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Movies and DVDs

This section is home to columns from our chief movie reviewer, Chuck Vinch. Not sure if the latest arrival at the googleplex is worth seeing? Before you go, read Chuck’s reviews. If you’re in the mood to camp out on the couch instead, check out our reviews of the latest DVDs.

Oscar buzz: Holiday movies keep their eye on the gold
And the Oscar goes to ...
Season’s viewings
This holiday season offers a wealth of new films — some possible Oscar contenders (including “Doubt”), and others just pure family fun (such as Adam Sandler’s “Bedtime...
Daniel Craig focuses on James Bond
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — James Bond needs a day off.
Pinkett Smith is a happy hippo in ‘Madagascar’
NEW YORK — If Jada Pinkett Smith could be reincarnated as an animal, she’d go the feline route.
Queen bee
With her chic new haircut and imposing 5-foot-10-inch stature, Queen Latifah would appear to be in full-on Hollywood glamour mode on a fall afternoon.
‘HSM’ graduates plot their future
Hit movie “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” bids farewell to Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad and Taylor, but the actors are hoping to graduate to other exciting projects....
‘Soul Men’ comedian’s final performance
How can we watch “Soul Men” without a lump in our throats?
Hollywood takes on politics
If you’ve been glued to news coverage of the presidential race 24/7, it’s time to pull yourself away from the pundits and immerse yourself in Hollywood’s take on politics. Oliver...
Director Kevin Smith makes movies on his terms
TORONTO — Ever since making “Clerks” in 1994, Kevin Smith has been a director who doesn’t shy away from controversy and has won a devoted following because of it.
Angelina and Clint see eye to eye
NEW YORK — Angelina Jolie is the brash young rebel. Clint Eastwood is the wise, grizzled veteran.
Hathaway has come a long way since ‘Princess’
It’s been quite a year for Anne Hathaway.
Mark Wahlberg relishes intensity of ‘Max Payne’
Mark Wahlberg has come a long way from his Marky Mark days.
Doors open wide for Josh Brolin
Handshakes are for wimps.
‘Express’ is about grace, Quaid says
Dennis Quaid is no stranger to sports on screen: Check out “The Rookie,” “Any Given Sunday,” “Everybody’s All-American” and even “Breaking Away,”...
Jonathan Demme has a way with women
TORONTO — There are directors who tend to bring out the best out in male stars. Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone and, yes, the aptly named Michael Mann are but a few.
Mark Ruffalo sets his sights on ‘Blindness’
TORONTO — In “Blindness,” which opens Oct. 3, Mark Ruffalo plays an eye doctor who loses his sight, along with almost everyone else in the unnamed city where the film takes place.
No drama: Simon Pegg relishes comedic roles
Will Simon Pegg ever be a household name? Should he be?
Radcliffe puts the spurs to his role in ‘Equus’
Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t understand “the fuss over the difference between stage acting and screen acting.”
Kerry Washington cherishes diverse film roles
Kerry Washington says she’s never seen a black woman on screen like the one she plays in “Lakeview Terrace.”
Tyler Perry holds on to his past
ATLANTA — Tyler Perry is standing in the middle of what was once a life on the brink.
Army gets Oscar for ‘Prelude to War’
LOS ANGELES — The Army, with a hand from Hollywood, has received a long-lost Oscar back into its ranks.
Star-studded Toronto Film Festival previews a few Oscar-worthy flicks
If it’s stars you want, it’s stars you’ll get at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Year of ‘The Women’
The central conceit of “The Women,” the 1939 film based on Clare Booth Luce’s play, is that there are no men in it. No characters, no pictures, no paintings, no dudes whatsoever.
Cheadle on politics, passion for movies
Don Cheadle never disappoints.
Hollywood churning out presidential contenders
Hollywood is getting presidential this election year, but will moviegoers say they approve this message?
Oscar buzz: Great roles for women this year
Oscar season is heating up, so in the coming weeks we’ll be inundated with award-worthy fare.
Winslet: Oscar double in ‘Reader,’ ‘Road’?
When it comes to Oscars, the whole world is saying: “Why hasn’t Kate Winslet won one?”

