Movie Reviews

- 'Broken Embraces' is Almodovar's lastest
- By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer
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In the most indelible scene of "Broken Embraces" ("Los abrazos rotos"), Pedro Almodovar's latest vivid melodrama, Penelope Cruz plays dress-up.
As an aspiring actress named Lena, she's testing wardrobe for a film. She quickly turns to the camera... Full story

- 'The Blind Side' focuses on the feel-good
- By GLENN WHIPP, For The Associated Press
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The redemption-minded sports flick "The Blind Side" serves its inspiration straight-up with no twist.
Writer-director John Lee Hancock wisely lets the true story of Michael Oher — the African-American teen who found a home and, eventually,... Full story

- 'Red Cliff' milks action, lapses on drama
- By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer
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John Woo's Hollywood movies never quite captured the grace and gutsiness of his Hong Kong action films. Woo has brought a good dose of Hollywood scale and style to his first film shot in mainland China, though.
The U.S. release of "Red Cliff"... Full story

- Wildness intact, 'Bad Lieutenant' returns
- By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer
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It's post-Katrina New Orleans and there are snakes in the water — none bigger than Terence McDonagh, an exceptionally corrupt detective, who slinks through town snorting coke, smoking heroin, harassing women and brandishing a .44 Magnum... Full story

- 'Pirate Radio' rolls when it should rock
- By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer
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No movie can be all bad when juiced up with a soundtrack of more than 50 classic rock tunes.
The best thing to say about Richard Curtis' "Pirate Radio" is that it's all about the music, man. The Kinks, the Who, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds,... Full story

- The end not soon enough for '2012'
- By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer
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Cataclysmic disaster and apocalyptic doom, as foretold by Hollywood, have a way of bringing together broken families, revealing the unseen heroism of deadbeat dads and neatly disposing of their rivals.
This, too, is the micro-level drama of... Full story

- Humor falls flat in 'Women In Trouble'
- By GLENN WHIPP, For The Associated Press
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"Women In Trouble" follows a day in the life of 10 different females, united by their uncanny ability to look fabulous in their underwear while in the throes of emotional crisis. Imagine Russ Meyer directing a Lifetime movie and you get an inkling... Full story

- Army drama 'Messenger' delivers fitfully
- By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer
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It's an unenviable task, making films about the war on terror for audiences that don't want to sit through dramatizations of the same bad news they get for real out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Less enviable is the task the key characters are charged... Full story

- 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' is mighty fine
- By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer
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It may not merit the adjective in its title, yet the animated yarn "Fantastic Mr. Fox" offers some of the most goofy fun you'll have at a theater this season.
With George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray leading the top-notch voice cast,... Full story

- 'Boondock Saints' makes unwelcome return
- By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer
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Cult classics — like Ed Wood's films and "Showgirls" — are often defined by their flaws as much as their merits. "Boondock Saints," the 1999 film that achieved cult status on DVD and has now spawned a sequel, certainly had plenty of... Full story