The Movie:
What is it with Ben Stiller comedies? Quality of the movie goes down, the box office receipts go up. That being the case, you only have to look at this movie's gross to get an idea of what you're in for.

Call him a sad sack, call him a loser, because Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) can't seem to catch a break. He's spent the better part of his life trying to invent the next big thing, but so far none of his products have caught on (he thought The Snapper, a device that would allow you to turn appliances off and on with the snap of a finger, would put him in the big leagues, but his thunder was stolen by those guys behind The Clapper). When it appears he is in danger of being evicted from his apartment, Larry accepts a job as a night watchman at New York's Museum of Natural History. Unbeknownst to him, a cursed tablet belonging to the mummified pharaoh on display in the Egyptian wing br...Read the entire review

The Movie:
It's closing time at the First Brooklyn Savings Bank. Three men enter the bank. One pulls a gun on the manager. A second pulls a gun on the tellers. The third covers the bank's aging, unarmed security guard, but soon gets scared and leaves. Sonny (Al Pacino), the mastermind behind the robbery, informs the bank's employees that he and his accomplice, Sal (John Cazale), will be in and out in less than half an hour. But things quickly begin to go downhill. There's not much cash in the vault, as most of the bank's funds, which Sonny had intended to use to pay for a sex change for Leon (Chris Sarandon), his lover, had been picked up by an armored car earlier in the day. The guard's asthma begins flaring up. The manager is a diabetic. The insurance salesman across the street realizes something is wrong and calls the police. Half of New York's finest, the FBI, every Brooklyn resident with...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Following the death of their beloved aunt, sisters Raimunda (Penélope Cruz) and Sole (Lola Dueñas) begin hearing rumors of sightings of their mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), which is certainly odd, because Irene and her husband died in a tragic house fire several years earlier. Upon returning from the funeral, Sole finds Irene hiding in the trunk of her car; she takes her mother in, telling her neighbors that Irene is a Russian immigrant. Although Sole encourages her mother to tell Raimunda she has returned, Irene refuses, which is just as well, as Raimunda has enough to deal with already, particularly the body of her dead husband, Paco (Antonio de la Torre), who was killed by Raimunda's daughter, Paula (Yohana Coba), after he attempted to sexually abuse her.

The above summary makes Volver (the title is from the Spanish for "to return") sound like nothing m...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Newborn Emperor penguin Mumble (voice of E.G. Daily) isn't like the other penguins. See, Emperors are known for their singing voices, which they use to attract mates. But Mumble doesn't sing (well, he tries, but he's not very good)--he dances. This is somewhat embarrassing for Memphis (Hugh Jackman), Mumble's father, but Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman), his mother, encourages her son to express himself in any way he chooses. The penguin elders view Mumble's dancing as sacrilege, believing his fancy footwork has angered the gods, who are in turn punishing the penguins by causing their food supply to dwindle. By the time he has reached what passes for penguin maturity, Mumbles (now voiced by Elijah Wood) has so enraged the elders that they cast him out. Believing that he knows the true reason behind the fishes' scarcity, Mumbles sets off on a journey to find and confront the creatures res...Read the entire review

The Movie:
In a move some will undoubtedly view as a shocking turn of events, this one will be short and sweet.Have you ever wanted to be trapped in the television section of your local Best Buy for the better part of two hours, watching one of those demo reels over and over? If so, this disc may just be the next best thing, because Nature's Colors with the World's Greatest Music (how's that for an unwieldy title?) is roughly two hours of high-def nature footage set to selections of classical music. For those who are interested (and to help pad out this review), here's a rundown of the featured pieces:

Clair De Lune • Debussy
Cannon In D • Pachebel
Dawn From Peer Gynt • Greig
Moonlight Sonata • Beethoven
Eine Kleine Nachtmusic • Mozart
Piano Concerto #21 • Mozart
Air For The G String • Bach
Allegro From Spring • Vivaldi
Jesu Joy Of Man's Desir...Read the entire review

The Movie:
I'm usually on the receiving end of ire when I say this, but I think Big Fish achieves what Tim Burton attempted with Edward Scissorhands (a film I think falls apart during its second hour), but in the end was ultimately unable to accomplish. Now allow me to steel myself before you start throwing those rocks.

