All Articles

What stands out first about Arthur and the Invisibles is the confidence with which Luc Besson establishes its animated adventure identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Arthur and the Invisibles asks Freddie Highmore and Mia Farrow to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Arthur and the Invisibles is established with useful clarity: Ten year old Arthur, in a bid to save his grandfather's house from being demolished, goes looking for some much fab

What stands out first about Alpha Dog is the confidence with which Nick Cassavetes establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Alpha Dog asks Emile Hirsch and Justin Timberlake to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Alpha Dog is established with useful clarity: Johnny and his pals kidnap Jake's 15 year old brother Zach, then assign his buddy Frankie to be Zach's minder. That direct approach lets Alpha Dog use its 2h 2m runn

What stands out first about Catch and Release is the confidence with which Susannah Grant establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Catch and Release asks Jennifer Garner and Timothy Olyphant to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Catch and Release is established with useful clarity: A woman struggles to accept the death of her fiancé and the secrets he kept from her as she rebuilds her life. That direct approach lets Catch

What stands out first about Happily N'Ever After is the confidence with which Paul Bolger establishes its animated adventure identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Happily N'Ever After asks Sigourney Weaver and Sarah Michelle Gellar to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Happily N'Ever After is established with useful clarity: An alliance of evil doers, led by Frieda, looks to take over Fairy Tale Land. That direct approach lets Happily N'Ever

What stands out first about Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector is the confidence with which Trent Cooper establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector asks Larry the Cable Guy and David Koechner to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector is established with useful clarity: A slovenly cable repairman becomes a big city Health Inspector, and is tasked with

What stands out first about Marie Antoinette is the confidence with which Sofia Coppola establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Marie Antoinette asks Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Marie Antoinette is established with useful clarity: The retelling of France's iconic but ill fated queen, Marie Antoinette. That direct approach lets Marie Antoinette use its 2h 3m running time for

What stands out first about Black Christmas is the confidence with which Glen Morgan establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Black Christmas asks Michelle Trachtenberg and Mary Elizabeth Winstead to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Black Christmas is established with useful clarity: On Christmas Eve, an escaped maniac returns to his childhood home, which is now a sorority house, and begins to murder the sorority s

What stands out first about Unaccompanied Minors is the confidence with which Paul Feig establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Unaccompanied Minors asks Dyllan Christopher and Tyler James Williams to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Unaccompanied Minors is established with useful clarity: A group of unaccompanied minors bond while snowed in at the midwestern Hoover International Airport during the holiday season and u

What stands out first about Annapolis is the confidence with which Justin Lin establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Annapolis asks James Franco and Jordana Brewster to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Annapolis is established with useful clarity: Set against the backdrop of boxing at the Naval Academy, centers on a young man from the wrong side of the tracks whose dream of attending Annapolis becomes a reality. That

What stands out first about Just My Luck is the confidence with which Donald Petrie establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Just My Luck asks Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Just My Luck is established with useful clarity: Manhattanite Ashley is known to many as the luckiest woman around. That direct approach lets Just My Luck use its 1h 43m running time for character, atmosphere and co

What stands out first about Notes on a Scandal is the confidence with which Richard Eyre establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Notes on a Scandal asks Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Notes on a Scandal is established with useful clarity: A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her fifteen year old students. That direct appr

What stands out first about The Last King of Scotland is the confidence with which Kevin Macdonald establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Last King of Scotland asks James McAvoy and Forest Whitaker to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Last King of Scotland is established with useful clarity: Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s