Valeria Golino, known to American audiences for her roles in Rain Man and Hot Shots!, makes her directorial debut with a thoughtful, stylish Italian drama about euthanasia. 

The sequel to Zack Snyder’s homoerotic blood orgy offers more of the same, as Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) and his leather-clad Greek warriors do battle against their glammed-out Persian foes. 

The updated, feature-length version of the cartoon about a time-traveling genius dog and his adopted boy fully honors the original in terms of picking up its cues, but not in terms of doing something worthy with the material.

In detailing the relationship between an Israeli intelligence officer and the Palestinian teenager he uses as a double agent, Yuval Adler’s tense drama smartly defies the glamour and allure of ordinary spy narratives. 

Before writing and directing this year’s Sundance-winning Whiplash, Damien Chazelle scripted another music-themed movie, this one a crazed thriller about a concert pianist (Elijah Wood) forced to play the perfect show or suffer the consequences. 

Valeria Golino, known to American audiences for her roles in Rain Man and Hot Shots!, makes her directorial debut with a thoughtful, stylish Italian drama about euthanasia. 

The sequel to Zack Snyder’s homoerotic blood orgy offers more of the same, as Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) and his leather-clad Greek warriors do battle against their glammed-out Persian foes. 

The updated, feature-length version of the cartoon about a time-traveling genius dog and his adopted boy fully honors the original in terms of picking up its cues, but not in terms of doing something worthy with the material.

In detailing the relationship between an Israeli intelligence officer and the Palestinian teenager he uses as a double agent, Yuval Adler’s tense drama smartly defies the glamour and allure of ordinary spy narratives. 

Before writing and directing this year’s Sundance-winning Whiplash, Damien Chazelle scripted another music-themed movie, this one a crazed thriller about a concert pianist (Elijah Wood) forced to play the perfect show or suffer the consequences. 

Before writing and directing this year’s Sundance-winning Whiplash, Damien Chazelle scripted another music-themed movie, this one a crazed thriller about a concert pianist (Elijah Wood) forced to play the perfect show or suffer the consequences. 

A contraption used to communicate with the dead is just one of many nonsensical elements in this indie horror dud about a haunted house and the spooky owner who’s immune to its terrors. 

Based on a true story, this exploitation thriller about a teenage boy who stabs his friend doubles as a scolding moral tale about the consequences of using the Internet. 

Say this for Forest Whitaker: He keeps his mistakes quiet. It’s unlikely anyone will even notice he appeared in this predictable pseudo-spiritual drama about a dark secret kept between two brothers. 

Writer-director Joe Begos pays homage to the ’80s horror of John Carpenter and Sam Raimi with his low-budget shocker about alien abduction, but he falls well short of their mastery. 

A decade after Chicago won Best Picture, it’s a good time for reassessment. The musical’s awards success diminished its reputation, but  it deserves to be seen in a more generous light. 

The participants all seem to agree that 1979’s The Visitor—an Italian knockoff of a host of 1970s films—is a comically incoherent, enjoyably deranged experience.

After Kafka put Steven Soderbergh’s ascendent career in a tailspin, he recovered with this lovely evocation of a young boy growing up alone in Depression-era Kansas City. 

Resonances of Roman Polanski’s personal tragedies, both received and inflicted, inform his adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s pessimistic 1891 novel, which follows its heroine (Nastassja Kinski) through a world of senseless cruelty. 

The original Shadow character influenced the look and style of many comic-book heroes that followed, including Batman. So there’s irony in the screen adaptation, arriving five years after Tim Burton’s Batman, being so derivative of the Caped Crusader. 

A half-remembered 1996 effort found Schwarzenegger fighting a CGI alligator and jumping out of a plane.

In the last Honorable Mentions column of this awards season, a reminder that the Oscars are about more than what happened on awards night.

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s 1970 feature El Topo is often considered the first midnight movie. But after a short career in film, including two years trying to produce an epic version of Frank Herbert’s Dune, he largely left for other media. Now, at 85, he’s back, and more enthusiastic than ever.

An exhaustive look at Bill Murray’s career traces his journey from comedy star to respected actor—and finds his two talents have long been intertwined.

A filmography defined by long odds and improbable victories has made the man who was—and continues to be—Rocky Balboa one of cinema’s greatest survivors. But survival comes at a price.

A guide to the long career of Fritz Lang, which produced a filmography of great diversity while circling around the same preoccupations.

 It was a big night for Gravity, 12 Years A Slave, selfies, and a meme accidentally spawned by John Travolta.

The theatrical release of Son Of God prompted us to look back at various attempts to put the Messiah on the big screen: the too-reverent, the not-so-reverent, and the ridiculous.

