The rules of time travel in fiction can make your head spin. As a writer, you have to be so meticulous in your vision that all the rules of your universe don’t collapse upon each other and bring your entire concept crumbling to the ground. Or, like Rian Johnson does in “Looper,” you can be […]

Paul Thomas Anderson’s films have a tendency to take you by the shoulders and shake you rigorously, to leave you with an unforgettable scene, moment or quote (“I drink your milkshake!”, anyone?). “The Master” short-changes none of us on lasting images, but the fearless director’s long-awaited return to film after six years is less visceral; […]

Seriously, prohibition did no one any favors. “Lawless” is a Western-inspired take on the gangster pic, in which the only rules are that there are no rules and the men with the power are the men who wield the most fear — and guns.

They may be few, but this fall’s thrillers are most definitely noteworthy. There’s the fast-approaching cop film “End of Watch” this month, then “Precious” director Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy,” Ben Affleck’s “Argo” and the latest big-screen adventure for author James Patterson’s famous detective, Alex Cross.

With the fall festivals in high gear already, the fall can be so packed to the gills with quality indie options that you’re bound to miss a handful of good ones as the heavy Oscar contenders start to line up. Here are six extremely different indie options you might want to consider, and the obvious […]

Autumn is horror’s time to shine. Five films hit theaters in hopes of capitalizing on October’s demand for scary fare and at least one (“Paranormal Activity 4”) will rule the box office.

There are romantic comedies and then there’s real life. “The Five-Year Engagement,”  believes it can be both. This latest collaboration between Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) stars Segel and Emily Blunt as Tom and Violet, a pair of totally-in-love inseparables whose plans to tie the knot keep getting pushed back to accommodate […]

Fall brings either downright bad animated films or hidden gems. Considering three of these films will be distributed by Disney, the odds are better on the gems in 2012. Just this prospect alone is an improvement on the family offerings in the fall of recent years. Although “Puss in Boots” and “Dolphin Tale” won over […]

Chicago-based screenwriter Erin Dalian has taken the leap. A leap of faith, in a sense, but also a leap as a filmmaker. She decided rather than just write her new film, “Broken & Beautiful,” she would make it herself. A year and a half later, it has finally started making festival rounds and premieres in […]

Comedy offerings this fall won’t have you marking your calendar. Scroll below and you won’t see the names Jonah Hill, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, Vince Vaughn, Zach Galifianakis or anyone remotely linked to them. A majority of these movies don’t warrant a trip to the theater, but one or two are bound to […]

The action films of this fall range from horror-action to sci fi to martial arts, but a good chunk of them are “people go missing and revenge is the solution” flicks. Perhaps that’s inspired by one particular sequel in bunch…

And the drama begins. As the fall festival circuit ramps up, so do the number of dramatic films, many of which are vying for Academy attention come the winter. Fall is also the home of many feel-good dramas that don’t have much awards potential. Let’s see if we can’t sort them out.

Lots of comedies in the last year or so have focused on whether two people can be involved sexually without being involved romantically. “Celeste and Jesse Forever” asks if two people who were involved sexually can be involved platonically. Both beat the dead horse of “complicated” relationships in film, but what’s nice about “Celeste and […]