A war is being waged between Heaven and Hell, and Earth has been chosen as the battleground. That’s the premise of writer-director Gregory Widen’s creepy “The Prophecy,” which isn’t to be confused with that awful Talia Shire, monster-in-the-woods movie years back. Read the rest of this entry »

HARRY POTTER & THE SORCERER’S STONE (PG-13)

At this point in time, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is no longer just a movie. It is an event. Not since the release of “Star Wars” has any film generated such a high level of hype and buzz. Read the rest of this entry »

Tullymore is a small village in Ireland, one of those quaint seaside hamlets filled with colorful characters and a colorful past. There are 53 residents of Tullymore, and like the residents of every small town, they know each other’s business. You can’t keep a secret in Tullymore, or can you? It seems that one of the residents of Tullymore has won the National Lottery, yet no one has stepped forward to claim the prize. Read the rest of this entry »

By their very nature, submarine movies are prone to wade through an ocean of clichés. There have been so many submarine thrillers (some good, many bad) that it’s fundamentally impossible to create characters and situations that we haven’t seen before. Since we have seen it all before, it’s up to the writer, director and cast to convince us otherwise. Read the rest of this entry »

I remember how anxious I was to see “Housesitter” when it first came out. Honest. I mean, the pairing Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn was a long time in coming. They’re a natural match. Martin had just come off the remake of “Father of the Bride,” in which he showed a sweeter side. Read the rest of this entry »

When Tom Hanks won the Best Actor Academy Award for “Philadelphia,” his passionate acceptance speech gave thanks to a number of people, including one of his previous teachers. Because the character he played in “Philadelphia” was a gay man, Hanks mentioned that his former teacher was also gay. Read the rest of this entry »

1962 was a tumultuous year, even without the Cuban missile crisis. The Cold War was in full freeze, and paranoia run rampant. Paranoia can cause people to do strange things. The thought of a Russian missile attack convinced many Americans to build bomb shelters. For most, these shelters were nothing more than a small underground bunker, if that. Read the rest of this entry »

Like a lot of things in my life, “3 Days of the Condor” has a special place in my heart. My family had a tradition of going out on New Year’s Eve. First we would have dinner, then we would go bowling, and finally we would take in a movie as the New Year rolled in. That year my friend Donna tagged along. I had known Donna since I was seven (she was six), and even though we lost touch when I moved away, we reconnected several years later and have been inseparable ever since. Read the rest of this entry »

The remake of “Ocean’s Eleven” proves that Hollywood can still make them like they used to, as long as stars and filmmakers are willing to put aside their egos and hefty paychecks. As light and buoyant as an anorexic skydiver, “Ocean’s Eleven” is both smart and funny, a rare combination these days. Read the rest of this entry »

Flightplan is an airborne thriller for people who can’t tell the difference between the contents of an air sickness bag and an in-flight meal. Both are guaranteed to leave a nasty taste in your mouth, which is the problem with this confining tale of a distraught mother looking for her missing daughter on a transatlantic flight. Read the rest of this entry »