(500) Days of Summer (2009)

Romantic Comedy Rated PG-13

Sweet and cute, but capable of so much more. Director Marc Webb, working from a screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, tweaks the romance genre by cataloging 500 days in the relationship of a New York City couple in random order (we start in the middle, jump near the end, then back toward

Robin Hood (2010)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

“Is there a less promising director-actor team at work today than Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe?

Broken Embraces (2009)

Drama Rated R

Pedro Almodovar reteams with Penelope Cruz, and you have your review right there. Actually, Broken Embraces isn’t quite at the same level as the pair’s Volver, mostly because Almodovar is playing a bunch of meta moviemaking games (as he did in Bad Education). His protagonist is a blind director (Lluis Homar) who recounts the tragic

Shrek Forever After (2010)

Family Rated PG

“…as fun and witty as its predecessors, but the movie has a completely different reason for being.

Invention of Lying, The (2009)

Comedy Rated PG-13

A wry case for atheism, The Invention of Lying would have sent many Americans into an uproar if anyone had bothered to see it. Ricky Gervais, who not only stars but also serves as co-writer and co-director, envisions a world much like ours, except for the fact that people are incapable of lying. One day

Sex and the City 2 (2010)

Comedy Rated R

“…a moving, surprisingly traditional ‘women’s picture’ in ridiculous, overpriced clothing.

Splice (2010)

Horror Rated R

“The mad scientists of Splice make Victor Frankenstein look like a reasonable man.

Survival of the Dead (2010)

Horror Rated R

“…has at least one great image: a zombie woman on horseback endlessly galloping around the island like some Gothic, Bronte-inspired ghost.

Please Give (2010)

Drama Rated R

“Holofcener explores the contemporary female experience with a camera that is at once empathetic and merciless.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Comedy Rated PG-13

“…an exhilarating burst of adolescence, a youth movement of wit, energy, ingenuity and sweetness.