da Vinci Code, which was a box office hit but, understandably, a critical dud. A fan of the book, the movie was dull, slowly paced and cheesy, and left my interest in a sequel, based on the Dan Brown book Angels & Demons, immensely low.

But Hollywood doesn’t look at the demand posed by one Erik Samdahl. If they would, they would have made Ender’s Game by now. But that’s an argument for another day, another time.

Read the rest of the Angels & Demons movie review.

Dustin Hoffman hasn’t done much of note in recent years, but he storms his way back onto the scene in a big way with Last Chance Harvey, a touching, mesmerizing romantic drama that also stars Emma Thompson.

Hoffman stars as the title character, a struggling ad musician who has traveled to London for his daughter’s wedding. Having grown apart from his daughter in recent years, he finds that he has very little to talk about with her, his family and everyone else, and when he does, he typically embarrasses himself. But on the day of the wedding, he learns that his daughter prefers to have her stepdad give her away – and that he’s been fired. As most would do, he hits the bars and forms an unlikely friendship with a standoffish woman named Kate. They spend the rest of the day together and a relationship is formed, but is what they have together real?

Read the rest of the Last Chance Harvey movie review.

Dakota Fanning headlines the controversial drama Hounddog, a movie best known for featuring a rape scene of the young actress. Directed by Deborah Kampmeier, Hounddog features strong acting and a good screenplay, but it fades in the end as it fails to get to the point.

Hounddog is about a young girl named Lewellen (Fanning), who has become quite independent over the years as her father (David Morse) skips town from time to time, effectively leaving her to fend for herself. One day, though, her dad is struck by lightning, turning him into a mental cripple. Aided by her grandmother, Lewellen takes to caring for him, even though her real aspirations are to meet Elvis. But in her desperation to get tickets, her innocence is stolen, her future apparently shattered.

Read the rest of the Hounddog movie review.

There are many movies that have been released over the years where sequels make sense. That doesn’t mean they need sequels, but you can see how it’ll work. A sequel to Donnie Darko, however, never crossed my mind.

Donnie Darko, one of the most unique, intriguing, mind-bending and debate-invigorating films of the 21st century, is one of my favorite movies. The film, though it was never a box office hit, has become a cult classic, solidified Jake Gyllenhaal as a leading man and is just one damn fine film. It is also a movie with a satisfying ending… an ending where the title character dies to save the world. (more…)

The answer is no, but not by much. Sony had to be a little nervous when looking at Saturday’s numbers (to get Sunday’s box office estimates), as Angelys & Demons polishes up with only $48 million, only $5 million ahead of near-repeat offender Star Trek. One can only presume that Sony’s estimates were $1-2 million overeager to ensure they could say their film was #1, but regardless, it can lay claim to such a title. (more…)

Ah,Wolverine. Where does one begin? This movie was just plain awful, and the more I think about it, the more I hate it. It’s sad when such a movie exists that I would rather watch X-Men 3 ten times over before seeing this stinker again, and X-Men 3 was no walk in the park.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine continues its downward slide, falling another 44% to earn $14.8 million this weekend. To put it another way, despite opening $10 million higher and a week earlier, its $151 million domestic box office take is only $4 million higher than that of Star Trek, and it will be surpassed and left in the dust midweek. Had Fox and Marvel actually devoted some time to make this movie good, this might not be happening. (more…)