As Safe Haven opens, Katie (Julianne Hough) is on the run. She hops on a bus, narrowly avoiding the police, and rides through Atlanta and into North Carolina, where the tiny coastal town of Southport becomes her hideout. She gets a job in a restaurant, buys a house far away from the general population, and initially rejects the awkward advances of local grocery owner Alex (Josh Duhamel), who introduces services his shop doesn't normally provide because they're the things Katie is asking for. As days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, Katie settles into a comfort level that allows her to let Alex in, and she gets close to him and his two kids, Lexie (Mimi Kirkland) and Josh (Noah Lomax). Even so, in the back of her mind, she knows that her troubled past could catch up with her at any minute.

Look, there's no sense in avoiding it: I am not the target audience for this, the latest in ...Read the entire review

First things first: The Die Hard sequels can never be Die Hard. Despite a handful of cheesy moments, the original film is a masterpiece of action movie engineering. The writing and acting are top-notch all by themselves, but it's John McTiernan's brilliant direction that sets the movie head and shoulders above 99% of the genre, and the trajectory of Die Hard 2 (love it or hate it) established that key plot elements and the McClane character would be the backbone of the franchise, rather than strong direction (note that each entry in the series has been stylistically different from the others).

Personally (and I've written about this at length), I enjoyed Live Free or Die Hard. Despite the PG-13 rating that kept the film from matching the original's intensit...Read the entire review

Note: Some people who purchased this set have reported that their discs for the original Die Hard are defective. 20th Century Fox has initiated a replacement program for the disc; you can call call their customer service department at 1-877-369-7867 for more information.

With the release of A Good Day to Die Hard only two weeks away, 20th Century Fox has decided to take a look back at the previous chapters of one of the most influential action series of all time. The original Die Hard, which introduced audiences to infinitely resilient NYC cop John McClane (Bruce Willis), did in fact change everything when it was released in 1988, shifting the idea of action movies aw...Read the entire review

After premature cancellation, fan campaigns, comic books, DTV movies, and will-they-or-won't-they-return tension, it feels safe to say that "Futurama" is really and truly back, locked in for one more and likely for at least a couple additional seasons on the show's new home, Comedy Central. With the show's on-again, off-again nature taken into account and a whole season of potential "settling" over, it's natural to wonder how this seventh volume of Matt Groening's little-star-cruiser-that-could stacks up in terms of freshness. The answer: not perfectly, but pretty well. This batch of 13 episodes mostly displays the usual wit and invention of the best "Futurama" episodes, even if none of them quite earn the title of "series stand-out."

The "season" -- the DVD releases and actual season orders of "Futurama" have never aligned -- kicks off with a strong episode, "The Bots and the Bees," in which Bender ...Read the entire review

It's hard not to be sad while enduring The Watch. It's not because the movie is sad, it's actually supposed to be a comedy. It's because it's depressing to watch so many talented people performing with such desperation. Everyone involved is dying to make you laugh, but they seem to have forgotten everything they know about how to get it done.

To save whatever remaining dignity any of the folks caught up in this mess may still have, let's spend as little time on this as possible. The Watch is about four men in suburban Ohio who, after one of them loses a friend under mysterious circumstances, form a neighborhood watch to find his killer and keep him or her from killing again. Unsurprisingly, these guys aren't very good at their chosen mission. They are led by Be...Read the entire review

The premise of Bad Ass -- a riff on the "Epic Beard Man" viral video with Danny Trejo as the ass-whupper -- suggests a certain kind of movie: a goofy, modern Death Wish with over-the-top action. Unfortunately, the budget and a mixed bag of ideas and influences pull the film in so many opposing directions that it ends up going nowhere at all, stalling between a less-outrageous Machete and an unusually sweet-natured true hero story that never really jives with the movie's roots.

