John. P. Hanlon

If The Avengers brought a lighter tone to the cinematic comic book genre, Thor 2: The Dark World is a simple byproduct of that. Now that the characters have been introduced to a mainstream audience, the sequel gives the screenwriters

It’s been years since Harrison Ford starred in a meaningful sci-fi epic. But now the Oscar-nominated actor has returned to space for his new film Ender’s Game, where he plays a gruff and tough colonel, whose animosity towards an interplanetary

Writer Cormac McCarthy is better known as a novelist than a screenwriter. He penned the novels that were adapted into films like All the Pretty Horses, The Road and the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men. But in The Counselor,

It is a tiny town in Alabama, and it changed the career of Aretha Franklin. As the legendary singer recounts in the new documentary Muscle Shoals, her career was suffering when she arrived in the Southern community to record some

The biggest problem with the new thriller Runner Runner isn’t what’s onscreen, although the plot and the dialogue are often cringe-worthy. The great issue with the film is that we’ve seen all that it has to offer in countless other,

When packing for a major trip, travelers usually fill their suitcases with an eclectic mix of goods. Items of clothing are shoved into pieces of luggage alongside toiletries, books, possibly a computer and other miscellaneous things. All in all, the

If there is one word that can be used to describe the new kidnapping drama Prisoners, that word is methodical. This slow-paced, sizzling thriller never jumps from scene to scene, leaving the viewer’s head spinning with outrageous plot twists. Instead,

There are a variety of fragile characters in the new film Short Term 12. There’s a withdrawn female teenager who wants to be left alone. There’s a kid who likes to run away from his caretakers. And there’s a violent teenager

Closed Circuit begins with an explosion and ends with a political debate. By the time its short 96-minute running time elapses, viewers will inevitably wonder why the story works as poorly as it does. Here we have two strong actors and

Miles Teller has made a career out of partying. Onscreen, that is. In films like Footloose, Project X and 21 & Over, he played characters who enjoyed drinking and having a good time. In The Spectacular Now, he sobers up.

At the end of the new film 2 Guns, some of the heroes and the villains have cartoonishly betrayed one another. The plot, which started out innocently enough, has gone off the deep end. And the story’s endless twists and turns

The original Red (2010) was a fun escapist action comedy featuring an A-list cast willing to act silly to earn a few good laughs. Some of the film’s plot was absurd and the conspiracy at its heart underwhelming, but the

It would likely come as a surprise to those who have studied the layers of the planet Earth that one of the deepest layers underneath the ground is packed with monsters. Lots and lots of monsters. That’s one of the

Disney’s The Lone Ranger is a strange concoction. At times, it plays like a goofy blockbuster but at other times, it feels like a self-important story. Bloated beyond belief, the Johnny Depp vehicle accomplishes some of what it set out

When a director helms a major hit, it sometimes overshadows much of his career. M. Night Shyamalan, for one, was inevitably hurt by the fact that nothing he did after The Sixth Sense (1999) compared to that Oscar-nominated drama. The

“Movement is life,” says former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) in the new film World War Z. He’s referring to the best way to survive the apocalyptic zombie attacks that are quickly destroying the human race. The quote

When a group of well-known celebrities collaborate on a film, the results can be catastrophic. In Movie 43 (2013), we saw a dozen A-list actors embarrass themselves in a series of disparate and disgusting video segments. Likewise, in New Year’s

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson made a strong team in the 2005 comedy WeddingCrashers. They invaded nuptial ceremonies together, partied together and took on falsepersonalities together. In The Internship, the two have invaded a new world: the offices of Google.

Peeples is a rare Tyler Perry treat. It’s a film that the successful director worked on but didn’t hold back from critics in advance of its release date. Many of the movies that Perry has been heavily involved in are

Zac Efron could probably headline any film he wanted. The star has a built-in fan base from his High School Musical days that would likely follow him from one empty romantic comedy to the next. That’s why it’s so exciting

Pain and Gain is an oddly disconcerting film. At the same time that it mocks the dimness of its leads (and admittedly, they are quite dumb), it also unabashedly embraces the violence and relentless energy of a typical Michael Bay

The Angels’ Share is a movie about drinking that never touches on alcoholism. Instead, the story focuses on a group of spirits-loving criminals who were given second chances when they received community service sentences instead of prison time. Unpredictable but

If you’ve ever been at a dining room table with a friend or family member who won’t get off their phone, you know the importance of the word “disconnect.” It seems that more and more often, we are sadly seeing

“No piece of art is worth a human life.” So says the man charged with protecting million-dollar paintings in the new psychological drama Trance. James McAvoy stars as a man who understands the value of self-preservation and security when it

In the first scene of the new drama The Place Beyond the Pines, the camera follows the character portrayed by Ryan Gosling along a route to his day job. The film isn’t judging the character’s actions but embracing them and

Many–if not most of the movies about Vietnam–focus on the war itself, seeing the conflict from the perspective of the soldiers in combat. The new inspiring film The Sapphires takes a new and distinct look at the bloody conflict. It

For those who grew up with G.I. Joe action figures, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) seemed like a perfect vehicle for revitalizing the brand and bringing the story to the big screen for a new generation. Such hopes were

There are two ways to judge the new James Franco drama Spring Breakers–by what’s on and off-screen. To judge what’s onscreen is to view the film as a ridiculous, repetitive and shallow drama that leaves little to the imagination. To

In the film that garnered her an Oscar nomination, Abigail Breslin played a girl whose life was changed because of a phone call. In Little Miss Sunshine, a phone call–and the consequential message that followed– informed her character that she

A person’s 21st birthday can lead to drinking, partying and self-introspection. Well, maybe just the first two, but the new movie 21 & Over attempts to incorporate all three ideas into its story of one wild night experienced by three

There are few sure things in life. The sun will rise tomorrow, Katherine Heigl will make another terrible romantic comedy and Daniel Day-Lewis will win his third best actor Oscar tomorrow are the closest things we have. If the latter

There will always be anxious teenagers who long to run away from their small towns in search of a better life. Like Dawson in Dawson’s Creek and countless others before him, the main character in Beautiful Creatures dreams of leaving

We’re all familiar with commercials that note the side effects of various drugs. If you take a heartburn medication, a headache may ensue. If you take a sleeping pill, you might sleep longer than you wish. Neither consequence is as

It’s tough to remember now, but Sylvester Stallone is an Oscar-nominated actor. Honored for his title role in Rocky (1976), Stallone helped us forget that nod by starring in so many mediocre action films that fail to challenge him or

There’s an old argument that the release of a tasteless film a few weeks before the Oscars can dramatically damage a nominee’s chances of winning. The best example of this occurred when the comedy Norbit hit theaters in 2007– a

“Every forum’s the proper forum. Act accordingly,” the contemptible mayor (Russell Crowe) says to his calculating wife in the new film Broken City. Subtly threatening her, he informs her she should sing his praises at every event where she speaks.