There's something about scarcity that focuses the mind. In the context of The Road's characters, it means that a lack of food has made them single-minded in their fight for survival and sustenance. In terms of the story, it means that a lack of characters and cinematic adornment leaves us only to ponder the two of them; the Man, and the Boy. And the r...   ...READ REVIEW

There's something about Iron Man that feels more real than other superheroes. Perhaps it's the heft of his suit and its accompanying sound effects, or the fact that all of his "powers" have a quasi-scientific basis. If nothing else, you have to admire a guy who makes engineering cool. How many superheroes are a walking advertisement for the benefits of paying attention in math class?

Iron Man 2 picks up where the previous film left off; with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) giv...   ...READ REVIEW

Date Night is a triumph of execution over concept; the setup is pedestrian and most of the events are fairly contrived, so it necessarily lives or dies on the strength of its two leads (Tina Fey and Steve Carrell). It lives.

The aforementioned setup is this: a married couple (Phil and Claire Foster) is stuck in a rut, and the husband (Carrell) decides to have them pose as an absent couple to steal a dinner reservation. The reservation is at a trendy Manhattan seafood joint called &quo...   ...READ REVIEW

To describe Cold Souls as "high concept" would be an understatement. Concepts don't get much higher than this, and following suit might help you enjoy it. If Charlie Kaufman were a character in Pineapple Express and loved Tolstoy, this is the kind of thing he might dream up.

Paul Giamatti plays a version of himself...literally. He's not playing a character similar to him, he's playing Paul Giamatti, though one would hope a more melancholy version of whoever he really i...   ...READ REVIEW

Dreamworks has a reputation for producing disposal family films. While some (like Kung Fu Panda) stand out, most lack the depth and timelessness of their Pixarian counterparts. It's safe to say that the humor in Finding Nemo will stay humorous much longer than the barrage of pop culture references in Shark Tale.

How to Train Your Dragon is a refreshing departure from this trend. Though the dialogue has an expectedly modern ring to it, it largely avoids anything tha...   ...READ REVIEW

Young director Reitman's follow-up to Juno also appears a cinch to be nominated Best Picture of 2009 when the noms are announced next year. It's reminiscent of Juno in that it's a crowd pleaser and has some indie-sounding songs on the soundtrack (most of them turning up in the film's second half), but the story itself couldn't really be further from Juno except that it is about a person who seems to have found his comfort zone although his current situation is forcing him to...   ...READ REVIEW