If this were the first cinematic adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," it would likely be hailed a masterpiece. By capturing the dark menace and fairy tale wonder of Dahl's work, the picture is a visionary imagining of a nearly unfilmable children's book.Only it's NOT ...
Its plot is stretched thin. Its creativity is nearly invisible. Its logic is rocky. And the whole enterprise goes up in flames.Welcome to "The Fantastic Four," Marvel's latest and least impressive entry into its recent superhero adaptations. After delivering dandy versions of "Spider-Man" and ...
Steven Spielberg is as familiar with aliens as he is Indiana Jones or sharks.Unlike most of his contemporaries, Spielberg has always depicted extra-terrestrials in a positive light -- whether they're benevolent communicators ("Close Encounters of the Third Kind"), childlike buddies ("E.T.") or ...
"Bewitched" proves a story's true magic lies in its simplicity.In this convoluted update of the breezy 1960s TV series, the filmmakers do everything in their power to take away the pure premise of the show: mortal guy marries a witch.It takes more than a sentence to summarize this unfocused ...
The title of the latest Batman adaptation reportedly went through numerous changes, from "Batman: The Frightening" to "Batman: Intimidation Game."Ultimately, the producers settled on the more befitting "Batman Begins."This is the first movie to successfully adapt the comic book hero to the big ...
John Smith (Brad Pitt) sits before a therapist and begins to vent about his wife, Jane (Angelina Jolie)."There's this huge space between us that's filling up with everything we don't say to each other. What's that called?""Marriage," the therapist replies.The problems the Smiths are going ...
Like the skateboarding punks of the film's title, "Lords of Dogtown" is good-looking, energetic and rather aimless.It's not so much a movie as it is a snapshot of the lives of a group of friends who overnight went from vagabond teen slackers to international innovators of a competitive ...
The animals at the Central Park Zoo appear to have a bad gig.They are stuck in the middle of America's most overcrowded city, surrounded by skyscrapers that block out the sun and stars. Instead of frolicking in grasslands and splashing in waterfalls, they are bombarded by the noises of street ...
Darth Vader has one of the most bizarre character arcs in movie history.In chronological order of the way the six "Star Wars" episodes are made, Vader starts off as the epitome of evil, redeems himself as good (does the title "Return of the Jedi" refer to him and not Luke Skywalker?), is born, ...
By Jon NiccumA loudmouthed DJ warming up the crowd before an advance screening of "Monster-in-Law" in Kansas City broke the ice with a few questions."Who's here to see Jennifer Lopez?"Dead silence."OK. Who's here to see Jane Fonda?"Thunderous applause.Fonda may have been spit upon by a Vietnam ...