Estranged from his father for three years, William Bloom (Billy Crudup) returns to his Alabama hometown when he learns his father is dying. When William was younger, Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) would regale his son with fantastical tales of his past exploits; William was initially fascinated by his father's tales, but began to see Edward as an egotistical charlatan as he grew older. When he arrives home, William sits down at his Edward's bedside, hoping to hear the true story of his father's life. But Edward once again begins spinning his patented yarns, pu...Read the entire review

The Movie:
There's no justice in the world. John Kennedy Toole poured his soul into writing A Confederacy of Dunces, spent several years trying to get it published, and then committed suicide after a string of rejections. Fast forward three decades. Some kid named Christopher Paolini cobbled together other peoples' ideas, created the most derivative fantasy series since Terry Brooks burst onto the scene, ended up inking a three-book deal with a major publisher, became a best-selling author, and sold the films right to a major studio. See? No justice.

The kingdom of Alagaesia was once ruled by a benevolent force of dragon riders. But the riders began to fight among themselves for power, and a rider named Galbatorix (John Malkovich), who led the faction of evil dragon riders, wiped out everyone who opposed him. Galbatorix now styles himself king, and he hordes the only remaining dragon...Read the entire review

The Movie:
What is arguably the grandfather of the modern underdog sports movie enters the high-def fray. But don't go getting all excited just yet.

Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) hasn't coached basketball in twelve years, but the people of the tiny Indiana town of Hickory are desperate for someone to lead their band of Huskers, so Dale accepts the position. His brash coaching style clashes with what the town and its team have come to expect, and his decision to bring in the town drunk (Dennis Hopper) as his assistant only causes more friction; but his methods put the team on the winning track, eventually giving them a shot at the state championship.

Hoosiers has lost some of its luster over the years, and I think this is in large part due to the multitude of copies/clones/rip-offs that followed in its wake; there's almost no getting around the feeling of familiarity that creeps in...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Remember how Lionsgate held up this movie's U.S. release in order to avoid competing with The Cave? Please. That's like delaying Jurassic Park in order not to compete with Carnosaur.

A year has passed since Beth (Shauna Macdonald) lost her husband and young daughter in a horrific car crash. Hoping to begin to move past the loss that continues to haunt her, Beth joins five of her friends for an excursion into a cave system in the Appalachian Mountains. But things begin to go wrong once the women are underground. A fall leaves one of them with a broken leg. A cave-in cuts them off from one possible exit route. To make matters worse, it turns out that Juno (Natalie Mendoza), the expedition's de facto leader, has intentionally led them into an unmapped cave. And as if that weren't enough, the women soon discover they're not alone. See, there's a reason the cave h...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Each year brings its own share of Oscar bait, but it's rare when the bait actually makes it worth taking your chances with the hook. (Okay, so concocting metaphors isn't exactly my thing...)

Chris Gardner (Will Smith) has sunk most of his family's savings into a sales opportunity that hasn't paid off. The product he peddles is a portable bone density scanner, the cost of which makes it a luxury item most doctors think isn't worth the investment. Chris's girlfriend, Linda (Thandie Newton), has been working double shifts at a low-income job in hopes of making ends meet, but they are still months behind on rent and daycare for Christopher (Jaden Smith), their young son. Linda eventually reaches her breaking point and walks out; she wants to take Christopher with her, but Chris refuses to allow it. Father and son are soon evicted from their tiny apartment; they move into a motel, but...Read the entire review

The Movie:
When I was reading Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air about a decade ago, I kept telling myself that the one thing the story needed was a villain, and that villain needed to based on Richard Branson. Fast-forward a few years later, Vertical Limit hits theaters, and I discover someone has stolen my idea. Bastards.

Peter (Chris O'Donnell) and Annie Garrett (Robin Tunney) have been estranged since a tragic climbing accident claimed the life of their father three years earlier. Peter, now a wildlife photographer for National Geographic, has given up climbing. Annie, however, did not give up the sport, and has since become famous for scaling the Eiger faster than any female climber. Annie is hired by billionaire Elliot Vaughn (Bill Paxton) to lead his team to the summit of Pakistan's K2, where Vaughn plans to film an ad (read: stage a publicity stunt) for his new airlin...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Can you believe it? Third time out and the series has yet to run itself into the ground. That has to be some sort of record.

