While Dinesh D’Souza’s America is sure to make waves with its stirring defense of the country against philosophical attacks, one aspect of it is surprising: the screen time he gives to leftist leaders including Noam Chomsky and Ward Churchill in fresh
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has spent the past decade building one of the most intriguing careers of any leading man in Hollywood. Last week, he went a step further by making his writing-directing debut with Don Jon, a hard-R romantic comedy about
They say politics make strange bedfellows, and perhaps no movie proves that more right now than a documentary called “Death by China.” Written and directed by Peter Navarro, a University of California-Irvine professor who based the film on his book
As a film critic for Big Hollywood and several other sites, I see an average of 150 movies a year – and there’s always more than a few I’m watching without any sense of hope for quality. So when one
Since breaking through with the screenplay for the wonderful yet under-seen quirky drama “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” in 1993, writer-director Peter Hedges has been responsible for some of the most warmly human dramedies in Hollywood. Better yet, his films –
If there’s one area of entertainment that’s most frustrating to watch or listen to for conservatives, it’s likely comedy. It seems that anyone who jokes about the news always does it from a Left-loving, Right-bashing perspective. It doesn’t have to
While he’s drawn controversy for the past two decades due to his personal life after marrying the adopted daughter of former girlfriend Mia Farrow, Woody Allen has been on undeniable creative hot streak for much of the past decade. Last
Most 75 year old men are well into retirement, kicking back on the golf course, couch or patio. But Woody Allen is still working as hard as ever: producing, writing, directing and sometimes even acting in at least one film
As Newsweek’s chief movie critic for 31 years, David Ansen attained prominence at the top tier of famed reviewers, just behind Siskel and Ebert while also maintaining the same populist sensibilities employed by the two most famous thumbs in America.
Amid a sea of bombastic summer films, one might wonder if there are any movies being released this season that even remotely resemble real life, with real people dealing with normal problems in a relatable way that’s also entertaining. Surprisingly,
You might think if you’ve seen one Jack Black movie, you’ve seen them all. He’s always wild and crazy, a devilish imp of a man who remains tapped into the anarchic glee of mischievous boys everywhere while bringing just enough
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Imagine being forced to experience something so horrible over and again that you’d rather take your own life than die than endure it any longer. That’s the dilemma faced by former NYC supercop named Luke Wright in the new action
Mark Duplass has one of the most unique careers going in films today. He’s teamed up with his brother Jay to co-write and direct a string of critically acclaimed films – including the recent “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” and
There has been one classic movie about high school detention, and its name is “The Breakfast Club.” The new movie called “Detention” will do nothing to change that. It’s an obnoxious and hard to follow attempt at cutting-edge teen comedy
There are those among us conservatives who complain about how the bounds of decency appear to be pushed ever further each year. And there are some in Hollywood who are heeding the complaints and working to provide a home for
There are few more unsettling experiences in life than stopping at a secluded ATM for cash in the middle of the night. First-time director David Brooks explores that fear in his new movie “ATM” (opening in New York and Los
Every social group deserves to have their own bard. For neurotic New York Jews, it’s Woody Allen. For urban blacks, it’s Spike Lee. And for the socially uptight and arcane social circles of upper-crust WASPs, it’s Whit Stillman. As the
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As a film critic who sees nearly 150 movies a year, I’m never surprised to see a liberal message (or two, or 12–let’s be honest) on the big screen. But two decades of persistent effort to balance things out may
Can anyone remember when a new Nicolas Cage movie actually inspired excitement in people? The dude was actually awarded the title of Distinguished Decade in Film Award from the nation’s movie theater owners in 2001, honoring him for bringing in
It seems that Hollywood actors and filmmakers just love to tell us how much they’re in favor of people’s rights and equality for all, especially when it comes to women’s rights and gay rights. And most critics have adored the
In case you haven’t noticed from the endless barrage of TV commercials touting how many Golden Globes various films have won or been nominated for – or boasting about how many more-obscure awards films have won – we’re in the
Even nearly 20 years later, I can still remember the day my college girlfriend gave me a copy of Matthew Sweet’s “Girlfriend” on cassette. Its cover was a gorgeous picture of then-young actress Tuesday Weld gazing into a camera, a
It’s easy to get one view of a foreign nation from our government’s relationship with it, or news coverage that paints a nation as either “good” or “evil.” But sometimes it’s possible to see an entirely different perspective on life
While most movie fans are satisfied building a collection of their favorite DVDs, Shane Scheel has gone miles beyond in his devotion to his favorite cinematic treasures. As the co-creator and producer with Christopher Lloyd Bratten of the “For The
There are small but key roles in great movies that make a crucial difference in the way a film turns out. Think of Marlon Brando getting the top billing in “Superman” for less than 15 minutes of time as Jor-El,
For a guy who’s made mostly conventional movies in his career, Jonah Hill finds himself in a very unusual career position these days. He’s built his reputation on being an offbeat yet obnoxious slob in such movies as “Superbad” and
Adam Sandler has his new movie “Jack and Jill” in theaters this weekend, and man, have the nation’s mainstream media film critics got their knives out for him on this one. With a stunning 0 percent so far on Rotten
Many people harbor dark secrets from their past, memories that eat at their souls and cause them to live in fear of ever being discovered. And in the terrific new film “The Son of No One,” a New York City
This weekend offered a more dramatic example than usual of how Hollywood is running out of ideas. There are actually two new remakes in theaters now – updates on ’80s favorites ‘Footloose’ and ‘The Thing.’ The main difference between the
Movie buffs freaked when word leaked that Paramount Pictures was remaking its 1984 youth classic ‘Footloose,’ as if the studio was tampering with a sacred text. Or remaking ‘The Ten Commandments,’ God forbid. (Oh, wait. ‘The Ten Commandments’ with Charlton
Think of Sarah Jessica Parker, and her performance as Carrie Bradshaw in the “Sex and the City” TV show and movies likely comes to mind. After all, she became a pop culture icon playing a high-living New York City single
It’s rare that a movie can come along and sweep away viewers into its world without the benefit of major stars and a whirlwind of hype. But this weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to see an absolutely mesmerizing
Vera Farmiga has lit up the screen in supporting roles for the past few years, first drawing viewers’ and critics’ attention by playing a police psychologist caught between Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio in 2006’s “The Departed” before landing an
If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years about Hollywood, it’s that actors love being part of disaster movies. Whether it’s “The Towering Inferno” or “The Poseidon Adventure,” or any one of the insane “Airport” movies from the ’70s,
There were a few images from movies that left an indelible impression on my mind when I first saw them in childhood. One was laughing hysterically upon seeing Woody Allen getting his arm stuck in a gumball machine while running
Last weekend, your choices of new movies at the box office came down to watching apes try to act human in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” and watching grown human men try to act like apes in “The
Think back to your summer vacations growing up. You probably took a few trips with your family, then moved on to a lame summer job working in a mall or flipping burgers. Some of those memories are probably preserved in
Man, has it been one rough summer for Tom Hanks. As the writer-director and star of the colossal flop “Larry Crowne,” he no doubt has found plenty of time to wonder why audiences stayed away in droves from his tale
Even in a world where most movie heroes have to take on superpowers before they can fight properly and often find themselves toeing the PC line while saving the world, it’s good to know that some movie concepts are just
In my position as writer about film, I sometimes get to interview filmmakers and performers about their work. One man I’ve interviewed twice is Errol Morris, an amazing documentarian who alternates between making films about oddballs and films about political