In telling chapters of history, films have the benefit of hindsight. As obvious as that statement sounds, Oscar-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland takes advantage of almost 70 years of history in writing/directing “42,” to the point where he can set the stage with the perfect emotional tone for telling the story of Jackie Robinson, one of […]

Chips falling as they did, the odds of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” equaling its predecessor were not exactly ever in its favor. Director and adaptor Gary Ross left the burgeoning film franchise, Suzanne Collins’ series undoubtedly lost a little luster with its increased exposure and “Catching Fire” takes on a much larger scope than […]

Most moviegoers probably didn’t realize Thor was a comic book character in the Marvel universe before his big-screen debut in 2011. Flash forward just two and a half years later and Chris Hemsworth has portrayed the Norse god of thunder three times already. “Thor: The Dark World” looks to continue riding the post-“Avengers” wave, but […]

It’s been nearly 30 years since “Ender’s Game” etched itself into the canon of important science-fiction novels, and like so many important science-fiction novels, a film adaptation has toiled in movie development hell, with the “unfilmable” label frequently cast upon it. Gavin Hood (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) has taken a stab at adapting and directing Orson […]

We waited long enough to see what Alfonso Cuarón had in store for us next, but no one expected a visual effects game-changer. “Gravity” is an experience, something you might expect to see at a science museum in IMAX but with an intense plot. And even though its minuscule cast and real-time feel expose it to […]

Who says all “based on a true story” movies have to take themselves seriously? Regardless of how true-to-life the events of “Pain and Gain” are, the film offers a ballsy take on a crime thriller, namely in being unafraid of comic territory.

A two-headed thriller, “Prisoners” is one part conventional kidnapping mystery and one part psychological drama. While the mystery of who abducted two little girls haunts the entirety of the 153-minute runtime and will keep audiences glued for every minute, the film also serves as a portrait of a desperate parent willing to cross any line […]

When the credits roll, Joe Swanberg’s “Drinking Buddies” will at least leave you thirsty. Whether you’ll be drinking to toast or drinking to forget is another matter.

For a totally preposterous magician caper, “Now You See Me” has a surprising meta edge to it. The film talks a big talk about deception with its Morgan Freeman voice-over narration (“the closer you think you are, the less you will actually see”), but in spite of its high levels of ludicrousness, it delivers exactly […]

The story being told in “Searching for Sugar Man” is 15 years old, yet it didn’t become a documentary until 2012. Seeing as the film centers on a man who never received the fame he deserved until long after the fact, that’s quite fitting.

Eagerly we have awaited Neill Blomkamp’s follow-up to “District 9,” which gave audiences an almost unrivaled combination of entertainment, mystery, emotion and intelligence. The bar was understandably high for “Elysium,” an even glossier film with bigger stars and a higher concept with higher stakes.

The most effective comedies tend to be the ones you swear you’ve seen before yet you can’t name any other just like it. “We’re the Millers” has lots of familiar pieces but puts them together in a new-ish package. Often funny, sometimes hilarious and always amusing, “Millers” doesn’t raise the bar for R-rated comedy, but […]

If two dudes quarrel in the woods … do they make a sound? Director David Gordon Green has graciously stepped back from making underachieving R-rated comedies to give us what could end up amounting to an underachieving R-rated comedy, but in truth offers a good deal more.

“Oblivion” is so visually crisp and clean that you could actually brush your teeth with it. Director Joseph Kosinski, who pieced together the aesthetically immaculate “Tron: Legacy” takes a similar approach in adapting his graphic novel for the big screen, and with some solid screen writing help, “Oblivion” feels especially worth of the “science-fiction” label.

Throughout the course of the modern superhero era, one thing has stayed true: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. After being a successful piece of the “X-Men” franchise for three films, Wolverine got his own solo gig in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which turned out to be a chaotic smear of superhero film with a cliché-ridden script. […]