The killer known as Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) lies on his deathbed--figuratively and literally. Jigsaw wishes to play one final game, so he has Amanda (Shawnee Smith), the former heroin junkie who agreed to become his apprentice, bring in two more players. One is a doctor named Lynn Denlon. The other is Jeff Reinhart (Angus Macfadyen), a grieving father whose young son was killed three years earlier. Reinhart's role is to find and confront those connected to his son's death...and possibly forgive them. Denlon's role is to keep Jigsaw alive while the game plays out. Of course, things aren't as simple as they seem, as Jigsaw has more in mind for his victims--and his apprentice--than they think.

The DVD

Well, we've reached the end...for now, anyway. Sa...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Let's go ahead and get this out of the way: Is Ladder 49 as good as Backdraft? No. It's just as bad as Backdraft.

Veteran Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) is critically injured while performing a rescue operation in a burning warehouse. As Morrison's former mentor, Mike Kennedy (John Travolta), organizes efforts to extract his friend and colleague from the building, Morrison relives moments from his life and career, including his first day on the job, his relationship with his wife, Linda (Jacinda Barrett), and the death of one of his closest friends.

Ladder 49 isn't a bad movie, but it is a dull one. Given that we're dealing with a firefighter flick directed by the man who helmed My Dog Skip and written by the man who penned October Sky, I was prepared for some square-jawed heroics mixed with a dose of mawkish se...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Second verse, same as the first. Well, maybe not exactly...

Detectives Kerry (Dinah Meyer) and Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg) are investigating the demise of another victim of the killer known as Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) when they discover something bizarre and unsettling: a personal message to Matthews from Jigsaw himself. Matthews figures out where Jigsaw is holed up, and the detectives attempt to arrest him, but Jigsaw--not unexpectedly--has the upper hand. Turns out the madman has eight new victims, including Matthews's teenage son, trapped inside an abandoned house; the doors of the house will open in three hours, but the nerve gas slowly wafting through the house will kill the captives in two. If they hope to survive, Jigsaw's new playthings must solve the puzzles he has arranged for them and locate the syringes of antidote scattered throughout the house. Jigsaw has conveniently set...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Dragonslayer and The Road Warrior--two great tastes that taste great together.

The year is 2022, and a little more than a decade has passed since the dragons came out of hibernation. Quinn (Christian Bale), whose mother inadvertently released the creatures, is the de facto leader of a band of survivors holed up in a castle in the English countryside. He and his charges eke out a meager existence, relying on a small parcel of crops for their survival and constantly fearing the appearance of a dragon. And then one day hope arrives in a most unexpected form: Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), an American soldier who leads a ragtag band of dragon hunters. Van Zan has hatched a plan to kill the only remaining male dragon, which he believes will end the beasts' reign once and for all, and he needs Quinn's help.

Many critics have already made note of this movie's dour nature...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Sometimes you just have to wonder what everyone was thinking. Was there any pressing need to remake Planet of the Apes? If the filmmakers had intended a more faithful adaptation of Pierre Boulle's original novel, then I can see why the idea would make sense, but, barring a couple of exceptions, that isn't the case here. Or maybe if someone had come up with a truly novel take on the material, but that certainly isn't the case here. Or maybe if the producers had hired a gifted, visionary director and let him bring his particular gifts to bear on the project, which I suppose could have worked. Oh, so that last one was the intent here? Hmmm. Need I remind you where good intentions often lead?

While attempting to locate a missing chimpanzee astronaut, Air Force Captain Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) is sucked into a time storm near Jupiter, thrown into the future, and crash lands...Read the entire review

The Movie:
A short while back I took John Woo to task for taking the wrong approach to Windtalkers. I'm about to do the same thing, albeit for different reasons.

Air Force pilots Major Vic Deakins (John Travolta) and Captain Riley Hale (Christian Slater) are buzzing around the Arizona desert in a stealth bomber when Deakins ejects Hale from the plane and crashes the aircraft. Their superiors begin operations to recover the nuclear missiles the bomber was carrying, unaware that Deakins dropped them shortly before he himself ejected. Deakins and his cohorts retrieve the missiles and remove the warheads, which they plan to detonate if the government does not fork over a substantial sum of money. Meanwhile, Hale and a tenacious park ranger named Terry Carmichael (Samantha Mathis) join forces in an effort to stop Deakins.

Broken Arrow is an incredibly dumb movie. Not that that's ...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Here we go again.