For those unfamiliar with "Epic Beard Man," Bad Ass is based on a YouTube sensation of an old man with a Santa Claus beard beating up another man on an Oakland bus. Moss borrows a few significant elements, such as the fact that the original guy was a Vietnam vet, but he skims over the potential that the real guy might have a mental problem or even have been at fault for the altercation. Here, Frank V...Read the entire review

We as fans of cinema live in a strange and sad time; specifically a world where the once mighty Ridley Scott's output is less favorable than the hyperactive, stylized schlock of his brother Tony and to cap it all off, a video game, "Max Payne 3," manages to deliver a better Tony Scott-esque production than the man himself. The arrival of Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" a spiritual prequel to his monumental 1979 film "Alien," comes after months of viral buildup and earnest buzz from franchise fans and sci-fi aficionados alike; after a series of dismal misfires beginning with "A Good Year," Scott has been on a downward spiral for over half a decade and on paper, "Prometheus" should have been the return of a mighty titan bringing a unique and compelling vision to jaded viewers. Unlike the Prometheus of myth, Scott's gift of fire is, to borrow a tired clich (but wholly fitting given the quality of the pr...Read the entire review

Thanks to the conflicting comments by director Ridley Scott and an ad campaign that borrows a few tricks from the J.J. Abrams School of Mysterious Film Marketing, Prometheus has been built up as a film with big answers to big questions about man's place in the universe. Viewers with those expectations will be disappointed to discover that elusiveness is not just in the film's nature but practically its point. However, for those willing to forgive ambiguity (both intentional and unintentional), there's more than enough skin-crawling body horror and gorgeous, expansive sci-fi visuals for the trip to be worthwhile.

Set roughly 80 years from now, Prometheus follows a crew to a distant moon, outlined in cave paintings that date back to the dawn of man. There, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and her partner Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) hope to discover nothing less than the secre...Read the entire review

The common wisdom around Hollywood studios is that we, as an audience, all sit at home and think about the things we really liked in the past and ponder how awesome it would be to have more of the same. You like pizza, so how about pizza every night for dinner instead of every once in a while? Then you don't get screwed trying something new like a Korean taco. This fits in nicely with the narrow-mindedness of bean-counting artistry. As screenwriter William Goldman is famous for saying, no one in the movie business knows anything, every endeavor is a crap shoot. When they remake, remodel, and reboot a film, they don't really know if they can make it work, they just think they know we already like it.

Fingers crossed.

I know a lot of Aliens fans. Most of them aren't j...Read the entire review

A stolen credit card. A sweater. Signs of a struggle. These are the puzzle pieces in the death of 17-year-old Rosie Larsen, presented to detective Sarah Linden (Mirelle Enos) just hours before she leaves Seattle, for Sonoma, California, where her fiancee and a new life await. Sarah wants desperately to hand the reins to Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman), the former narcotics detective who is meant to be her replacement, but in meeting the Larsen family -- Mitch (Michelle Forbes), Stan (Brent Sexton), and their two boys Tom (Evan Bird) and Denny (Seth Isaac Johnson), Linden quickly finds herself emotionally involved and determined to solve the case.

Right from the start, "The Killing" feels like a mixed bag. Some aspects, like the mismatched partnership of Linden and Holder and the cold, damp atmosphere of the show are probably taken from "Forbrydelsen," the Danish phenomenon on which "The Killing" is ba...Read the entire review

Birding: it's a sport or hobby that treads the line between familiar and mysterious, requiring no introduction but not a subject that many will consider themselves an expert on. For Hollywood, that probably sounds like the perfect premise for a comedy, and thus, we have director David Frankel's adaptation of Mark Obmascik's nonfiction book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession. Like nearly all non-fiction books, the tried-and-true semi-comic template grafted onto it for this fictional film isn't a perfect fit, but the result should agree with anyone not frightened off by the word "pleasant."

Separately, three men embark on what John Cleese's voice-over narration helpfully informs us is a tradition born out of hunting. Every year, people will travel all across the country in the hopes of spotting as many birds between January 1st and December 31st in a competition called a "Bi...Read the entire review

The new movie Chronicle is the latest in the "found footage" genre, joining the likes of The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, and the Paranormal Activity series, all movies that purport to be "documentaries" captured on people's home video cameras and, in this case, also their phones. Chronicle's wrinkle on the idea is that this is a superhero movie, but one that occurs in a world where superpowers are fiction. In other words, our own.

