Photo: Warner Bros. How much do you know about French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, his play "No Exit" and his ideas of free will? Well, you may want to bone up a bit if you want to have a leg up on your friends before going into Richard Kelly's The Box. This is hardly an accessible film, but it can become increasingly available if you have done a bit of homework in advance. Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as Norma and Arthur Lewis are presented with an interesting proposit... Read Full Story

Gabourey Sidibe in Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire Photo: Lionsgate For almost 90-percent of it's runtime Precious is so bleak and downright desperate you wouldn't need to explain yourself if you told me you didn't want to see it. However, should you go against what your instincts are telling you, you will end up seeing an eternally hopeful film that is hands-down the best drama I have seen in 2009 so far. This isn't an easy film to watch, and at times it made my stomach t... Read Full Story

Milla Jovovich in The Fourth Kind Photo: Universal Pictures Perhaps I am over-reacting, but the "this is real" approach to Universal's alien abduction thriller The Fourth Kind grates on me something fierce. I have no problem with filmmakers saying something is "based on" or "inspired by" true events, but to have your lead actress walk out at the opening of your film and basically say what I am about to watch includes "actual" archived footage and it is up to me to believe it or not is a s... Read Full Story

Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol Photo: Walt Disney Pictures One thing's for certain with Robert Zemeckis's latest attempt at motion-capture CGI animation, kids need not apply. I have had conversations with fellow critics and the conclusion I've come to concerning children and Disney's A Christmas Carol is that while some elements may indeed frighten some kids, the overall complaint will be that it's just too boring. If you've seen any incarnation of Charles Dickens's ... Read Full Story

George Clooney in The Men Who Stare at Goats Photo: Overture Films If you've seen the trailer you've seen the movie. In fact, choose any scene from the trailer, extend it, duplicate it and give it no real reason to exist and you have The Men Who Stare at Goats, a film that's got plenty of laughs but nothing holding it together. Directed by Grant Heslov, the Oscar-nominated co-writer and producer of Good Night, and Good Luck., The Men Who Stare at Goats is an adaptation of Jon Ronson's bo... Read Full Story

#1 movie predicted correctly: 1 Week in a Row 1. A Christmas Carol First off, an apology that I wasn't here to take my beating after This is It failed so spectacularly (at least domestically). I was doing a bit of traveling and so Brad had to fill in. I'll try not to let it happen again! Now then, there is plenty in the way of early November precedent for children's movies banking. Madagascar 2 cranked $63m last year. Chicken Little cleared $40m in 2005. Oddly, Christmas Carol isn't techni... Read Full Story

There was talk earlier this year that it wasn't in the studios' best interest to continue to release classic films on DVD/Blu-ray as the demand for them was dwindling and the cost of restoration was climbing. The article in question even quotes Warner Home Video senior vice president George Feltenstein saying "most of the studios have pretty much said 'Screw it, we're out of here, we're not going to do this.'" Strangely enough, it just so happens Warner Home Video is the home entertainment st... Read Full Story

Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire is able to capture your attention despite its sparing plot for the main reason you know its about something even if that something takes its sweet time in fully revealing itself. The film follows two guardian angels, Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander), as they watch over humanity from up high above the streets of Berlin, and, more often than not, at street level. As they walk the streets, an often visited library and ride the trains we listen in on th... Read Full Story

My experience with Merchant/Ivory Productions is limited to say the least as Howards End now marks the second film of theirs I have seen, with A Room With a View being the other. While elegantly made, A Room With a View didn't move me that much, but I can say Howards End did a lot to squelch my fears it too would bore me more than engage me. Criterion brings Howards End to Blu-ray following their previous two-disc DVD release back in 2005, and while the only new feature is a video appreciatio... Read Full Story

Well folks, Laremy decided to miss the number one movie by nearly $31 million and just happens to be "busy" this morning so I am here to post the box-office wrap-up. Let's get into it... #1 movie predicted correctly: 1 Week In A Row 1. Michael Jackson's This is It So Laremy let the press releases and marketing sway his opinion -- not too hard to understand -- that can happen when you're hearing shows are sold out across the country. Unfortunately, shows obviously weren't sold out as the ex... Read Full Story