Author:   Justin Souther

The Story: The story of Genghis Khan’s rise to power, from the days of his youth to becoming the ruler of the Mongols. The Lowdown: A methodical, often beautiful film about how Genghis Khan might have come into power that separates itself from most historical epics by focusing on the characters as opposed to the…

The Story: Working for top-secret government agency CONTROL, agent Maxwell Smart must foil the plans of the evil terrorist organization KAOS and their plot to ransom the world with threats of nuclear war. The Lowdown: While it may not satisfy fans of the original TV show, Get Smart works as simple summer entertainment, even if…

The Story: An Indian guru is hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs to help their star player get back with his estranged wife just in time for him to return in form and win the Stanley Cup. The Lowdown: A generally unfunny, juvenile movie exacerbated by Mike Myers’ constant mugging and need to point out…

The Story: The four women of the wildly popular HBO series Sex and the City return to continue quests for love and fashion. The Lowdown: A predictable, shallow movie that comes across more as an extended version of the TV show than anything that should be playing in theaters, and -- at a running time…

The Story: This documentary follows the Young@Heart chorus, a group of elderly singers that does covers of rock standards. The Lowdown: An occasionally touching documentary that’s bogged down with sloppy, manipulative and occasionally dull filmmaking and muddled intent.

The Story: A pair of strangers drunkenly marry in Vegas, but before they can get an annulment, they win a $3 million slot-machine jackpot and are forced to remain married for six months before the money can be split between them. The Lowdown: Exactly what you expect: a 100 percent by-the-book romantic comedy short on…

The Story: A wealthy playboy finds out his female best friend is getting married -- just when he's realized that she’s the one for him. He accepts her offer to serve as maid of honor at her wedding in order to stop the proceedings and steal her away. The Lowdown:: A completely by-the-book romantic comedy…

The Story: A 37-year-old single woman discovers she's infertile, and hires a white-trash woman to be her surrogate. The Lowdown: A pleasant yet forgettable comedy carried on the strength of Tina Fey’s lead performance and the film’s supporting cast.

The Story: An American teen travels to a mystical realm of martial arts and super powers in order to return a supernatural weapon and defeat a despotic warlord. The Lowdown: A perfectly fine little piece of entertainment that works as what it is while on-screen, yet is too predictable and insignificant to be memorable.

The Story: A young girl asks her hero, the lead character from her favorite adventure novel series, to come help her save the island she lives on, not realizing that in so doing she’s actually asking the series’ reclusive creator for aid. The Lowdown: A poorly paced, anticlimactic family film full of shoddy direction and…

The Story: A soldier returns home from Iraq with eyes on getting out of the military, only to find out he's being forced to return to war due to a lack of troops. The Lowdown: A film that attempts to take a more personal look at the war in Iraq, but remains too slight and…

The Story: A teen is bitten by a genetically enhanced dragonfly, contracts super powers, and decides to become a superhero. The Lowdown: Another in the long line of Movie movies. This one is slightly better -- and a lot shorter -- than its pedigree would lead you to believe, but that still doesn't mean it…

The Story: The new kid at school finds himself in the world of underground martial arts and must learn to fight for what he believes in. The Lowdown: Aimed squarely at undemanding teen audiences, this film is a cheesy, melodramatic look at rich kids and martial arts.

The Story: An overprotective father takes his daughter on a 700-mile road trip to visit Georgetown University, during which things go awry and supposed hilarity ensues. The Lowdown: A frequently obnoxious, totally unfunny and ultimately pointless family comedy. Exactly what one might expect from a Martin Lawrence movie.

The Story: Set in the '70s, a down-on-its-luck basketball franchise tries to turn its season around so that it can merge with the NBA. The Lowdown: A by-the-book sports movie with a couple of good performances that are dragged down by the grafted-on high jinks of Will Ferrell.

The Story: The story of the attempted assassination of the U.S. president told from several different points of view. The Lowdown: Telling the movie’s story through the eyes of multiple characters quickly becomes a gimmick, which would be fine if it weren’t such an uninteresting one.

The Story: A young dancer from the streets is forced to go to a private arts school, where she starts a dance crew in order to compete in an underground dance competition. The Lowdown: Yet another dance movie filled with clichés and teen melodrama that never really tries to do anything new.

The Story: A look at Jimmy Carter as he travels the country promoting his controversial book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. The Lowdown: An unassuming documentary that's never close to spectacular, but gets its message across while being surprisingly interesting.

The Story: A down-on-his-luck nature-show host decides to track down Bigfoot in an effort to save his television program. The Lowdown: An amateurish hodgepodge of gross-out gags, stoner humor and randomness that’s never even remotely funny or worthwhile.

The Story: After the death of her sister to drug abuse, a teen must win a dance competition in order to afford her tuition to private school. The Lowdown: Another dance-centric teen drama that attempts to purport a positive message but ultimately fails due to drab direction and being steeped in melodrama.

The Story: Headband-sporting John Rambo decides to come out of hiding to free some Christians from a Burmese army encampment. The Lowdown: Violent, dumb, poorly made and pointlessly gory. It's exactly what you expect from a Rambo movie.