Movie Reviews

The Story: Five old friends are talked into getting back together to re-stage an epic pub crawl they didn't quite pull off 20 years ago. The Lowdown: Surprisingly deep — even moving — comedy of the very British variety. Not as wildly funny as Hot Fuzz, but consistently amusing and quite possibly better made.

The Story: Gory home invasion movie with a twist ... and a few dollops of black comedy. The Lowdown: Overrated but reasonably adequate horror of the splattery kind. Nothing special.

The Story: Defense lawyers for a sensitive case involving an alleged terrorist bomber find themselves embroiled in something more than they bargained for. The Lowdown: An unusually smart legal thriller that appeals more to the intellect than your standard action-oriented flick. (Think Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.) A strong cast, solid direction and a well-rounded script…

The Story: A teen girl discovers she’s from supernatural bloodlines and finds herself entangled in an endless war between demons and those tasked with hunting them. The Lowdown: An occasionally horrific and handsome-looking teen-fantasy flick that goes on too long, eventually devolving into little more than really expensive teen melodrama.

The Story: A game of war in the woods between kids takes a serious turn as teenage jealousy and emotion enter the mix. The Lowdown: While somewhat ambitious, a lack of focus, budget and onscreen talent really drag the film down.

The Story: Coming-of-age teen romance involving an unlikely couple. The Lowdown: Much-praised teen drama that I found a good bit less than terrific. The leads are likable enough, even when their characters are less so.

The Story: An American, his Chilean friends and a woman called Crystal Fairy go in search of a San Pedro cactus and a mescaline trip. The Lowdown: A shaggy, shambling road trip of a movie that lacks much in the way of a story, but boasts an oddly compelling — even moving — feeling.

In Brief: The great Tod Slaughter has a go at Wilkie Collins' novel The Woman in White, which is transformed here into one of the British horror star's typical blood-and-thunder "strong meat" melodramas. That means that no virgin is safe and no deed too dirty. Though Crimes at the Dark House (1940) is nothing new…

In Brief: Scintillating, sophisticated heist comedy that finds both its stars — William Powell and Kay Francis — and its director (the undervalued William Dieterle) at the height of their powers. Deliciously Pre-Code and every inch adult entertainment (in the best sense) about a slick jewel thief and the bored rich woman who encounters him…

In Brief: Oscar-nominated crime drama — and character study — from Austria, Revanche (2008) is one of those films that never made it onto local screens. It's the sort of compelling film that just isn't an easy sell — a fairly grim examination of a botched bank robbery that was meant to provide a new…

In Brief: Another two-hour commercial for MGM that continues the attempt to rewrite the history of movies as the history of MGM. The new footage by Gene Kelly is appallingly cheesy, and the clips are a mixed bag (kind of the movie equivalent of B-sides) that seem to have been edited with a meat cleaver.…

In Brief: An extensive, deeply researched look at the career of the commercially ignored but critically acclaimed Memphis rock band Big Star. The film is an obvious work of fans and a must-see for those who already love the band. But its subject matter, combined with some faulty storytelling, makes this doc a difficult sell…

The Story: A woman whose husband left her widowed, with nothing but the wreckage of his illegal financial empire — and a lot of high-toned notions — finds her life spinning out of control. The Lowdown: A rich, beautifully crafted and intricate film from Woody Allen that qualifies as essential viewing.

The Story: A biopic based on the life of Apple Computers cofounder Steve Jobs. The Lowdown: A hoary, generic biography that never picks a tone nor a purpose, with a corny star-turn from Ashton Kutcher.

The Story: More inexplicable fancy-dress vigilante doings. The Lowdown: Ugly, mean, unpleasant and tedious. There is nothing to recommend this.

The Story: A down-on-his luck programmer gets ensnared in a dangerous game of corporate espionage. The Lowdown: A flat, corny attempt at a thriller that’s both far-fetched and incredibly dull.

The Story: Fact-based drama about the man who served as White House butler from Ike to Reagan. The Lowdown: Lee Daniels feels constrained with a PG-13 rating, but his film still resonates with honest emotion and solid filmmaking that manages to pack more than 80 years of story into two hours without feeling rushed.

In Brief: The first true neo-noir is still the best. Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974) is that rare thing — an homage that actually transcends the genre it salutes. Everything about the film feels just right — from the casting (who but Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston can you imagine in the leads?) to…

In Brief: While it scarcely scales the heights of Jean Renoir's finest works, The River remains a fascinating minor footnote in his career. The story — about three girls growing up in Bengal, India, experiencing first love (unfortunately with the same man) — is slight, and the acting is on the hit-or-miss side. Yet Renoir…

In Brief: Despite being constrained by budget and (as is often common with local productions) going on too long, Jack Eagen's Ringside Rosary is one of the more interesting films to come along from Asheville filmmakers. Surprisingly violent and even more surprisingly uncompromising, it's a film that proves that budget can be largely overcome by…

In Brief: A purely delightful pre-Code oddity, Paramount's Murder at the Vanities (1934) is all but unknown today — not in the least because it got very little TV play, thanks to its skimpy costumes and the song "Marihuana." It's a backstage murder mystery that unfolds in real-time during a musical revue. Director Mitchell Leisen…