Chuck Vinch’s movie reviews

Muddled menagerie
Pity the poor animated filmmakers who don’t work for Pixar — forever aspiring, if not perspiring, to match that studio’s renowned brand of magic.
Women at war
Near the end of “Lioness,” a new documentary in the PBS “Independent Lens” series, an Iraq war veteran talks about the emotional toll exacted by the act of sighting down the...
Gripping ‘Glory’
The cop drama is one of the most well-worn genres in all of film. So many movies about the Boys in Blue have come and gone that concocting truly novel story lines is almost futile.
Payneful adaptation
If, like me, you’ve been waiting half of forever for a film based on a video game to transcend its wellspring in some significant way, I have news!
Movie review: ‘City of Ember,’ 2½ stars
Adventure movies for kids are hit-or-miss; keeping it moderately entertaining without resorting to poopie, booger or flatulence jokes is a Hollywood skill in short supply.
Old-fashioned Old West
In many ways, “Appaloosa” is an utterly conventional Western straight from our gauzily romanticized image of an Old West where men were men, guns were loud and women of loose virtue were...
‘Miracle at St. Anna’ falls short
When Spike Lee publicly chastised Clint Eastwood for failing to include a single African-American face in his Iwo Jima epic, “Flags of Our Fathers,” and Eastwood told Lee, in effect, to...
Film review: ‘Lakeview Terrace,’ 2½ stars
In the history of film, no actor has ever given a malevolent glare better than Samuel L. Jackson.
Burn after viewing
In recent years, Hollywood has taken the bait-and-switch to soaring new heights when it comes to movie trailers. It’s gotten so you can be forgiven for wondering if the trailer you saw...
Film Review: ‘Traitor,’ 3 stars
All habitual film fans have a list of actors whom they’ll go to see even if the movie in question is outside their usual happy zone.
Car wreck
In the postindustrial wreckage of the not-too-distant future, the U.S. economy is on fumes, unemployment is at record levels, and the teeming masses must be fed lots of raw meat to keep them sated...
Film Review: ‘Tropic Thunder,’ 4 stars
It’s an immutable law of Hollywood that each summer season ends up being defined in large part by one particular silly-funny comedy classic.
Review: ‘Pineapple Express’ smells like a hit
The career of James Franco has always struck me as a classic example of hype over heft.
Film Review: ‘X-Files: I Want to Believe’
“The X-Files” was one of the few TV series that I have ever gone out of my way to see each week. So I badly wanted to believe that the new film “X-Files: I Want to Believe”...
Heart of darkness
A posthumous Oscar nod? Don’t rule it out — the late Heath Ledger is just that freakyscarygood as the Joker in “The Dark Knight,” the second chapter in the Nolan...
Top 10 of ’07
The year just past was a curiously tepid one. Although the movie industry looks like it will end up with a healthy box-office gross, the number of movies that caused measurable, sustained excitement...

DVD reviews

New on DVD
A fantasy sequel, a box set that will charm veterans and a biblical epic debut on DVD on Nov. 11.
Ghoulish DVD treats arrive in time for Halloween
Depending on your tastes and tolerance, dozens of newly released horror films are available to scare you and your fiends, er, friends, silly this Halloween.
The summer’s best exercise DVDs
If you can’t stand the heat, try one of these cool new at-home routines from Fitness.

