Is Luke Jackson, the laconic iconoclast played by Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke, mentally ill? It sure seems that way. He greets his misery – being arrested for damaging parking meters, being sentenced to a chain gang, being pummeled by alpha dog inmate Dragline (George Kennedy) – with the same idiot grin, as if

Robert Pattinson and his stomach cramps – I mean, aching unrequited love – are less oppressive in this sequel to Twilight, given that he has far less screen time. But the trade off is you’re now stuck with Taylor Lautner and his relentless shirtlessness. It’s not just Lautner – none of his werewolf friends feel

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

Julie & Julia was largely criticized for its split format. Most people loved Meryl Streep as a fluttery, determined Julia Child, while hardly anyone wanted to spend time with Amy Adams’ narcissistic blogger, who chronicles her attempt to cook her way through Child’s famous recipe book in one year. Yet as unlikeable as the Adams

Gorgeous and anchored by a flinty performance from Abbie Cornish, it’s a mystery as to why this Jane Campion period piece fades away rather than catches fire. Cornish plays Fanny Brawne, a seamstress who had a love affair with John Keats up to his youthful death. Campion beautifully weaves Keats’ poetry with her romantic imagery,