Chuck Koplinski

Ron Howard’s best films focus on everyday heroes, men who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances yet can summon enough strength to conquer seemingly insurmountable challenges. These exemplars of the ideal American man have included fathers struggling to get through the day (Parenthood), firefighters battling ravaging flames (Backdraft), reporters striving to tell the truth (The Paper), […]

I know there are some film fans out there who don’t like Adam Sandler, but I bet they’d be hard pressed to deny that the actor has a charming affability. He’s kind of like your little brother, the one who always manages to get himself out of a jam because he can make you laugh […]

Too bad multiplexes don’t come equipped with fast-forward buttons for audiences: They’d come in handy for viewers of the final chapter of the Star Wars saga, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Plenty of special-effect sequences clutter the film and would be worth skipping to get to the heart of the story. In a sense, […]

If you’re smart, get online, punch up the trailer to Monster-in-Law, watch it a few times, skip the movie, and save yourself a couple of bucks. The clip shows Viola Fields (Jane Fonda), a journalist in the Barbara Walters mold, gnashing her teeth and throwing fit after fit over the prospect of her precious son, […]

Kingdom of Heaven is the fictional account of one man’s life before the Third Crusade, circa 1184, and his efforts to meet the call of destiny in a world of hypocrites and self-righteous zealots. Director Ridley Scott is fully in his element here, realistically rendering armies of 200,000 in awe-inspiring battles. However, as with many of […]

Who would have thought that director Danny Boyle, the man responsible for Trainspotting, a gritty look at England’s modern drug culture, and 28 Days Later, a grisly zombie film, would be capable of making the sweetest film of the year? His latest, Millions, is a much-needed breath of fresh air at the local multiplex. Brimming […]

Alejandro Amenábar’s The Sea Inside (Mar adentro) is a film filled with contradictions. Based on the real-life struggle of Spaniard Ramon Sampedro, who spent 30 years fighting for the right to end his own life, the film is both a celebration of life and a plea for the right to die. The premise may sound […]

I have no doubt that Sahara, the second of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt adventures to hit the screen (the first being the colossal 1980 bomb Raise the Titanic), will be picked apart by film-going curmudgeons who demand logic and a certain degree of plausibility in their action films. Those folks should just stay home and […]

Kevin Rodney Sullivan’s Guess Who benefits from the unexpected chemistry generated by Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher, which elevates this loose remake of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? above most of today’s comedies. In this twist on the 1967 classic, young and successful investment broker Simon Green (Ashton Kutcher) inexplicably quits his job during the film’s […]

One thing about Bride and Prejudice, Gurinder Chadha’s Bollywood version of a Victorian classic, is certain: It’s really different. And, may I add, it’s audacious, lavish, and enthusiastic — more than enough to help the film over a few rough spots. Chadha’s take on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice plays out as a clash of classes […]

Two years ago, 20th Century Fox entered the crowded animation category with Ice Age. Compared with the blockbusters that DreamWorks and Pixar were turning out, it was an underwhelming effort. I expected the same with the studio’s latest animated release, Robots. Surprisingly, Robots proves every bit as imaginative as anything Pixar or DreamWorks has done. […]

When socialite bimbo Paris Hilton lost her phone book, the private numbers of her celebrity friends, including that of actor Vin Diesel, ended up on the Internet. Good thing — now that I have his number, I can ring Diesel up and tell him his career is now officially toast. Really, it’s a shame. Diesel […]