Bloog (Martin Lawrence) is something of an oddity. See, he's a domesticated grizzly bear, and he spends his days performing comedic skits with his handler, a park ranger named Beth (Debra Messing), and his nights sleeping in her garage. Bloog's comfy life if thrown for a loop when he meets Elliot (Ashton Kutcher), a hyperactive mule deer who has a knack for causing trouble; Bloog frees Elliot from the hood of a hunter's truck and soon finds himself unable to get rid of the deer. Following a series of events beyond his control, Bloog is branded a menace to the citizens of Beth's hometown, and the heartbroken ranger is forced to take the bear back to the forest. Elliot says he'll lead Bloog back to Beth's home, but he doesn't actually know the way. Even worse, open season begins in three days, and a mean old hunter named Shaw (Gary Sinise) has it out for both Bloo...Read the entire review

The Movie:
You know how people are always saying they don't make 'em like they used to? Ha! What a load of crap.

After disobeying orders and wiping out a nest of al Queda terrorists during a rescue mission, Sgt. John Triton (World Wrestling Entertainment superstar John Cena) is discharged from the Marines and sent back to the States. He immediately accepts a job as a security guard at a ritzy office building, but is fired the first day for chucking an egotistical rich kid through a plate-glass window. He and his wife, Kate (Kelly Carlson), decide to get away from it all and go camping in the mountains of South Carolina. Their fun is interrupted when they stop at a gas station where some jewel thieves have made a pit stop. A couple of cops pull up, one of the thieves is unable to control his itchy trigger finger, and things go bad. The thieves, who are lead by a wise-cracking sicko named Rom...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Let's go ahead and get this out of the way: The Guardian is more than a little clichéd. Now let's get this out of the way: I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I thought I would.

After a helicopter crash during a rescue mission off the coast of Alaska takes the lives of his crew, veteran Coast Guard rescue swimmer Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) is ordered to accept a position as the senior instructor at the Guard's Louisiana training grounds. Among the newest batch of recruits is Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), a cocky former high school swim champion who turned down scholarships from several top universities in favor of joining the service. Randall thinks Fischer has signed up just to satisfy his own ego and thirst for recognition, and the two men immediately clash. But as the truth about Fischer's actual motives is revealed, and his innate skills become more and more ap...Read the entire review

The Movie:
I'm once again at a loss for an opening. I keep trying to come up with something to lead off this review, but thinking about this movie makes me feel old, and the distraction caused by that feeling is hard to overcome. Has it really been eighteen years since it was released? Jeez. I think I need to call a moratorium on reviewing pre-2000 movies. Too much more of this and I'll be running out to buy a Corvette.

New York detective Nick Conklin (Michael Douglas) and his partner, Charlie Vincent (Andy Garcia), are enjoying a quiet meal when the restaurant they're patronizing suddenly becomes a murder scene. Nick and Charlie arrest the killer, a blade-wielding psychopath named Sato Koji (Yusaku Matsuda); when Sato is extradited to Japan, Nick and Charlie are chosen to escort him. After being duped into turning Sato over to his yakuza pals at the Osaka airport, Nick and Charlie are st...Read the entire review

The Movie:
There have been a few times in my life where I've been in the middle of watching a movie and have suddenly wished Death would walk in and relieve me of my suffering. Yes, that's right--some movies are so bad I've actually wanted to die right there is my seat. It doesn't happen often, but it occurs enough to be somewhat noteworthy. Anyway, it's been a couple of years since the last time I've experienced this feeling, and I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen again. Well, it finally did, and it's all because of those meddling kids and their stupid dog.

Two years have passed since Velma (Linda Cardellini), tired of having Fred (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) take all of the credit for her ideas, quit Mystery Inc. Not wanting to be left out, Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar) also walked away, which left Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) and Scooby with no option but to take the Mystery Machine...Read the entire review

The Movie:
A quick word of warning: If you've grown tired of my rants regarding historically dubious war movies (and I'm sure you have), you might want to move on.

After being wounded in the Solomon Islands, Marine Corporal Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) is transported to a military hospital to recuperate. He makes a quick (albeit dubious) recovery and hopes to be sent back to the front, but is instead offered a promotion and a new mission: acting as bodyguard to a Navajo code talker named Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach). Yahzee and his fellow Navajo recruits have been brought in to employ their native language in military transmissions, a move the Marines hope will dumbfound the Japanese, who so far have managed to crack all of the codes used by the United States. Enders balks at playing babysitter, but comes around a bit after being told his new assignment could play a vital role in an Allied victory....Read the entire review

The Movie:
Here we go again. It's yet another movie about a relatively unknown chapter in history brought to the screen in the form of a cliché-fest. I keep hoping filmmakers will learn the error of their ways, just like I keep doubting they will.

