Author Archives: Dann Gire

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is on a quest for hidden pieces of Voldemort’s soul in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.” Maybe Harry Potter could cast a magic spell over us before we see his new movie. He could point his magic wand and utter an incantation like “NoDozeium Offem.” Or “RedBullium Energizus.” […]

Engineer Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) takes on the dangerous job of trying to stop the “Unstoppable” in Tony Scott’s new action-thriller. Seriously, how threatening and scary can a big, unmanned choo-choo be? Let yardmaster Connie Hooper answer that one. “A missile the size of the Chrysler Building!” she screeches. OK. Now that sounds scary. Tony […]

James Franco stars as a climber stuck in the Utah desert in Danny Boyle’s captivating drama “127 Hours.” Several viewers keeled over while watching Danny Boyle’s fact-based drama at its Telluride Film Festival premiere earlier this year. That’s actually a testimonial for Boyle’s captivating survival movie and for James Franco’s phenomenal performance as an adrenaline […]

Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) freaks out while meeting her hero, newsman Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford), in the comedy “Morning Glory.” Roger Michell’s comedy “Morning Glory” could have easily assessed what’s happened to America’s TV news since James L. Brooks’ 1987 masterpiece “Broadcast News” showed us a trio of reporters so busy with their professional lives […]

Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) and wife Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) share one of many tense moments in “Fair Game,” a fact-based domestic thriller. Consider this a “family first” film. If Doug Liman’s fact-based “Fair Game” had been just another political tirade against the Bush administration for outting CIA agent Valerie Plame, it would be old […]

Tangie (Thandie Newton), left, and her mother Alice (Whoopi Goldberg) squabble about her morals in Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls.” When a Tyler Perry movie actually gets screened for critics, you know it must be something special. “For Colored Girls” is special, especially for a Tyler Perry movie. It offers a sterling cast of actresses […]

TV reporter Roxanne Ritchi (voiced by Tina Fey) gets fake-tortured by the villainous Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) in the 3-D animated action-comedy “Megamind.” “Megamind” is both farce and fantasy, a vivid 3-D animated comedy filled with zany characters, switched identities, reversing roles and surprise plot entanglements. Then come the standard jokey pop culture references […]

Peter (Robert Downey Jr.) tries to take the wheel from a sleeping Ethan (Zach Galifianakis) in the buddy/road comedy “Due Date.” Call it “Planes, Trains and Automobiles — Without the Planes and Trains.” “Due Date” stars Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis as two clashing, feuding strangers who share a small car during a road […]

George (Matt Damon) meets a French TV journalist (Cecile de France) during a book tour in Clint Eastwood’s supernatural drama “Hereafter.” This movie may be as close to “Sleepless in Seattle” as Clint Eastwood ever gets. His spiritual drama “Hereafter” begins with a harrowing act of God a tsunami wipes out an entire island village […]

Parole officer Jack Mabry (Robert De Niro) has a frank chat with prisoner Stone (Edward Norton) in the drama “Stone.” To watch Robert De Niro and Edward Norton arguably two of the best film actors of their respective generations play characters verbally wrestling each other for control of a simple conversation becomes one of the […]