The water is chilly in this 'Deep Blue Sea'
"The Deep Blue Sea" is a suffocating movie, and it's meant to be. Set around 1950 in England and based on the play by Terence Ratigan and directed by British director Terence Davies ("House of Mirth"), it has a claustrophobic mood that mimics the emotional state of the unhappy Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz), who is attempting to gas herself in her small, dark flat when the film opens.
Tim Burton lightens the tone of 'Dark Shadows'
There's one thing everyone will be able to agree on regarding Tim Burton's cinematic reimagining of the old TV series "Dark Shadows": This isn't your mother's gothic soap opera.
'Melancholia' a haunting, gripping psychodrama
If you can't wait for your winter depression to kick in, race to "Melancholia," the latest avalanche of artistic angst from Lars von Trier. This one makes "Schindler's List" look like "High School Musical."
'The Sitter' not the worst terrible comedy out there ... but close
One more reason to hate the '80s: All the terrible comedies being made that pay homage to the vacuous decade. "The Sitter" isn't as bad as "Hot Tub Time Machine" or "Take Me Home Tonight." It's worse.
'Anonymous' frenzied and far-fetched
The greatest conspiracy-theory fiction, whether films like John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) or Alan Pakula's "The Parallax View" (1974), or novels like Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" (2003), doesn't just spout far-fetched fantasies about historical cover-ups and deadly, back-room deals. They are also frenzied and feverish; they plunge the audience into a state of giddy paranoia.
'Puss in Boots' has lots of swagger
From the moment the short, orange fur-ball in his feathered hat and swashbuckling boots enters the dusty bar and orders his first glass of leche "warm," the audience is instantly smitten.
Fast-paced 'Senna' a winning documentary
In another life, Ayrton Senna would have made a great priest. Handsome and soft-spoken, with an eye toward helping others when he could, the Brazilian was also motivated by a deep religious faith.
'Footloose' tries a new dance step
The original "Footloose" may have had an absurd premise and not even a tacit acknowledgement of the existence of people any color besides white, but it was an '80s movie, after all.
'The Thing': Cool effects but not at all scary
That classic "creature feature" "The Thing" earns its third treatment with a film that's so enthralled with its actual "thing" that it forgets to be scary or suspenseful. A decent cast and a pristine glacial setting are wasted on a movie of alien transmutations and alien dissections that lacks urgency, or even a sense that's its very cold in Antarctica.
'Double Hour' a bewitching caper
"The Double Hour" begins like an offbeat European film about a quirky romance, then takes a few hairpin switchback turns like an Italian mountain road to become a satisfying crime caper.
A-list ensemble delivers in 'The Ides of March'
Bedfellows make strange politics. In George Clooney's trenchant "The Ides of March," rival Democrats campaigning for the presidential nomination strategize the issues, cross swords in debate, and maneuver for advantage behind the scenes. But it's what happens between the sheets that matters, as one contender confronts a career-wrecking scandal.
'Higher Ground' fascinating glimpse into religion, marriage
Corinne (Vera Farmiga) fled a troubled home for a life as a wife and mother. Her husband, Ethan (Joshua Leonard), once aspired, as was the fashion in the 1960s, to be a rock star. Now he's put his faith in the Lord, and Corinne has chosen to stand by him -- not that she had much of a choice.
'50/50' is effortlessly affecting
It could have been agonizingly mawkish: the story of a young man with everything ahead of him who learns he has a rare form of spinal cancer, one that he only has a 50-percent chance of surviving. The premise alone sounds like an insufferable drag, an example of eat-your-vegetables cinema, regardless of the catharsis that might result.
'What's Your Number?' not your mother's romantic comedy
There aren't many romantic comedies in which the heroine loudly proclaims, "I'm a jobless whore!" But as the amusing if silly "What's Your Number?" proves, things have changed.
'Courageous' preachy, lacks Kirk Cameron's 'spark'
It's interesting to track the growing cinematic sophistication of those preaching / filmmaking brothers of Sherwood Baptist Church -- from "Facing the Giants" to their breakout hit "Fireproof" to their latest film, "Courageous."
'Mozart's Sister' a moving portrait
The history of Leopold and son Wolfgang is part of music legend, but hardly anybody remembers Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart, the older and perhaps just as talented sister.
Beauty of 'Moneyball' is in the numbers
“How can you not be romantic about baseball?” says Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane in “Moneyball.” It’s a question tinged with sarcasm. Beane (a slyly intelligent Brad Pitt) never watches his team play, catching snatches of the game on TV or radio.
Despite Lautner's bare chest, 'Abduction' is awful
It takes all of five minutes for Taylor Lautner to lose his shirt in "Abduction" -- and about 10 more before the film becomes so awful that the uncontrollable laughter bursts forth.
Parents will like 'Dolphin Tale' too
Problem: The roaring success of last week's "Lion King" 3-D re-release underscored the scarcity of family-friendly films in the current marketplace.
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