POSTED // Feb 17,2012 - If your impression of animated features has been shaped entirely by the whiz-bang studio product of the CGI era, bring an open mind to The Secret World of Arrietty. That’s not the way Japan’s Studio Ghibli rolls.

POSTED // Feb 10,2012 - Before diving into the multifaceted characterizations and thorny metaphysics of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, this important disclaimer: I never saw the 2008 Journey to the Center of the Earth. So

POSTED // Feb 10,2012 - Woo-hoo, it’s CIA action porn when Safe House finally gets going, all mysterious black SUVs and “kill the surveillance cameras” and stoic badassery all around.

POSTED // Feb 3,2012 - It has taken 15 years of attending, but I think I’m finally able to acknowledge a difficult truth: I don’t really know what makes any given Sundance Film Festival a “good” festival.

POSTED // Feb 3,2012 - Movies about addiction of any kind often avoid the risk of not taking the subject seriously enough by taking the subject far too seriously.

POSTED // Jan 27,2012 - Every once in a while, it feels as though the entire movie industry is trying to make somebody happen, despite a resolute lack of enthusiasm from audiences about that individual actually happening.

POSTED // Jan 27,2012 - Coverage of Albert Nobbs has been full of stories about Glenn Close’s decades-long effort to bring the story from her original stage performance to the screen.

POSTED // Jan 20,2012 - Michel Hazanavicius’ effervescent The Artist seems to be staking out a curious territory during the 2011-12 film awards season.

POSTED // Jan 20,2012 - We’ve seen this movie before: Secret agent/gun for hire/covert badass gets burned. Who did it? The bad guys? The colleagues? The boss? Our Hero has to work hard and fast to pull his own ass out of a fire

POSTED // Jan 13,2012 - Resolved: Meryl Streep can become anyone. Do I have any takers for the “con” position? Thought not.