More movie reviews

‘Bolt’ is a sweet, though predictable, canine caper
“Bolt” isn’t a dog of a movie by any means, but it doesn’t teach an old genre any new tricks, either.
‘Twilight’ will make teens swoon, but story lacks bite
Long on looks but short on story and, especially, meaningful dialogue, “Twilight,” the much-anticipated film based on Stephenie Meyer’s novel, still resonates — but mostly if...
Brooding Bond
Bond is back, and boy, is he ticked.
Rudd, Scott serve as unconventional and hilarious ‘Role Models’It’s not fair, but there will always be part of me that sees Seann...
Bernie Mac, Samuel L. Jackson unite for hilarious romp in ‘Soul Men’
“Soul Men” is a raucous send-off for the late Bernie Mac, a gleefully profane take on the road-trip movie that earns its R rating early and often.
Harrowing ‘Boy’ revisits the horrors of the Holocaust
Though it’s told from the perspective of a child, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” is as shattering as any film about the Holocaust could be, perhaps even more so.
‘Zack and Miri’ is more about budding romance than porn
Might as well get this out of the way up front: In “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” they really do.
Kristin Scott Thomas is much ‘Loved’
Some actors grow more skilled seemingly under the radar. Hence the notion that major performances are “a revelation” or a happy surprise.
School’s over: ‘HSM3’ lacks the spark of the original
My kids will kill me for this. Yours, too, probably, if they’re between the ages of 6 and 14. But it must be said: The romance between Troy and Gabriella is the most boring thing about...
More gore: The popularity of slasher films lives on
Time to pull out the knives and the hockey masks.
Clint Eastwood delivers a riveting true crime drama
“Changeling” plays like a film meant to be admired more than enjoyed — or, more to the point, showered with award nominations.
Art imitates life and vice versa in ‘Synecdoche, New York’
On the face of it, “Synecdoche, New York” has a lot of things going against it.
‘W’: Actors are good, story is flat
“W.”
‘What’ explores antics of Hollywood hotshots
One of the enjoyable things about a film like “What Just Happened” in which a movie producer struggles through a rough two-week period trying to get a couple of high-profile projects made...
‘Bees’ doesn’t sugarcoat heroines’ trials
Break out the tissues.
Review: ‘The Express,’ 3 stars
“The Express” tells the true story of football player Ernie Davis. It is such a naturally compelling tale that one wonders why it hasn’t been filmed before.
Review: ‘Body of Lies,’ 3½ stars
It’s no surprise that Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe are so good in “Body of Lies,” Ridley Scott’s thrilling film about the war on terror, its costs and its frustrations.
‘Beverly Hills Chihuahua’ starts off mangy, but eventually gets cute
The first 30 minutes of the kids’ film “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” are almost unwatchable. It’s full of creepy, talking pampered pooches and their annoying owners.
Hathaway’s messed-up ‘Rachel’ is a career breakthrough
With a powerhouse performance in “Rachel Getting Married,” Anne Hathaway slams the book on the “Princess Diaries” and such with authority.
‘Blindness’ awash in affectations
How’s this for irony: “Blindness,” director Fernando Meirelles’ film about a sudden onset of sightlessness that reduces man to primal behavior, suffers from an excess of...
Pegg alienates a few savvy New Yorkers in ‘Friends’
Is the current crop of British comedy geniuses selling out?
Despite minor nits, ‘Nick and Norah’ sings in tune
The best teen romantic comedies exist beyond nearly every word of that description.
Kinnear shines in ‘Flash of Genius’
Sentences you never thought you’d read: Greg Kinnear’s performance is what elevates “Flash of Genius” beyond its mediocre trappings.
Holy smoke: In ‘Religulous,’ no one has a prayer
The central question raised in “Religulous,” comedian Bill Maher’s examination of religion, is as much one of definition as it is of faith.
Film Review: ‘All Roads Lead Home,’ 1½ stars
Starting with the ominous caveat “inspired by a true story,” there is little indication that “All Roads Lead Home” is going anywhere interesting.
‘Appaloosa’ a Harris homage to classics
“Appaloosa,” 3 stars (Good)
Royal performances given in ‘Duchess’
Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire, was a beautiful, famous, independent woman whose tastes wielded great influence over popular culture. She was more beloved by the British people than her...
Gervais’ infectious humor elevates ‘Ghost’ to comedic heights
Ricky Gervais is a genius.
‘Towelhead’: Solid, but draped in discomfort
“Towelhead” tries hard to be incendiary and gutsy, and it sometimes succeeds. But to what gain?
Wanted: George Cukor to spice up the lackluster ‘Women’
Remake a classic at your peril.
Czech ‘King’ rules with delicious wit and humor
A Czech political prisoner gets out of prison at the beginning of “I Served the King of England.” He was sentenced to 15 years but gets out three months early “for good...
Strong dramas could earn multiple Oscars
Summer was huge at the movies, at least in terms of box office.
Review: Cheadle great as ‘Traitor’
When a movie is titled “Traitor,” you know to expect a few twists.
‘Elegy’ is a gripping, superbly acted drama
The description is accurate but the implications misleading: Yes, “Elegy” is a film about an aging New York writer.
From ‘Thunder’ to ‘Hamlet 2,’ Steve Coogan is on a roll
With a small role in Ben Stiller’s “Tropic Thunder” and a leading part in the independent comedy “Hamlet 2,” British comedian Steve Coogan is becoming a multiplex...
‘The Rocker’ triumphs with a winning story
Despite its title, “The Rocker” isn’t about music.
‘Thunder’ storms past ‘Dark Knight’
“The Dark Knight” has finally fallen, but not before taking one more foe with him: George Lucas.
Teddy Geiger rocks out in ‘The Rocker’
Teddy Geiger said he doesn’t think Rainn Wilson could play the drums before working on “The Rocker,” but the comedian can play them now.
‘Hamlet 2’ gleefully chooses ‘to be’
For a film like “Hamlet 2” to work — even the title is hilariously ridiculous — it has to sell the absurdity completely.
Film Review: ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars,’ 2½ stars
The conspicuous lack of hype surrounding “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” signals that the grand ambitions of George Lucas’ sci-fi empire have been spent.
Film Review: ‘Henry Poole is Here,’ 3½ stars
Luke Wilson plays the title character in “Henry Poole Is Here,” who is struggling with some big issues. He is terminally glum, spending his days and nights alone. A typical meal consists...
Film Review: ‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ 1½ stars
“Fly Me to the Moon” boasts stunning 3-D animation, truly remarkable effects that will have audiences ducking in their seats to avoid the objects seemingly hurtling out of the screen at...
Film Review: ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona,’ 1½ stars
There are few fans in moviedom more long suffering than Woody Allen’s faithful.
Spirits don’t really soar in ‘Bottle Shock’
Somewhere deep down inside of “Bottle Shock,” there is a good movie trying to get out.
Many tweens seeing ‘R’ films, despite rating
Researchers know what your tween saw last summer: savage beatings, severed heads, murder, rape and torture.
The best ‘Mummy’ yet
The “Mummy” franchise hasn’t consisted of great movies. They’re popcorn flicks with razzle-dazzle special effects, quirky humor and Brendan Fraser’s endearing mix of...
Film Review: ‘Swing Vote,’ 2½ stars
After years of misfires, Kevin Costner’s finally hit upon a strategy to make himself likable in a movie: by playing someone completely unlikable.
Moronic ‘Step Brothers’ is a hilarious ride
“Step Brothers” is stupid. Childish. Moronic. Simple. Juvenile. Silly. Just ridiculous.
Country superstar Toby Keith takes on Hollywood
Country superstar Toby Keith has wrapped up his latest summer tour, but his mind seems to largely be on his new movie, “Beer for My Horses.”
Vivid desperation captured in ‘Frozen River’
“Frozen River,” a story of abject desperation, feels so real and immediate that it plays almost like a documentary.
Art of spoofing turning into ‘Disaster’
We’ve gone spoofs crazy.
‘Sex Drive’ more than another sex comedy
If Judd Apatow revived the raunchy sex comedy with such films as “Superbad” and “Knocked Up,” Sean Anders happily advances the genre with “Sex Drive.”
Van Damme is more than muscle in ‘JCVD’
In “JCVD,” the “Muscles from Brussels” shows us something far more riveting than his killer moves: his mind.

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