The skyrocketing film career of massively successful stand-up Kevin Hart isn’t an anomaly, but it is relatively rare to see a stage comedian transition into bona-fide movie stardom. How has he succeeded where so many other gifted performers have failed?

When filmmakers from abroad visit America, they tend to find angles on the country that native directors would never consider. Michelangelo Antonioni’s sole film made on American soil is no exception.

The Marx brothers’ future looked dim after the cooly received Duck Soup. Enter Irving Thalberg’s MGM and an attempt to class up the act. Exit much of the mirthful anarchy.

Nothing in Barry Levinson’s filmography suggested he would direct a found-footage horror film. And yet The Bay exists.

A half-remembered 1996 effort found Schwarzenegger fighting a CGI alligator and jumping out of a plane.

Movies long struggled to figure out what to do with Richard Pryor, but his opportunities were seldom as insulting as this early-1980s effort co-starring Jackie Gleason.

The only positive thing that can be said of the pairing of hopelessly white Steve Martin and an Ebonics-spouting Queen Latifah is that history has been kind enough to half-forget it.

An alternate poster for Her uses a blurred image to see the film more clearly.

Cristian Mungiu’s Beyond The Hills gets a poster inspired by rolling landscapes, a Belgian illustrator, and ambiguity.

Graphic designer Sam Smith creates a new image for his favorite film of 2013 and lists this year’s 10 best movie posters.

Long before Jurassic Park restored Michael Crichton to ascendancy, he dominated the 1970s with films like The Andromeda Strain, Westworld, and The Terminal Man, which considered the human cost of progress.

After Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, filmmakers redefined the Apes franchise with each successive entry, while maintaining its daring central premise.

A string of films, including Rollerball and Logan’s Run, portray frightening visions of paradise, illustrating the danger of getting what we want without considering what we give up to get it.

Almost from the start, Wes Anderson has had a side career making commercials that push his distinctive style up against the boundaries of clear assignments.

A discussion of Wes Anderson’s third feature considers its depiction of family, depression, and the director’s growing ambition.

With two perfectly chosen songs, Wes Anderson suggests the melancholy of a “family of geniuses” that operates on a fragile but essential group chemistry.

 The Oscars have a long history of rewarding great actors for their work in less-than-great films.

In a competitive year for Best Actor, the Academy went with what it knew: Jack. In the process, it overlooked some great work, including one of the decade’s best performances—one that didn’t even earn a nomination.

Few recent Oscar winners have provoked so many strong feelings as Renée Zellweger, whose hillsy turn in Cold Mountain delighted some and appalled others. Elsewhere in the supporting-actress world, 2003 was a year of breakout performances from both veterans and newcomers.

Welcome Home Brother Charles is a giant-killer-penis movie with a social conscience.

After a string of action roles, 2008’s The Other Man could have been a chance for star Liam Neeson to get back to his dramatic roots. Instead, it seems intent on boring him and his audience to death.

For those interested in A Madea Christmas, Netflix recommends A Day In The Life, a hip-hopera written, directed by, and starring hip-hop veteran Sticky Fingaz. Anyone taking that recommendation will find a surprisingly innovative and unusual movie.

 This week, we share our wildest Oscar hopes and dreams, box ourselves into a conversation about the art of the claustrophobia film, and try to distinguish between the two big comet-about-to-smash-Earth blockbusters of 1998.

Romantic comedies may be in a dark age at the moment, but love isn’t dead on this week’s Valentine’s-themed episode.

With Gravity hitting home video and being re-released in theaters at the same time, we debate whether certain spectacle-based movies retain their value off the big screen. We also check in from Sundance and revisit the ever-alarmed IMDB Parent’s Guide in Parental Guidance Suggested.

We return from holiday hiatus with lots of opinions on Wolf Of Wall Street, some questions about some unexpected directorial detours, and extra viewing recommendations to share.

 This week, we share our wildest Oscar hopes and dreams, box ourselves into a conversation about the art of the claustrophobia film, and try to distinguish between the two big comet-about-to-smash-Earth blockbusters of 1998.

Romantic comedies may be in a dark age at the moment, but love isn’t dead on this week’s Valentine’s-themed episode.

With Gravity hitting home video and being re-released in theaters at the same time, we debate whether certain spectacle-based movies retain their value off the big screen. We also check in from Sundance and revisit the ever-alarmed IMDB Parent’s Guide in Parental Guidance Suggested.

We return from holiday hiatus with lots of opinions on Wolf Of Wall Street, some questions about some unexpected directorial detours, and extra viewing recommendations to share.