Les Misérables (Tom Hooper, 2012)

When set against the experience of seeing a production of Les Misérables ,Tom Hooper’s adaptation single-handedly disproves Chaplin’s notion...

Dark Shadows (Tim Burton, 2012)

On paper, Dark Shadows  should be a stirring return to form for Tim Burton. Like Beetlejuice , its focus on one main set limits Burton's...

The King's Speech

Though it features the sort of rousing, uplifting score one expects for a movie about an underdog overcoming an obstacle, the dominant sonic...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Having re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before seeing the first half of the story in David Yates' latest, I entered the cin...

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Tim Burton's detractors may find themselves supporting Alice in Wonderland , if only because it makes their case against him so simple. ...

Fight Club

My decision this year to revisit some of the more notable films of 1989 had obvious personal connections ('89 being the year of my birth...

Howards End

In the accompanying booklet for Criterion's new Blu-Ray for Howards End , Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan bemoans how time has fo...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Easy come, easy go, I guess. After two films of solid quality injected some much needed life into the film franchise, David Yates, director ...