Movie Reviews

The Story: A lionizing look at the life and legacy of PBS children's show host Fred Rogers. The Lowdown: An emotionally evocative tribute to a man who dedicated his career to selflessly helping children cope with an increasingly intimidating world, rendering an intimate portrait of a human being every inch as genuine as his public persona would…

The Story: Four Kentucky college students plan to rob the campus library, with the scheme quickly spiraling out of control faster than than the first-time criminals can handle. The Lowdown: The best quasi-docu-comedy of the year so far about a gang of not-quite criminal masterminds stealing rare books.

The Story: A young Rinpoche and his caretaker undertake a perilous journey to Tibet in the hopes of reuniting the boy with the monastery he led in a previous incarnation. The Lowdown: An emotionally stirring character study that shows admirable restraint on the part of its documentarians but also stubbornly defies expectations.

The Story: A single dad tries to reconnect with his daughter before she leaves for college by starting a band with her. The Lowdown: While the performances are solid, a lack of real, earned emotion and an airlessness in its musical side hurt a nice little film.

The Story: The dinosaurs of Isla Nublar must be rescued from a volcanic eruption, but the financiers of the operation may have motives that are not altogether altruistic. The Lowdown: A distinctly strange but not particularly compelling entry in a franchise that seems to have better chances of surviving extinction than the dinosaurs ever did.

In Brief: Francis Ford Coppola’s feature directing debut, Dementia 13, may not be perfect, but it is essential viewing for the horror completist. Co-written by Coppola with pre-eminent schlockmeister Jack Hill (Spider Baby, Foxy Brown) and produced by the venerable Roger Corman, this film is arguably the genesis of the slasher subgenre. Sure, it’s got its…

In Brief: Roman Polanski's little-seen — and much-maligned — 1972 film, What?, is undeniably one of the director's strangest works. In essence, it's a variation on Alice in Wonderland — except played out in surrealistic terms as a sex comedy. It's no wonder that no one seemed to know what to do with it or how…

In Brief: Frank Capra was no stranger to screwball comedy, and It Happened One Night (1934) is considered by some to be the progenitor of the subgenre. Potentially the best-known — if not necessarily the best — of Capra's comedic works, it's as charming and breezy as it is silly and cynical. Neither as outright funny as Capra's later comedies or as…

The Story: The Parr family, also known as the superhero team The Incredibles, fight to regain the legality of their collective avocation as a mysterious villain known as Screenslaver threatens to undermine their efforts. The Lowdown: Visually stunning but narratively regressive, director Brad Bird's return to Pixar lacks the punch of its predecessor.

The Story: Cocaine dealer Youngblood Priest goes after one big score  after a nightclub shooting makes him contemplate getting out of the game. The Lowdown: Inferior to the original but true to its spirit, mindless fun aimed squarely at the adolescent male id.

The Story: Five friends reunite every May to play the same game of tag that's been going on for 30 years... The Lowdown: ... but this year the greatest player of all time is threatening to retire, which someone thought was a good idea for a movie.

The Story: A struggling screenwriter confronts his demons after meeting a young musician while promoting his script at a film festival. The Lowdown: A locally produced independent drama that makes the most of its budget — and its picturesque Asheville setting — while telling an emotionally resonant story.

In Brief: For his 1963 suspense film High and Low, Akira Kurosawa seems to have been actually trying to draw the wrath of those who find his work too “Western” by choosing the Ed McBain novel King’s Ransom for his source material. What could possibly be more Western — indeed, more downright American — than…

In Brief: Cecil B. DeMille's historical epics are an acquired taste in my book, but even those with accepting palates may find Samson and Delilah (1949) hard to swallow. Despite its (mostly) remarkable cast and suitably grandiose scale, it's perhaps the most forgettable of DeMille's biblical films. Sure, Hedy Lamar looks gorgeous and George Sanders gets to be sleazy,…

The Story: A reverend with a depressing back story and an even more depressing congregation contemplates extreme measures as his church, funded by a malignantly narcissistic oligarch, prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary. The Lowdown: A spiritual sequel to Taxi Driver that places the emphasis on the spiritual, as writer/director Paul Schrader returns to form.

The Story: A family confronts a seemingly accidental tragedy, only to discover that its roots are buried in a far deeper occult history. The Lowdown: A staggeringly accomplished feature debut for writer/director Ari Aster that mixes metaphor with metaphysics to genuinely ghoulish ends.

The Story: The life of legendary fashion editor Andre Leon Talley. The Lowdown: While focusing on a worthy and fascinating subject, the film as a whole lacks any real spark.

The Story: Debbie Ocean, recently released from prison, puts a team together and sets a long-planned Met Gala heist into motion in this spinoff of the Soderbergh-directed series. The Lowdown: While the all-star cast is the best thing going for it, the film lacks the energy, style and overall sense of cinematic fun offered up…

The Story: In a future Los Angeles beset by riots over water, a tough-as-nails nurse operates a boutique hospital for the city's most powerful criminals. The Lowdown: As sleazily stylish as it is stupefyingly slipshod, this not-quite neo-noir is likely to engender little more than a resounding "So what?"

In Brief: What would happen if Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be had some unholy love child with Schindler's List? I don't know, and I don't want to know — but it couldn't possibly be more depressing than Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos' 1965 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film, The Shop on Main Street (Obch o Na Korze).…

The Story: An alien from a suffocating culture ends up in England at the beginning of punk's explosion. The Lowdown: An endlessly playful piece of science fiction that's rewarding if you have the patience for its romanticized nature.