Movies A 'Miracle' That's Somewhat Less Than Wondrous September 26, 2008 • Spike Lee's latest highlights the oft-neglected contributions of African-American servicemen in World War II. But an overstuffed screenplay and an uneven tone undercut the effort.
Movies Spike Lee's Epic Canvas, Painted With Broad Strokes Fresh Air September 26, 2008 • Miracle At St. Anna, based on James McBride's novel, follows four soldiers of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division after they're cut off by Axis forces in the Tuscan countryside during World War II.
Movies 'Eagle Eye': Death By A Thousand Cuts September 25, 2008 • Hyperkinetic jump-cut editing and a clangorous Mission Impossible-style score can't cover up the essential idiocy of D.J. Caruso's paranoid thriller, which seems cobbled together from random elements of far better movies.
Movies 'The Lucky Ones': Suspiciously Serendipitous September 25, 2008 • Three returning soldiers deal with a massive power outage, a barroom catfight, a visit to a megachurch, a certain amount of silly sex comedy and an entirely implausible plot twist involving a twister.
Movies LaBute's 'Terrace' Comes With A View (But Whose?) September 18, 2008 • "What could be safer than living next to a cop?" Almost anything, if the cop is Samuel L. Jackson's Abel Turner. The latest from Neil (Nurse Betty) LaBute has a weird, anxious edge — which helps make up for its plot.
Movies 'Appaloosa': Fun With The Guys, Until A Filly Arrives September 18, 2008 • With two laconic, unflappable heroes and a nicely psycho villain, Ed Harris' new Western does a lot right. The bit with the pretty young widow, unfortunately, isn't one of them.
Movies In A Crowded 'Ghost Town,' One Spirited Standout September 18, 2008 • After curmudgeonly dentist Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) almost (but not quite) dies, he finds that he can see the recently departed — and they are really, really annoying.
Movies In 'Moving Midway,' A House And Its Home Truths September 18, 2008 • A New Yorker and his cousins relocate a North Carolina plantation house. In the process, they grapple with the legacy of their common ancestors — those who lived there, and those who worked its land.
Movies For Wang's 'Good Prayers,' A Merely Modest Result September 18, 2008 • Wayne Wang's low-key father-daughter story succeeds less with the peaks and valleys of its family drama than with the gently amusing immigrants-discovering-America vignettes it offers.
Movies A 'Battle In Seattle,' Staged With Politics In Mind September 18, 2008 • Based on events — anti-globalization protests turned violent — that occurred barely a decade ago, Stuart Townsend's directorial debut plays like an update of '30s social melodrama.
Movies 'The Duchess': Free Spirits, Tight Laces And Scandal September 16, 2008 • Saul Dibb's lavishly pretty historical romance, about an 18th century aristocrat with a penchant for politics and politicians, gets beyond the gilded surfaces to show the constrictions — and the pains they caused.
Movies For 'The Women,' A Cut-Rate Reno-vation September 12, 2008 • Despite the best efforts of an able cast (including Meg Ryan and Annette Bening), this loose remake's only virtue is that it allows critics to talk about the stylish, gossipy George Cukor original.
Movies 'Burn' Notice: Losers Losing, And No One Cares Fresh Air September 12, 2008 • Joel and Ethan Coen's new black comedy sets its dim-bulb characters careening through a blackmail-and-infidelity plot. The cast is top notch, but the directors seem so little invested, they might as well be on autopilot.
Movies 'Towelhead': An Awakening, With Laughter And Pain September 11, 2008 • Alan Ball's film follows the dark but shockingly funny story of Jasira, a 13-year-old Arab-American girl, as she navigates the confusing and frightening paths of adolescence and sexual awakening.
Movies 'Righteous Kill': A Subpar 'Dexter,' With De Niro September 11, 2008 • Oh, and Pacino, too. And 50 Cent. They've all banded together for an action-packed serial-killer cop thriller. No, seriously. And critic Bob Mondello says the result is anything but righteous.