In addition to being the first stop-motion animation film released in 3-D, Coraline has a lot going for it. I suppose I should admit up-front that I pretty much knew going in that there was no way I wasn’t going to love it.

You have a story by author Neil Gaiman; Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick; comedian John Hodgman voicing the Father/Other Father; an original song by They Might Be Giants, and an impossibly intricate handmade set, featuring the world’s tiniest knitted sweater and gloves. (more…)

Ron Howard helms this interesting film paradox—a stage-to-screen adaptation of a two-man play concerning a political television interview. The premise may not sound too appealing at first, but from the first few minutes Frost/Nixon proves to be a thought- provoking and revelatory entertainment.

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Based on Bernhard Schlink’s award-winning novel, director Stephen Daldry’s The Reader on the surface represents a typical addition to Holocaust film canon. Few years float by without a slate of productions depicting the beyond tragic events of those dark days. (more…)

The irrepressible, incomparable, and apparently inexhaustible talent of Clint Eastwood continues to amaze as his indelible mark on film history becomes evermore expansive. With a career sprawling over half a century and a stack of awards that would fill 50 saddle bags, it appears that film’s Dorian Gray has no plans to retire. Already having one film in the books for 2008 (The Changeling), Eastwood is back in his familiar role of director/producer/actor/composer with Gran Torino.

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Once deemed one of the most radical and influential directors of modern times, Gus Van Sant’s recent filmography has been defined by minor successes and colossal blunders.

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Twentieth Century Fox raids the vaults in search of a holiday hit, and uses one of its most revered and timeless science fiction classics as target practice. The original 1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still remains a trendsetting space-age fable.

A flying saucer lands in Washington D.C., and its crew of two (a humanoid and a powerful robot) warn the world’s leaders of impending doom unless man abandons his war-mongering ways. Under the expert direction of Robert Wise and propelled by one of composer Bernard Hermann‘s most memorable scores, the film is unquestionably a standout. (more…)