MOVIE REVIEWS: WON’T BACK DOWN

Won’t Back Down is sort of a Norma Rae in reverse. This time, it’s the union — a teachers’ union in Pittsburgh — that’s the villain, and your judgment of the film may very well be colored by the way you regard the performance of unions in general and teachers’ unions in particular. Even if […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS

The expectations for the third installment of the Wimpy Kid franchise aren’t high. But the same could have been said about last year’s sequel, Rodrick Rules, which, to everyone’s surprise turned up at the top of the box office. Like its two predecessors, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is receiving several decent reviews. […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE RAVEN

It’s as if the makers of The Raven were begging for trouble. After all, they’ve made the victim of a serial killer who recreates Edgar Allan Poe’s lethal pendulum — a critic! So now it’s time for the critics to strike a blow for one of their own — by slicing and dicing, not to […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS

The unlikely winner of the award for best-reviewed movie of the weekend is Aardman Animation’s The Pirates! Band of Misfits. Of the major critics, only Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel sends it to the plank. “Amusing in small doses, Pirates is the first Aardman film to suffer a serious shortage of sight gags, the […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: THINK LIKE A MAN

Despite its peculiar provenance, Think Like a Man is receiving a fare share of positive reviews. It “will entertain women and amuse men,” Carrie Rickey predicts in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Roger Moore in the Orlando Sentinel suggests that the movie is all about “funny people in funny situations deliver[ing] funny lines with … zippy timing.” […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: ARTHUR CHRISTMAS

Arthur Christmas has already brought the gift of smiles to the faces of generally hard-boiled critics. It’s one of those animated films, they say, that parents don’t have to merely endure but can actually enjoy. There are “plenty of sly jokes for grown-ups,” Neil Genzlinger assures his readers in the New York Times, while Amy […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: JACK AND JILL

Adam Sandler may easily be among America’s 1 percent after starring in a record number of films that have grossed more than $100 million. But many critics are betting his latest one, Jack and Jill, won’t make it past that mark. In fact he doesn’t even have 1 percent of the critics on his side. […]

LONGEST-SERVING JAMES BOND APPRAISES TWO OTHER BONDS

Roger Moore, who played James Bond longer than any other actor, has complained that the 007 franchise has suffered a decline in quality in recent years. In an interview with Varsity, the student newspaper at Cambridge University in England, Moore expressed admiration for Daniel Craig’s performance in the last Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, but […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE RUM DIARY

It has been more than three years since Johnny Depp appeared as a character based on gonzo writer Hunter Thompson in The Rum Diary, which, in turn, was based on an early novel by Thompson. During that time, his Pirates of the Caribbean movies have raked in billions of dollars, while Diary has remained all […]

MOVIE REVIEWS: THE THING

They’re calling the third rendition of The Thing, a prequel, but most critics indicate that there’s not much difference in the plot between the earlier Things and this one (including, obviously, the title). Several maintain that this version is no improvement on the earlier ones. David Germain of the Associated Press argues that “the new […]

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