The plot is simple enough. Andrew (Dane DeHaan, or as I like to call him, L'il Topher Grace) is an a...Read the entire review

As the number of recognizable superheroes left to adapt into feature films shrinks (hello, Spider-Man and Superman reboots), and even semi-famous properties falter at the box office (Green Lantern), it only makes sense that studios desperate to hang onto a profitable trend would turn toward original stories, which deliver the same kind of action without any pre-existing awareness. To that end, we have Chronicle, the story of three high schoolers who find their lives completely changed when they discover a strange rock buried in a hole that gives them telekinetic abilities.

The three kids are wildly different: timid loner Andrew (Dane DeHaan, the spitting image of a young Leonardo DiCaprio); his cousin Matt (Alex Russell), who seems like an average, decent person; and Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan), both class president and one of the most popular and well-known kids ...Read the entire review

First, don't go see We Bought a Zoo if you have an older pet or one with health problems. If you do, you might experience some moistness around the eyes, which ultimately gives you a false sense that the movie is not as not-so-great as you know it really is.

Two, Cameron Crowe isn't rock 'n' roll anymore. Which we kind of suspected, let's be straight with ourselves. I mean, he made a documentary about Pearl Jam, which is about as un-rock 'n' roll as you can get. The writer who gave us Spicoli and Lloyd Dobbler is middle-aged and a family man. The artist who once so incisively chronicled the adolescent experience now ...Read the entire review

As far as "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" goes, I linger on the fringes. Although I'm sure most of the show's fans haven't had any reason to complain these last six years, for me the show is a series of peaks and valleys. The first two seasons were a peak, but Season 3 was a valley filled with a bit too much sitcom-style wackiness. Seasons 4 and 5 have been a blend of peaks and valleys, with highs like "The Gang Hits the Road" and "The Gang Re-Ignites the Rivalry," (Flipadelphia!) and lows like "The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell." In my review of Season 4, I wrote that maybe DVDTalk was the charm, and that still seems to be the case.

A good episode of "Sunny" walks a tightrope between self-awareness and absurdity. Obviously, Rob...Read the entire review

Henry's Crime is a likable, unassuming little comedy that shows up, charms the viewer, and sort of disappears. From a big-picture standpoint, this is pretty lightweight stuff, perhaps even disposable, but a combination of enjoyable performances and a wonderfully relaxed approach to material usually played with a bit more urgency really gives the movie a unique charisma. Assuming the viewer can get around the picture's distinctly weaker home stretch, I imagine most people will find this to be a fun little diversion.

Keanu Reeves plays the title character, a toll booth operator without much of a future. His girlfriend (Judy Greer) tries to suggest that kids might fill that gap for the both of them, but Henry struggles enough with that prospect that he decides to join a November softball game with Eddie Vibes (Fisher Stevens) instead of making a decision. Unfortunately for Henry, Eddie and his tw...Read the entire review

Full disclosure: I've never seen a single episode of the Fox television smash "Glee." I know frighteningly little about the series; however, after viewing "Glee: The 3D Concert Movie," I'm now extremely curious about the program. At the very least, I'd like to see how the show continues on now that Charlie Sheen has been fired.

Captured this very summer in New Jersey, the performance film surveys the grand staging of the "Glee Live! In Concert!" tour that took the world by storm over the last year. Reuniting most of the cast on stage, the picture provides a loose approximation of the arena show, deploying 3D and generous close-ups from director Kevin Tancharoen to bring the party into the multiplex, where these "Gleeks" can go crazy watching beloved actors remain in-character ...Read the entire review

After five motion pictures, two television series, and a 2001 Tim Burton remake, it seems a prequel is the only logical place to go in the exhausted "Planet of the Apes" saga. The origin tale of apes and their early stages of domination is surprisingly fertile ground for the producers, who loosely rework 1972's "Conquest of the Planet of the Apes" into "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," a frequently thrilling, emotionally resonate reboot that takes advantage of today's vibrant motion capture technology to help articulate the complexity burning within these damn dirty apes.

An ambitious San Francisco scientist, Will (James Franco) is looking to cure Alzheimer's Disease with a special virus tested extensively on apes. When his star experiment is killed, the baby chimpanzee left b...Read the entire review

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is both everything that's good and bad about modern Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. The apes themselves are an incredibly impressive creation, thanks to WETA Digital's groundbreaking performance-capture technology and a team of talented artists and actors. Paired once again with the immensely talented Andy Serkis, they've crafted not one but a whole host of creatures that may not be unfailingly photorealistic, but deliver on an acting level, allowing the audience to invest in characters visualized through ones and zeroes. The human characters, on the other hand, are a weak, underdeveloped burden on the film, saddled with a tired cautionary tale about science trying to fix things that ought to stay broken.

