A turkey of a season? Dann sees a lot of films to be thankful for

Hollywood’s trade publication Variety has already dismissed the upcoming holiday movie season as “playing it safe” with “almost the same number of major releases, the usual number of Christmas Day launches, the same mix of prestige items and popcorn fare” as last year. To a bean-counter maybe. If box office receipts are all that matter, […]

‘New Moon’ waxes romantic, wanes in humor

Bella (Kristen Stewart) is torn – metaphorically speaking – between a vampire (Robert Pattinson) and an American Indian werewolf (Taylor Lautner) in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” You gotta feel sorry for Bella Swan. First, her vampire boyfriend disses her. (“You don’t belong in my world, Bella!” he says.) Then, her werewolf boyfriend pushes her […]

Reel Life review: ‘Boondock Saints II’

Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery reprise their roles as the vigilante killers in “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.” Troy Duffy’s long-awaited sequel, “Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day,” concocts the same insane blend of gun fetish, inverted religious invocations, bloody killings, giddy stunts, cool sunglasses and ridiculous tattoos as his comical cult […]

‘Twilight’ vampire Lutz: This role is ‘tough’

In the sequel “Twilight Saga: New Moon,” actor Kellan Lutz plays vampire Emmett Cullen to Nikki Reed’s Rosalie Hale. If you don’t know who Kellan Lutz is yet, you’re not a screaming fan of last year’s hit vampire movie “Twilight.” Lutz is the 24-year-old South Dakota-born actor who plays Emmett Cullen, one of the vampire […]

Drawn-out sense of dread slows ‘House of the Devil’

Baby sitter Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) prepares for the worst in the self-descriptive thriller “The House of the Devil.” Samantha, the cute college student, takes a baby-sitting job at a creepy old Victorian house in the boonies, and when she arrives, discovers the weird couple living there doesn’t even have a baby. Run, Samantha! The lady […]

Special effects don’t save bloated doomsday thriller ‘2012’

Jackson Curtis (Chicago’s own John Cusack) races against certain death in Roland Emmerich’s disaster movie “2012.” Collapsing skyscrapers! Gargantuan tidal waves! Crashing airplanes! White-knuckle escapes! Bad acting! Dogs that never die! Eardrum-busting dialogue! Roland Emmerich’s epic doomsday thriller “2012” packs in everything anyone could ever want in a vintage 1970s disaster movie crammed with second-tier […]

‘Pirate Radio’ gives rock history a shallow ride

Carl (British heartthrob Tom Sturridge) dillydallies with a dollie (Talulah Riley) in Richard Curtis’ music-stuffed “Pirate Radio.” If you go to see Richard Curtis’ comedy “Pirate Radio” expecting to see something as heartfelt, profound and witty as his phenomenal directorial debut “Love, Actually,” you will likely be disappointed. “Pirate Radio” (not much of an improvement […]