Movie Reviews

The Story: A Jewish prince in Roman-occupied Jerusalem seeks revenge after he is betrayed by his adoptive brother, but his heart is softened by encounters with Jesus Christ. The Lowdown: Failing to function on both cinematic and evangelistic levels, Ben Hur is a disappointing and redundant take on a story that's been told often — and better.

The Story: A young boy sets off on an epic adventure to retrieve a mystical set of armor and stop an evil force. The Lowdown: A visually accomplished animated flick that's a bit too straitlaced and lacking in fun.

The Story:  Miami Beach bros in their early 20s make millions exploiting military contracts with shady business partners during the Iraq War. The Lowdown: Miles Teller is almost ready to be a leading man. But, like much of this film, he falls short of his grown-up goal.

The Story: An investment banker tries to save her career, while her boyfriend is secretly (and illegally) trying to sabotage her. The Lowdown: A not-very-thrilling Wall Street thriller with hints of feminism that don't quite come together — and a weak cast that doesn't help things.

One of the undisputed classics of modern international film, 8 1/2 (its title literally meaning that it was Federico Fellini's eight-and-one-halfth film — seven full features and a couple short segments of omnibus films precede it) is the movie where the greatest of all Italian filmmakers moved completely away from traditional realism toward a more personal approach…

One of only three films directed by Robin Hardy, much of what makes The Wicker Man (1973) so special can likely be attributed to recently deceased writer Anthony Shaffer, who also wrote Hitchcock's Frenzy and both the stage and screen versions of Sleuth. This film is unquestionably a definitive cult classic, due largely to its low-budget location shooting…

In Brief: Michael Apted's 1979 film — his conjecture as to what might have happened during the 11-day disappearance in 1926 of mystery novelist Agatha Christie — is one of the overlooked gems of '70s filmmaking. It may not be Apted's best film, but it is almost certainly his most visually sumptuous — thanks in no small…

Based on the hit French stage play by Jean Poiret, La Cage aux Folles became a surprise hit with mainstream American audience when it debuted in 1978, and was for a time the highest grossing foreign-language film in the States. It's easy to see why, as this farcical satire (or is it a satirical farce?) about…

The Story: Two brothers rob branches of the bank that's trying to foreclose on the family farm, but two U.S. Marshals are determined to stop them. The Lowdown: A genre throwback with remarkable depth, Hell will be a strong contender for many best-of lists come year's end.

The Story: A gifted young Jewish student from Newark attends a small liberal arts college in Ohio to escape both his overbearing parents and the Korean War, until the attentions of a beautiful but troubled young woman compromise his plans. The Lowdown: An adaptation of Philip Roth's 2008 novel of the same name, Indignation marks a spotty, but ultimately…

The Story: After a car crash kills his parents, a young boy is taken in by a dragon who lives in the wilderness. The Lowdown: A gentle, sweet, family-centric movie that has some small points of interest, but one that's not very exciting as a whole.

The Story: An anthropomorphic sausage questions his worldview when evidence emerges that things are not what they seem beyond the supermarket doors. The Lowdown: A passable raunch-com attack on modern kids' films that falls short of full-on hilarity.

In Brief: Henri-Georges Clouzot is noted as France’s answer to Hitchcock,  but the argument could be made that he was, at times, even better. Along with Wages of Fear and The Inferno, Clouzot’s mastery of morbidity is at least on par with Hitchcock’s darkest corners. Possibly the director’s best known work, Les Diaboliques (1955) is a gripping…

In Brief: One of Visconti’s best, and historically most underrated films, White Nights marks a turning point in the director’s career. This film can be seen as the transitional point at which the director begins to abandon the constraints of neorealism for a more operatic stylization, and the results are truly remarkable. As well as representing…

In Brief: More historically notable than actually good, The Moon Is Blue (1953) may be the best evidence in support of the argument that Otto Preminger should have stayed away from romantic comedies. One of the first films to challenge Hollywood’s self-imposed Production Code, The Moon Is Blue was banned by the Legion of Decency on…

In Brief: A highlight of Buster Keaton’s canon, The General (1926) is one of the purest examples of what made him such a noteworthy cinematic force. This film has it all, from Keaton’s death-defying stunts to some of the best physical comedy he ever committed to celluloid. This film is Keaton in his maturity as…

One of the better — yet probably least remembered — action comedies of the 1980s, Midnight Run (1988) is notable more for the chemistry of its two stars than for its actual script or Martin Brest’s so-so direction. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. Quite a few films are worthwhile for the performance of one…

The Story: Frank Zappa in his own words (as the title would imply), this collection of interviews and performance footage elucidates the musician and composer's thoughts over the course of his 30-year career. The Lowdown: Of interest to more than just die-hard Zappa fanatics, this movie presents a fascinating portrait of an iconoclastic genius.

The Story: A romance between two women in 1970s Paris is transferred to the French countryside, where the stresses of loyalty and lifestyle take hold. The Lowdown: An intelligent, beautifully acted and scripted story of love and its difficulties.

The Story: A young man documents the rise and fall of a cult from the inside. The Lowdown: A difficult film to watch but an important one to see, Holy Hell might not change your views on cults, but it will affect the way you see those that fall under their spell.

The Story: An expendable group of bad guys is gathered by the government as the world's final defense against catastrophe. The Lowdown: A mismatched, cobbled-together superhero movie crippled by a poor script, forced levity and, worst of all, nothing new to add to the superhero genre.