It makes absolutely no sense that “A Better Life” is being released Friday. This is a lovely, strong little film featuring the quietly devastating acting duet of Demian Bichir and Jose Julian;...

This summer has been notoriously strong for R-rated comedies. “Bridesmaids” has become the highest grossing Judd Apatow movie ever, and “Bad Teacher” is doing an unexpected amount...

There are few pairings in blockbuster cinema as perfect as director Michael Bay and the “Transformers” franchise. After all, Bay throws everything but the kitchen sink into his films, which...

Every documentary has a thesis, a point which they are trying to make. But ironically for Andrew Rossi’s “Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times,” there isn’t a nut graph...

Cameron Diaz has never been much of an actress. Most of her roles haven’t demanded much of her outside of being bubbly and enthusiastic, something she’s undeniably good at. Even so, while...

Back in 2006, Pixar Studios was on something of a hot streak. They were doing some of their best work, both financially (“Finding Nemo”) and creatively (“The Incredibles”). And...

Writer and director Mike Mills burst onto the indie film scene in 2005 with “Thumbsucker,” a smart coming-of-age story, the fingerprints of which can be found on many similar films in theaters...

With his second major film “Beginners,” writer-director Mike Mills drew greatly from his own life in creating the story of Oliver (Ewan McGregor), who learns that his father Hal (Christopher...

It’s common knowledge that trends come and go in modern Hollywood cinema, be it the asteroid craze of 1998 that brought us “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact,” or the alien...

For the last decade or so, superhero films have become a staple of the yearly flock of summer blockbusters, and summer 2011 is perhaps the biggest year yet. Between the twin “Avengers” set-up...

You never know what you’re going to get in to when you watch a Woody Allen film. Because of the director’s rigid film-a-year production schedule, some of his films come out desperately in...

J.J. Abrams has a maddening tendency to oscillate between almost transcendent poignancy and superficial enigmas. Perhaps best known for his TV show “Lost,” his monster movie fake-out “Cloverfield”...