Movies

Short Reviews

Gangster Squad

A triumph of production design but a pretty dull kill-’em-up, this 1940s-set L.A. cops vs. gangsters movie falls short. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and based on a nonfiction book, the movie’s violence is over the top and its script is underwhelming. Read more »

Short Reviews

The Last Stand

Arnold is back. The results are OK. Schwarzenegger plays Ray Owens, the sheriff of a sleepy Arizona border town. Little does he know that Mexican gangster Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) has escaped federal custody and is speeding toward them to escape into Mexico. Read more »

Short Reviews

Broken City

Billy (Mark Wahlberg) is a disgraced former cop turned private eye who is hired by the mayor of New York (Russell Crowe) to tail his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones), whom he suspects of having an affair. Read more »

Movies

Mysterious Mother Figure

This spooky ghost story is haunted by two feral orphans … and the thing that raised them

Mama breaks a lot of horror movie rules, right off the proverbial bat. Read more »

Short Reviews

Zero Dark Thirty

Director Kathryn Bigelow has accomplished something pretty special in this partially fictionalized yet pseudo-realistic film about the Osama bin Laden manhunt. Read more »

Movies

Squad Slog

A pale, Untouchables wannabe, Gangster Squad wastes good performances

A triumph of production design but a pretty dull kill-’em-up otherwise, the post-World War II-set Gangster Squad comes from the director of Zombieland, Ruben Fleischer. It’s clear Fleischer, who also made 30 Minutes or Less, hadn’t worked through his Zombieland jones by the time he got to his latest film. I liked Zombieland, which made a strong case for its brand of viscera and wisecracks. But Gangster Squad is a different sort of picture, or should be. Read more »

Videography

‘Black Days,’ The Lucky Cheats

Harmonica-blowing blues-rockers the Lucky Cheats lay down hot tracks (check out 2011’s Sugar in the Tank CD) and put on sizzling live shows (as they did opening for the Blasters at Vinyl last month). Read more »

Movies

Improving Oscar

The Academy bets on Seth MacFarlane to be their pied piper of youthful viewers

No sooner than the ball dropped in Times Square and Ryan Seacrest stepped out of his lifts and powered down in his cryogenic chamber, all entertainment talk turned to the Academy Awards. What will people wear? What ill-advised stunt will the Academy pull this year to spice things up? (A barbershop quartet made up of former Best Supporting Actors? Those suits from Ernst & Young bursting into a number from Les Miz?) Most importantly, will anyone watch? Read more »

Movies

Masterful Manhunt

Director Kathryn Bigelow offers a complex and thought-provoking depiction of the hunt for Osama bin Laden

To consider what director Kathryn Bigelow has accomplished in Zero Dark Thirty, imagine the events depicted by the story if they’d been given the Argo treatment. Read more »

Short Reviews

This Is 40

In the latest film from Judd Apatow, Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) reprise their roles from Knocked Up. They’ve reached age 40; there are money problems; Pete’s label is on the verge of insolvency; their sex life has cooled; Debbie becomes pregnant again. Read more »

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