Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, January 3,2013

The 10 best films of 2012

When too many play it safe, honesty is the best policy.

The year 2012 was much like many others in recent memory on the United States film scene. The summer was dominated by superhero extravaganzas. (The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises were the year&rsq

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, January 3,2013

The best movie scenes of 2012

By Chuck Koplinski

Movies are about moments. There are big moments that erase our cynicism about the art form and remind us of its capacity to dazzle. There are quiet moments that succeed in touching our hearts in a way

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, January 3,2013

Land doesn’t fulfill promise

By Chuck Koplinski

While there’s never any doubt that Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land was made with the best of intentions, something goes slightly awry in the execution of this environmental awareness movie. W

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, December 27,2012

Cruise at home in Reacher

By Chuck Koplinski

In light of recent events, it’s rather difficult watching the opening of Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher as a sniper picks off five innocent victims from a distance. I wouldn’t say the sce

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, December 20,2012

Four new holiday films

By Chuck Koplinski

Epic vision of The Hobbit hobbled by tepid paceDirector Peter Jackson returns to take care of unfinished business with his adaptation of The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel to the filmmaker&rsq

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, December 20,2012

Wreck-it Ralph’s clever odyssey

By Chuck Koplinski

My father always used to say that he hated taking us to Disney animated films, yet I remember him being the one who laughed the most at what was happening on the screen. Of course, that’s the se

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, December 13,2012

Hitchcock too fractured

By Chuck Koplinski

Much like the bathroom at the Bates Motel where Marion Crane met her untimely death, Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock is a bit of a mess. Attempting to tell the story about the making of one of the mos

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, December 6,2012

Softly a metaphor for our times

By Chuck Koplinski

More like The Sopranos in tone and feel than Pulp Fiction, what with its lack of self-aware irony, Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly has more than a few axes to grind. Intent on throwing the

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, November 29,2012

Rousing visuals and heartfelt message in soaring Guardians

By Chuck Koplinski

When people console me for having to see every movie that comes out, even the ones that make going in for a root canal look like a more enjoyable option, I tell them that this aspect of being a film c

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, November 29,2012

Pi a dazzling exploration of the spiritual world

By Chuck Koplinski

I’ve become a skeptic where the modern 3-D process is concerned. The Hollywood studios have taken a good thing and overused it to the point that they’re starting to see a downturn in reven