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Movie Reviews Reviews of new movies, classic and art films, foreign films, and popular movies. Featuring Bob Mondello, Kenneth Turan, David Edelstein, and Mark Jenkins.

Movie Reviews

Friday

Chasing 'Fame,' In The Clumsiest Possible Way

At the New York City High School of Performing Arts, artistically gifted students spend four years perfecting their games, performing every chance they get — including at the school's Halloween carnival — in their pursuit of stardom. Saeed Adyani/MGM hide caption

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Saeed Adyani/MGM

Movies

Chasing 'Fame,' In The Clumsiest Possible Way

A far cry from Alan Parker's original, Kevin Tancharoen's Fame remake shows the director's inexperience — and a scandalous screenwriterly laxity about story and character. Jeannette Catsoulis says this is a kind of Fame you can live without.

In The Center Ring: Michael Moore Vs. 'Capitalism'

Twenty years after his groundbreaking film Roger and Me, Michael Moore pays a visit to a much-humbled General Motors. Overture Films hide caption

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Overture Films

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In The Center Ring: Michael Moore Vs. 'Capitalism'

Fresh Air

Thoroughly one-sided — and riveting nonetheless — Moore's broadside is a barbed comic monologue with big jolts of pathos. And it's the film he's been building to in all his other polemics.

In The Center Ring: Michael Moore Vs. 'Capitalism'

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Thursday

'Brief Interviews' Get Muddled In Translation

Subject 14: Ben Shenkman plays one of many nameless men who confess dirty deeds to Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson). IFC Films hide caption

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IFC Films

Movies

'Brief Interviews' Get Muddled In Translation

In his big-screen retelling of David Foster Wallace's stories about men's sordid emotional lives, writer-director John Krasinski faced a choice between honoring his inspiration and telling his own story. Critic Ian Buckwalter says the director shoots straight down the middle — and misses both targets.

Michael Moore's New Target: 'Capitalism' Itself
Overture Films

Movies

Michael Moore's New Target: 'Capitalism' Itself

Michael Moore is famous for skewering the excesses of American industry — and in his latest film, he goes looking (mostly on Wall Street) for the source of the trouble. Critic Kenneth Turan says that while Capitalism certainly has spirit, the pop-culture polemicist may have taken on more than he could chew.

Michael Moore's New Target: 'Capitalism' Itself

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A Down-Under Tale, With A Trio Of Grieving Lost Boys

Boys' Life: Teenage Harry (George MacKay) joins younger half-brother Artie (Nicholas McAnulty) and their dad (Clive Owen) after a death throws the family into turmoil. Matt Nettheim/Miramax Films hide caption

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Matt Nettheim/Miramax Films

Movies

A Down-Under Tale, With A Trio Of Grieving Lost Boys

After a sportswriter (Clive Owen) loses his wife, he and his two sons go through a painful process to become a family again. Unfortunately, says critic Mark Jenkins, director Scott Hicks spends more time on cinematography than characters in The Boys Are Back.

Friday

'Chance Of Meatballs' Puts Fun In The Forecast

A Delectable 3-D Downpour: After countless failed experiments, a scientist seeking to solve world hunger gets a little more success than he bargained for when he figures out how to turn water into food. Sony Pictures Animation hide caption

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Sony Pictures Animation

Movies

'Chance Of Meatballs' Puts Fun In The Forecast

The animated 3-D adaptation of the 1978 children's book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs serves up a lot of laughs, as well as some food for thought. Critic Bob Mondello says the script is chock-full of wit, with some real-world crunch to boot.

'Chance Of Meatballs' Puts Fun In The Forecast

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'The Informant!' Lies. What A Surprise!

Dangerously Dim: Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) is a quirky corporate executive turned whistle-blower who can't seem to do anything right. Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. Pictures

Movies

'The Informant!' Lies. What A Surprise!

Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! is based on the true story of a corporate executive turned whistle-blower, played by Matt Damon. Critic Bob Mondello says the film is "hardly a disaster" but adds that the exclamation point isn't quite deserved.

'The Informant!' Lies. What A Surprise!

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Love At First Longing For 'Star'-Crossed Lovers

"Now a soft kiss ..." A dying John Keats (Ben Whishaw) locks lips with his "stedfast" muse and secret lover, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Apparition hide caption

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Apparition

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Love At First Longing For 'Star'-Crossed Lovers

Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Boy writes poetry and wins girl's heart. The catch? The boy is John Keats. Oscar-winning writer-director Jane Campion's new film, Bright Star, uses history to set a new standard for poetic love.

Love At First Longing For 'Star'-Crossed Lovers

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Campion's 'Bright', Poetic Romance

Fresh Air

Set in the 19th century, Jane Campion's Bright Star centers on the unconsummated affair of John Keats and his Hampstead neighbor. Reviewer David Edelstein says the film doesn't have a single less-than-perfect performance.

Campion's 'Bright', Poetic Romance

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Thursday

Like Yesterday's Psychobabble, 'Love Happens'

Can I Help You With Your Baggage? Eloise (Jennifer Aniston) is a florist with a history of bad relationships, and Burke (Aaron Eckhart) is a self-help grief guru still mourning the loss of his wife. And yet: Love Happens. Kimberley French/Universal Studios hide caption

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Kimberley French/Universal Studios

Movies

Like Yesterday's Psychobabble, 'Love Happens'

Of the three — yes, three — recent films starring hypocritical self-help gurus, Love Happens is the worst. Critic Mark Jenkins says that, from the predictable plot to the lackluster characters, Love Happens needs all the love it can get.

'Meatballs' Comes With A Helping Of Social Critique

Would You Like Fries With That? After many failed experiments, scientist Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) finally tastes victory when he figures out how to turn water into food. Sony Pictures Animation hide caption

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Sony Pictures Animation

Movies

'Meatballs' Comes With A Helping Of Social Critique

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs' 3-D caloric deluge is stuffed with A-list voiceovers and animated with love, care and plenty of mischief. But critic Ella Taylor says audiences will also see the film as a story of American overindulgence.

Friday

'Big Fan': The Defeat Of A Football Fantasy

For the love of the game: Paul (Patton Oswalt) and his buddy Sal (Kevin Corrigan) are die-hard Giants fans who watch games on TV in the stadium parking lot. First Independent Pictures hide caption

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First Independent Pictures

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'Big Fan': The Defeat Of A Football Fantasy

Big Fan explores the passion and obsession of those who live on the fringes of professional sports. Patton Oswalt gives a powerful performance as a die-hard Giants fan who has an unexpected brush with football fame.

'Big Fan': The Defeat Of A Football Fantasy

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Movies

In 'No Impact Man', A Stunt To Save The Earth

Fresh Air

Colin Beavan, the protagonist of the documentary No Impact Man, spends a year living "eco-effectively" — eating only locally grown foods and, eventually, forgoing electricity and toilet paper. Critic David Edelstein calls the film a "21st-century climate-change comedy of manners."

In 'No Impact Man', A Stunt To Save The Earth

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Thursday

A Noir Classic Revisited In 'Reasonable Doubt'

You Can Probably Handle the Truth: District Attorney Mark Hunter (Michael Douglas) wants to use his reputation as a "Good Old Boy" to run for governor. Will he stop at nothing to win? BAR Doubt, LLC hide caption

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BAR Doubt, LLC

Culture

A Noir Classic Revisited In 'Reasonable Doubt'

Stop the presses: A power-hungry lawyer is running for governor — and he'll stop at nothing to win? The politics of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt may have made a splash around the time of Fritz Lang's 1956 version of the film, but critic Ella Taylor says that Peter Hyams' remake demonstrates that the plot hasn't aged well.