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

The Queen: 9 out of 10. I finally saw The Queen.  Helen Mirren becomes Queen Elizabeth II, even more than Scott Thompson did, and slam dunked that Oscar.  Everyone is good in The Queen, the writing and direction is superb and you're not bored for a second.  This is a

For Your Consideration: 6 out of 10. "For Your Consideration" isn't terrible, it's just disappointing.  It's disappointing because the previous three films from this group were so much funnier.  Of the four, which I'll rank at the end of this review, it's a distant fourth. Don't get me wrong, there

American Hardcore: 6 out of 10. The cool kids always wore tee shirts celebrating bands like Black Flag, the Dead Kennedys or D.O.A.  It was a scene I completely missed and never totally understood.  The songs seemed to be big walls of noise devoid of melody or hook.

Running with Scissors: ? out of 10. The reason I haven't given this film a score is that I fell asleep about half way through it.  Before I dozed off I remember thinking it was just like The Royal Tenenbaums without the wit and comedic elements. When I'm enjoying a film,

The Heart of the Game: 7 out of 10. I hadn't heard much about this documentary about a Seattle high school girls' basketball team, but when it showed up on TMN I decided to give it a go.  I'm glad I did. The story unravels in such a way that

Fuck: 6.5 out of 10. This documentary is all about the F-bomb.  There is an interesting collection of people speaking up on this controversial word, with Bill Maher, Billy Connolly, Ice-T, Drew Carey, Kevin Smith and others on one end of the spectrum and a bunch of stiffs and

Shut Up & Sing: 7 out of 10. For a long time, I didn't like the Dixie Chicks.  Actually, I should rephrase that.  It's their music I didn't like.  Somehow I don't think I was their target audience when they were singing about being ready to run and some bumpkin

This Film Is Not Yet Rated: 7 out of 10. I love docs, and this one about the MPAA is quite entertaining.  The MPAA oversees a "voluntary" film rating system, but as Kevin Smith points out in the film, it's anything but voluntary if you want to promote your film