The United States has yet to enter World War I, but several of America's sons have enlisted in the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron of pilots aiding the French and English in their struggle against the German war machine. Heading up the newest batch of volunteers is Blaine Rawlings (James Franco), a Texas cowpoke who fled the States after punching out the banker who foreclosed on his family's ranch. He is joined by rich kid Briggs Lowry (Tyler Labine), African-American boxer Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis), Midwesterner William Jensen (Philip Winchester), and perpetual screw-up Eddie Beagle (David Ellison). While awaiting his first sortie against th...Read the entire review

The Movie:
You ever wish someone would remake Stalag 17 and hire John Grisham to write the screenplay? If so, I've got just the movie you've been waiting for.

Lt. Thomas Hart (Colin Farrell) is a fortunate son; his father, a United States senator, has seen to it that Hart has spent World War II behind a desk. But the reality of the conflict comes crashing down on him when he is captured by German soldiers while playing chauffer to a superior officer. Hart is tortured by his captors until he reveals the location of several strategic fuel dumps, after which he's sent to a POW camp. The ranking American officer in the camp is Colonel William McNamara (Bruce Willis); intuiting that Hart broke under interrogation, McNamara orders him to bunk with the enlisted men. Hart almost immediately runs afoul of Vic Bedford (Cole Hauser), a former cop who is the camp's resident schemer/black market ...Read the entire review

The Movie:
I don't like launching straight into the body of any review, so I've been trying to come up with a suitable dig against The English Patient. See, I was somewhat dismayed to see that film clean up at the Oscars, as I thought two vastly superior films, both of which happened to be photographed by the great Roger Deakins, were released in 1996. One of these films--Fargo--was pretty much robbed at the Oscars, while the other--Courage Under Fire--wasn't even given the opportunity to be robbed. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to come up with anything, so I guess we'll just have to get on with it.

After being involved in an incident of friendly fire during Desert Storm, Lt. Commander Nat Sterling (Denzel Washington) has become more and more distant from his family and colleagues, and has taken to drink in hopes of escaping his personal demons. While awaiting the...Read the entire review

The Movie:
I knew this guy in college who thought the world was running down and could only be saved through art. I remember one time he showed me ten or fifteen pages of a manuscript he was working on. This work-in-progress chronicled the life and times of a disillusioned, disaffected musician who was getting ready to turn his back on fame and fortune and instead focus on making the world a better place. His first act was to give several thousand dollars to a homeless man who was sleeping under a pile of newspapers outside a recording studio, after which he wandered off into the night. Why am I bringing this up? Because The Architect exhibits the same sort of pretentious, facile qualities. It deals with complex issues in a pedantic manner, then presents naïve solutions to these issues.

Tonya Neely (Viola Davis), a resident of a Chicago housing project, has started a campaign to hav...Read the entire review

The Movie:
What type of wine do you serve with crow? I'm asking because I'm about to eat a little. See, I have a friend who's been telling me for the past two years that Alien vs. Predator is a perfectly enjoyable piece of non-think entertainment. I have in turn been telling him that he's completely lost his mind. I pretty much loathed this movie the first time I saw it, and while I wasn't quite ready to crucify director Paul W.S. Anderson, I did take more than a few cheap shots at him. But now that I've seen the movie a second time, I'm backing off a bit from some of my previous statements, and I'm willing to accept whatever the consequences may be.

After a satellite owned by billionaire industrialist Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) detects a strange heat signature in Antarctica, he assembles a team of experts, including climber extraordinaire Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan), to...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Well, well, it's another uplifting underdog biopic. Haven't seen one of those in, oh, two days or so. Anyway, I somehow managed to miss Men of Honor during its theatrical run and original DVD release, as well as the roughly eight billion times it has been shown on FX. I had a pretty good idea exactly how the movie would unfold, so I saw no real reason to sit through it. Having finally seen it, I can say that while I was pretty much dead on the money with my assumptions regarding its content, it's still a pretty entertaining throwback to the type of true-to-life stories the Hollywood of yore used to crank out on a regular basis.

Raised on a sharecropper farm by a loving mother and a strong-willed father who wants a better life for his son, Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) has an uncanny gift for swimming and diving. Carl, who dropped out of school after completing the seve...Read the entire review

The Movie:
You're probably asking yourself why anyone in their right mind would voluntarily review a movie such as The Covenant. Over the past few years I have reviewed many movies of much the same (or even lesser) quality as the one currently under consideration, and I've been asked that very question on more than one occasion. There's a very simple answer. It's not for the fortune, or the glory, or the hot and cold running chicks. No, the reason I watch movies such as this is so fine people such as yourself don't have to.

