The Fountain: 6 out of 10. My brain hurts.  I watched "The Fountain" last night, and I'm still not sure what the hell happened.  If you've seen it, you know what I mean.  My brain really is in pain. I watched "The Fountain" because I saw it was directed by

Juno: 9 out of 10. "Juno" is fantastic.  It's funny, charming and sweet and is powered by a great cast.  It's a great cast, with personal faves J.K. Simmons, Michael Cera and Jason Bateman complemented nicely by Allison Janney, Olivia Thirlby and Jennifer Garner, but this movie kills because

Chestnut: Hero of Central Park: 4 out of 10. How many movies made for kids feature dogs?  There's the "Air Bud" series, "Karate Dog", "Under Dog" and this one, "Chestnut: Hero of Central Park". As you might have guessed, I watched this with the kids.  I know he hasn't discovered

The Painted Veil: 7 out of 10. This one is pretty good.  It's the Ed Norton and Naomi Watts show and they carry this sucker.  I almost didn't join Taryn for this one because the thought of a love story set in 1925 China spooked me, but I caved because

The Ex: 4 out of 10. I watched a movie called "The Ex" last night, only IMDB doesn't call it "The Ex".  They call it "Fast Track".  I don't think I've ever experienced the ol' name switch like that before. Call it what you want, but it stars Zach Braff,

Alvin and the Chipmunks: 5 out of 10. First and foremost, all 7000 kids I saw this with loved it.  I thought I'd open with the most important detail before reviewing it as a 33 year old adult. This movie is carried by the complete cuteness of the animated rodents.

We Are Marshall: 7 out of 10. I'm a total sucker for these kinds of movies.  I can watch Rudy over and over again and dammit, I liked We Are Marshall. It was manipulative, but I wanted to be manipulated.  That's a fair trade.

Superbad: 8 out of 10. If it hurts to laugh, skip this one.  It's almost two hours long and full of hilarious shite. Like the slightly better "Knocked Up", it's charming, sweet and very funny.  Michael Cera plays a character not unlike George Michael if he was 17 and had

Zodiac: 8 out of 10. David Fincher directed "Seven" and "Fight Club", so we know he's got the chops.  "Zodiac" is a completely different kind of film but equally compelling.  I enjoyed it, and I rarely enjoy any film longer than two hours.  "Zodiac" is closer to three hours than

Night at the Museum: 4 out of 10. Ben Stiller has done some good stuff.  There's Something About Mary and The Royal Tenenbaums are two of my favourite comedies of all-time.  Night at the Museum, however, is the rarest of comedies.  It's a comedy without laughs. It earned a four

Casino Royale: 7 out of 10. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my first James Bond film.  It was my wife's first James Bond film as well, so last night two 30-something year olds sat down for their first taste of 007 action. It was a little long, but

Evan Almighty: 6.5 out of 10. I would have made a terrible movie reviewer.  I watched "Evan Almighty" with the kids and they loved it.  The more they loved it, the more I liked it.  They transformed a safe and predictable disappointment into a fun 95 minutes. Evan Baxter

Black Snake Moan: 6.5 out of 10. Where did Christina Ricci go?  You see all of her in this film, but there isn't as much of her as there used to be.  Where did the rest of her go? I found this movie surprisingly watchable.  It's got a dirty

Breaking and Entering: 7 out of 10. Anthony Minghella took Jude Law from the excellent The Talented Mr. Ripley and Juliette Binoche from the exceptional The English Patient and made this surprisingly fine film.  I write "surprisingly" because I had never heard of Breaking and Entering.  It somehow flew so

The Last King of Scotland: 8 out of 10. I'm on a roll with movies lately.  This was another good one with a killer performance by Forest Whitaker.  The dude is damn good as Idi Amin.  From Charles Jefferson in "Fast Times at Ridgement High" to this in 24 years.

Little Children: 8 out of 10. I'm catching up on flicks and I've seen a few good ones in a row.  Last night I finished "Little Children" which stars Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson.  It's very interesting with a super creepy performance by Jackie Earle Haley. It's simply a well

The History Boys: 8.5 out of 10. "The History Boys" flew under the radar, so it's quite possible you've never heard of this British film about boys trying to get into Oxford and Cambridge.  It's my job to tell you it's awesome.  It's funny, different, well acted and fulfilling.

Freedom Writers: 5 out of 10. I really didn't like this Hillary Swank vehicle based on the true story of Wilson High.  I didn't like the similar "Dangerous Minds" either, and I think I know why.  It's Morgan Freeman's fault. Morgan Freeman starred in "Lean on Me" back in '89

Pan's Labyrinth: 8.5 out of 10. Holy crap, that was cool.  I'm not even sure how to review Guillermo del Toro's fantasy.  It's visually unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's just very cool.

Run Granny Run: 7 out of 10. This is an HBO documentary about Doris "Granny D" Haddock's run for the US Senate.  Granny D joined the race late, had a shoestring budget, faced a popular incumbent and was 94 years old. It's a charming doc that juxtaposes Granny's sincerity and

Volver: 7.5 out of 10. Pedro Almodovar has a winner here in Volver, and Penelope Cruz is fantastic in the lead.  It's easy viewing for two hours even though you have to read the whole thing. I highly recommend it.

Everyone's Hero: 5 out of 10. Tonight I was looking for a flick to watch with the kids when I rolled the dice and went with "Everyone's Hero".  If you've never heard of it, and I certainly hadn't, it's about a kid who has to get Babe Ruth back his

The Pursuit of Happyness: 8.5 out of 10. I must confess, I'm not a big Will Smith fan.  I liked him in Six Degrees of Separation and thought he was pretty good in Ali, but that's about it.  In The Pursuit of Happyness, however, he's fantastic. The entire film

Let's Go To Prison: 5.5 out of 10. Ok, there are better comedies out there, but I didn't mind "Let's Go To Prison".  Maybe it was the fact I liked seeing Will Arnett because he reminded me of Arrested Development, or maybe it's because it was directed by Bob

Bobby: 6 out of 10. This is far from a bomb from writer and director Emilio Estevez, but I found myself playing "name that actor" for most of the film.  There are so many known actors and actresses in "Bobby" you can spend a third of the film identifying the