Movies Shticky Stuff: 'Zack And Miri' And A Fluid Or Two October 31, 2008 Lively, naughty and crude, it's exactly the film you'd expect from Kevin Smith. Maybe too much so: The director's sentimental passions (and his frat-boy urges) have congealed into shtick.
Movies 'The Other End of the Line': Phoning It In October 31, 2008 James Dodson's cross-cultural romantic comedy brings its unlikely lovers together from home bases that are oceans apart. It's implausible and formulaic — but the stars are charming enough.
Movies 'Changeling': Against The Odds, A Mother's Fight Fresh Air October 31, 2008 Clint Eastwood's film recounts the based-on-a-true-story tale of a Los Angeles woman's struggle to find her missing son — after police return the wrong child to her. David Edelstein has a review.
Movies In 'Synecdoche, N.Y.,' A State Of Mind Expanded October 26, 2008 A theatrical director, driven by ambition and anxiety, restages his own life — on a full-scale New York set he builds in the shelter of a huge warehouse. Bob Mondello says it's one heck of a head-trip. (Recommended)
Movies 'Changeling' Another Step In Eastwood's Evolution October 24, 2008 Like Million Dollar Baby and his World War II films, the director's new true-crime drama centers on a driven protagonist facing the rigid ideology of a major institution — this time, the LAPD.
Movies Shiny, 'Happy-Go-Lucky' People In A World Of Blue Fresh Air October 24, 2008 In Mike Leigh's marvelous comedy Happy-Go-Lucky, a London schoolteacher tackles life's everyday travails with a good dose of the giggles. Film critic David Edelstein reviews.
Movies 'Let The Right One In': Lyrical, If Well-Chewed October 23, 2008 In his Swedish vampire fable, director Tomas Alfredson constructs a biting narrative without going overboard on the blood. For all its finesse, though, the movie is still essentially a genre exercise.
Movies 'I've Loved You So Long': In Extremis, Sisters Still October 23, 2008 Juliette Fontaine (Kristin Scott Thomas) has spent 15 years estranged from her family. When her younger sister reaches out to bring her back into the fold, long-buried secrets finally surface.
Movies A 'Boogie Man' With A Legacy Of Complicated Moves Fresh Air October 20, 2008 Stefan Forbes' documentary looks at the life and controversial career of Lee Atwater, the political operative who ran George H.W. Bush's 1988 campaign — and introduced the nation to Willie Horton.
Movies 'Max Payne': Gaming The System, Gloomily October 17, 2008 Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis star in a cops-and-corruption thriller with supernatural overtones; adapted from the hit video game, John Moore's movie could use more nuance but looks like a crowd-pleaser.
Movies 'Nights and Weekends': A Relationship In Fragments October 17, 2008 A lovely, gentle relationship drama about loss and disappointment; impressionistic and intimate, it captures moments, but also evolutions, the unchartable rhythms of a romance diminishing.
Movies Fool Me Once: Stone's Oedipal 'W.' Lacks Depth Fresh Air October 17, 2008 Filmmaker Oliver Stone couldn't wait for President Bush to leave office before he made a movie about him. And despite Stone's famously left-leaning views, his treatment of The Decider is surprisingly empathetic — though ultimately the film doesn't do justice to its characters.
Movies Oliver Stone's 'W.': Taking Aim At A Lame Duck October 16, 2008 With elections just days away, the director of Nixon and JFK returns with a fantasia on the life of George W. Bush. As the first-ever film about a sitting president, it's certainly a curiosity; but is it much more?
Movies 'Morning Light': Speed Racers On The Ocean Blue October 16, 2008 Fifteen sailors — collegiate nonprofessionals all — compete in one of the world's most celebrated yacht races in this handsomely shot if ultimately underwhelming documentary.
Movies Madonna's 'Filth And Wisdom': Not Much Of Either October 16, 2008 The indestructible pop star (who proved decidedly destructible as an actress) makes her directorial debut. Mark Jenkins says that for an offbeat sex comedy about alt-culture love and larceny, it's surprisingly middlebrow.