Rise, a reboot in the truest sense of the word, takes the Apes mythos and alters them, keeping the core elements and rewriting the rest. In both...Read the entire review

THE FILM

The 1987 comedy "Overboard" is an incredible study of star power, displaying how a few seasoned professionals can take a limp script and turn it into something unremarkable, yet completely palatable. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn are truly the only reasons to keep watching this otherwise flaccid comedy, which feels static when it should zing and oppressive when it should soar.

Trapped in Elk Cove, Oregon while her yacht is docked for repairs, spoiled heiress Joanna (Goldie Hawn) hires strapping carpenter Dean (Kurt Russell) to construct a new closet for her shoe collection. Onboard, Dean bears witness to Joanna's bully behavior, a shrill routine of snobbery soon turned on him. When Joanna is knocked off the boat late one night, she awakens in a local hospital, unable to recall the details of her life due to trauma. Dean, sensing an opportunity to take back what'...Read the entire review

The Product:
A few years back, prolific populist French filmmaker Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Leon) "retired." The plan was to sit back, produce and write, and basically avoid the rat race that was the international motion picture business and the warts and all battles he had to fight. With his final two films - the live action Angel-A and the combo CG fantasy Arthur and the Invisibles, he bid goodbye to the limelight and resolved himself to a place behind the scenes. One of the reasons was the rash reception the latter film received in the West. While the rest of the planet got Besson's preferred cut of Arthur (complete with ...and the Minimoys as part of the label), The Weinstein Company eviscerated it before release, citing poor focus group reaction to the fantasy's frilly love story. Besson was livid. Three years later, he decided to return t...Read the entire review

Although marketed as tween-baiting pap to secure Disney Channel generation attention, "Monte Carlo" is a softer romantic fantasy, providing a few unexpectedly human moments in the midst of its mischief. Solidly acted and sturdily constructed, the picture offers a mellow display of wish fulfillment, more interested in the inspection of feelings than distributing vapid monkey business.

Fresh out of high school, Grace (Selena Gomez) is eager to visit Paris, teaming up with best friend Emma (Katie Cassidy) and stepsister Meg (Leighton Meester) to tour the City of Lights. While their budget vacation offers them the highlights, a chance encounter with snotty heiress, and Grace's lookalike, Cordelia (also Gomez) provides the ladies with an opportunity to borrow an identity and take o...Read the entire review

THE FILM

When Martin Scorsese's filmography is explored, there are typically two efforts that define his oeuvre: 1976's "Taxi Driver" and 1980's "Raging Bull." However, during this fertile creative period there was another picture, sandwiched in-between, a 1977 feature that effectively stalled and oddly reenergized Scorsese's career. "New York, New York" isn't a forgotten or lost picture, but one that's rarely brought up when a discussion of the maestro is introduced. A shame, really. While it's flawed and fattened, it's one of Scorsese's more appealing experiments, looking to resuscitate the traditional Hollywood musical within the raw mood of the 1970s, creating an unusually frosty, but pleasingly unpredictable candy-coated psychodrama.

It's the end of WWII and saxophone player Jimmy Doyle (Robert De Niro) is looking for a good time, stepping into the path of USO sing...Read the entire review

The Film:

Jim Carrey has made a number of stinkers during his career, but what makes the repellent "Mr. Popper's Penguins" such a heartbreaker is that it arrives so soon after the domestic release of one of his finest performances, as the sneaky Steven Russell in "I Love You Phillip Morris." It's paycheck time again for the famous funny man, who finds himself sharing a frame with CG-animated penguins, barely staying awake while a moronic screenplay and an unimaginative director take turns urinating on a 1938 kid-lit classic. Come for the penguins, stay for the four fart jokes, four defecation gags, one shot of testicle trauma, and a series of sketchy messages for the wee ones.

A driven businessman in charge of destroying beloved New York City landmarks for profit, Tom Popper (Jim Carrey...Read the entire review

The Film: