Day the Earth Stood Still, The (2008)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

A big, dopey, old-fashioned, science-fiction disaster movie – which is odd, because its 1951 predecessor was anything but. Like the original The Day the Earth Stood Still, this gets political, but the message basically boils down to: Recycle, or the aliens will come and get you. That’s the basic explanation Keanu Reeves gives as Klaatu,

Fireproof (2008)

Drama Rated PG

“As a companion piece to a Bible study group this may have some merit, but it doesn’t belong in a theater.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)

Musical Rated G

“In its wishful-thinking way, the picture taps into an aspect of growing up that those gritty independent movies – with their wayward Larry Clark kids – tend to forget: the effervescence of youth.

Pride and Glory (2008)

Drama Rated R

“…exists on a more realistic plane than something like Lethal Weapon or Rush Hour. Watching it, you feel like you’re walking a cop’s beat.

Changeling (2008)

Drama Rated R

“For a drama about a missing child, Changeling is curiously devoid of any sense of urgency.

Wall Street (1987)

Drama Rated R

A hallowed text for aspiring sales sharks – as chronicled in 2000’s superior Boiler Room – Wall Street is blustery and unsophisticated, like many of the movies of Oliver Stone. It’s a cautionary tale that plays more like a recruiting video, which is why wannabe traders watch it the same way wannabe gangsters watch Scarface.

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

Comedy Rated R

“…argues for integrity in celebrity journalism, which is an oxymoron to the highest degree (and this is coming from someone who has engaged in it).

Flash of Genius (2008)

Drama Rated PG-13

"…thinks it’s an inspirational, based-on-fact, little-man-beats-the-system drama, when in fact it is one of the more depressing pictures I’ve seen in quite some time."

Appaloosa (2008)

Drama Rated R

Ed Harris directs himself and Viggo Mortensen in a Western that is so old-fashioned it even carries a troubling dose of old-fashioned sexism. The two male stars have a nice, often wordless rapport as two gunmen and longtime friends who are hired by the residents of Appaloosa to protect them from a sadistic outlaw (Jeremy

Hud (1963)

Drama Rated NR

“… Newman turns Hud into a tarnished golden boy, cruel yet irresistible to watch.”