Tremendous special effects duke it out with stupid characterizations in "2012," a movie less concerned with Mayan theology than with putting on a thrill ride featuring 1,001 close calls. Massive destruction is caught with wide-angle shots and aerial shots that were made with seamless composites by a heavily geared special effects team, of course, director Roland Emmerich of “Independence Day” fame as the commandant....(more)

A movie called "Pirate Radio" which actually looks like it was filmed on a pirate ship, and to its detriment, goes for the handheld camera and choppy edits way too often. It’s Britain of the 1960’s, the days of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and so many other milestone artists....(more)

"The Box" might remind you why you love suspense and hate suspense at the same time. Richard Kelly’s film keeps you in suspense until you are pleading with it to tell you more....(more)

Long in existence, "A Christmas Carol" has been played out in a number of varying budget film productions but thanks to Robert Zemeckis this is probably the most expensive, and thus, it is visually spectacular. Even if you are not an expert on Charles Dickens’ 1843 tale, you can clearly estimate which parts have been updated and freshened for a new generation, and for the most part, Zemeckis’ instincts are right on....(more)

Movies about isolated, withdrawn and misunderstood kids can either affect similarly young kids in the audience that feel that way. Or they can affect adults that are able to look about twenty or thirty years or so and understand what it was like creating a fantasy adventure on their own in order to escape reality....(more)

If you are an emotion junkie, like I am, you go to the movies hoping for something to trigger a body shuddering physiological response. If you enjoy being scared "Paranormal Activity" is an experience of such raw unbridled sensation that it nothing less than staggering....(more)

Hard work must have been spent in the opening credit sequence of Couples Retreat which is an archival montage of couples in love in the past century, including strung together scratchy black & white clips. An easy sap in the audience will sigh at these moments....(more)