Most of the students at the prestigious Spenser Academy are the products of a world of wealth and privilege, but four stand out from the rest. They are the Sons of Ipswich, the descendants of four Massachusetts families targeted by the Salem witch hunt. Caleb Danvers (Steven Strait), levelheaded and straitlaced, is the de facto leader of the group. Reid Garwin (To...Read the entire review

The Movie:
You've probably read a thousand reviews of Edward Zwick's The Last Samurai by now, which means you've probably also read a thousand "Dances with Cruise" jokes. But have no fear, because I don't intend to make another one. I'll instead find some other tired criticisms to dredge up.

Haunted by the atrocities he saw committed against American Indians (atrocities in which he played no small part), Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a former captain in the United States Cavalry, has turned to the bottle in hopes of escaping his past. While eking out a minor living hawking Remington rifles to rubes at carnivals, Algren is offered a chance to travel to Japan and train an army. This army, composed primarily of men who have spent their lives on farms, is intended to quell an uprising led by Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), a samurai who opposes the Emperor's efforts to modernize (read: westerniz...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Halfway through Flightplan I told myself there was no way the filmmakers could keep it up. The setup for this movie absolutely kills, and I knew it had to fall apart sooner or later. I was right. The moment the third act reared its ugly head, the movie immediately went downhill.

Following the death of her husband, propulsion engineer Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) leaves Berlin and flies to America with her young daughter, Julia (Marlene Lawston). After boarding the newly developed E-474 aircraft, the largest commercial airliner in the world, Kyle and Julia stretch out for a nap. Kyle awakens to find her daughter missing. With the help of an air marshal named Carson (Peter Sarsgaard), Kyle convinces Captain Rich (Sean Bean) to have the flight crew conduct a thorough search of the plane. Julia is nowhere to be found. To make matters worse, the passenger manifest shows that Julia...Read the entire review

The Movie:
My college roommate was obsessed with Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of The Phantom of the Opera. He owned the cast recording, had a promotional beach towel he hung on his closet door, and even went so far as to fashion himself a replica of mask worn by the title character. I grew to hate this musical over the course of those four years, and Joel Schumacher's film version did absolutely nothing to change my opinion.

The plot, of course, takes place at Paris's Opera Populaire in the latter half of the 19th century. Although she has been primarily relegated to supporting roles in the house's various productions, singer Christine Daae (Emmy Rossum) is slowly beginning to make a name for herself. The orphaned daughter of a famous musician, Christine has been receiving voice lessons from a mysterious man she has never seen. She believes it is the spirit of her late fathe...Read the entire review

The Movie:
I have no problem admitting I own every film Michael Bay has directed (I'd say Armageddon is the dumbest movie I'm glad I own), but that doesn't mean I'm willing to defend him as a filmmaker. The guy makes pure, unadulterated junk, but that pure, unadulterated junk usually makes for spectacular DVDs. Face it, you're more likely to become the envy of your friends by using your Criterion edition of The Rock to show off your home theater system than if you use the Criterion edition of Solaris. The new Blu-ray edition of Pearl Harbor continues the trend; the movie itself is embarrassingly awful, but the presentation is pretty damn sweet.

For anyone who doesn't know, Pearl Harbor is the story of Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett), two Tennessee boys who become Army pilots in the days shortly before America enters World War I...Read the entire review

The Movie:
Ah, the summer of 1993. For author Michael Crichton, it was the best of times and it was the worst of times. Copies of his books--including reprints of his earlier novels--were flying off store shelves, and Jurassic Park was on its way to quickly becoming one of the highest grossing movies of all time. But then came Philip Kaufman's adaptation of Rising Sun, Crichton's 1992 bestseller about a murder at the Los Angeles headquarters of a Japanese corporation and the ensuing investigation. Seems Crichton was none too pleased with the changes Kaufman made to his story and distanced himself from the project. Can't really say I blame him.

After a young woman is murdered in the boardroom of the Nakamoto Corporation, Lieutenant Web Smith (Wesley Snipes), Special Liaison Officer to the Japanese community in Los Angeles, is called in to assist with the investigation. Partnere...Read the entire review