Despite its fourth director in five tries and even a new screenwriter, the Harry Potter franchise takes a huge step forward in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” based off the fifth book in the young adult fantasy series by J.K Rowling. Whereas Harry’s character growth took a backseat in the Mike Newell-directed [...]

As a huge fan of the intelligence and beauty that Alfonso Cuarón brought to the third Harry Potter film based on J.K Rowling’s fantasy book series, I was saddened to hear that he backed out of the fourth, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” because of the quick year-and-a-half turnaround. Though director Mike Newell [...]

Producer Chris Columbus, who directed the first two films made of the Harry Potter series of fantasy books by J.K. Rowling, couldn’t have made a better choice than stepping away from the camera and giving the reigns to a seasoned director with a fresh perspective. It’s what makes “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” [...]

The first Harry Potter movie was kind of like a freak-out test for its creators: how much material do we use from the book? How loyal do we stay to it? How do we make this all come to life? “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” the film version of the second book in [...]

Hey, Harry Potter fans! Look for an archive review for every Harry Potter film, one each day until the release of “Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1″! When a beloved book is given the big-screen treatment, there’s always the excitement factor of getting to see what was once only in your head come to life right before [...]

It only takes a few great cinematic elements to turn a helter-skelter sci-fi fantasy into a cult classic. Russell Mulcahy finds that edge in directing Gregory Widen’s story “Highlander.” Part of it is Christopher Lambert’s hardened hero Connor McLeod as well as Clancy Brown’s exceptionally psychotic performance as the Kurgan, but Mulcahy commands how we [...]

Since I made the comparison to “Due Date,” here’s my short review from a couple years back. There’s not a lot of explicit or physical humor in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” but such is the case with most John Hughes comedies: you get more of a natural, every-day sort of a humor in a film [...]

Unlike any film in history, “The Pink Panther” left its legacy not by its original sense of humor or iconic performance by Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau, but by an animated pink panther and instantly recognizable theme music by Henry Mancini. Anyone born after 1980 knew of “The Pink Panther” at a young age, but [...]

Thought I’d go with this one in honor of my last post. Going into the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece “Psycho,” it’s best that you know nothing — in fact Hitchcock wanted it that way — so this review will be succint and devoid of any synopsis beyond that of the basic plot summaries provided for the [...]

“Through A Glass Darkly” begins the trilogy of Ingmar Bergman films dedicated to wrestling with God and faith. Different from the Bergman classics before it (“The Seventh Seal” and “Wild Strawberries”), “Darkly” is a much more intimate confrontation of life’s toughest questions, holding itself to a cast of four: three of whom are immediately family [...]

Despite being a child of the ’90s, somehow I missed “Heavyweights” entirely. Considering the similarities it shares with “The Mighty Ducks” movies such as actors Kenan Thompson and Shaun Weiss, I’m almost embarrassed. Regardless, there’s still plenty to appreciate about “Heavyweights” 15 years later in spite of its silliness — and it’s more than just [...]

Everything that can be said about an actual date night (namely predictable) can be said about “Date Night.” No denying that stars Steve Carell and Tina Fey possess the most universal and multi-generational comic chops of any two comedians working today, but they certainly have to work to chew “Date Night” into something palatable.

As far as war films go, “The Great Escape” doesn’t rank in the most dramatic or the most eye-opening. It doesn’t even make the list of World War II epics with the most compelling characters. It’s a movie with that intangible “it” factor that only comes from an impressive story. Films such as this one [...]

With a subject as delicate, personal and even as controversial as religion, the wisest choice “Jesus Camp” filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady make is to keep their voice and presence out of the film and let their subjects tell the story. Documentaries are always better with some kind of guiding force and a hint [...]

When you watch a film like “Sister Act” you have to wonder how it’s possible Whoopi Goldberg has more different awards (Oscar, Tony, daytime Emmy) than most actors. Quite simply, Goldberg always seems to find warm and genial moments. Although her transformation from the frantic, angry and loud Deloris to that of the inspiring nun [...]