Chuck Koplinski

Hide from this clunker Is Robert De Niro, arguably the greatest actor of his generation, so insecure that he’d appear in almost any movie that’s presented to him? To look at De Niro’s choices over the last five years, you’d certainly think so. Although no actor who has appeared on the screen for 35 years […]

One man who made a difference Intent on a program of rapid ethnic cleansing, Hutu militias in Rwanda slaughtered 800,000 members of the Tutsi tribe and moderate Hutus during 100 blood-soaked days in 1994. Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu, would have been free to flee the country but would not do so: Wife Tatiana is Tutsi, […]

It’s Baby, by a knockout! Since its quiet release in four cities on Dec. 17, Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby has been slowly but surely generating praise, garnering nearly unanimous rave reviews. Rarely does a film live up to its advance hype, but Baby is a notable exception, delivering an emotionally powerful tale told with subtlety […]

Ninety-one minutes of torture Some things — having your wisdom teeth removed or sitting through a job interview — end up being not nearly as bad as you thought they’d be. Then there are other things that turn out to be so god-awful atrocious that no amount of cautious preparation can do them justice. Case […]

Jackson shines as Coach Carter If good intentions equal great success at the box office, Coach Carter will end up being one of the runaway hits of the winter film season. Ironically, the film’s positive message nearly proves its undoing, thanks to a touch of heavy-handedness and melodrama. And though the film is based on […]

Time for sexual healing Like any good scientist, Alfred Kinsey was simply looking for facts when he began his landmark study of human sexuality. What he found, in addition to a wide range of responses to the comprehensive survey he and his assistants administered, was a degree of controversy he could not have imagined. Bill […]

Bird’s-eye view of high flyer There’s no denying that Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator is a flawed film. It plays fast and loose with the chronology of the historic events it so loving re-creates, proves difficult to become engaged with initially because it drops us into the middle of a whirlwind of activity, and at times […]

Stale, contrived Aquatic charts a familar course Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou deals with many of the same themes he explored in Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. It also features a group of emotionally damaged or stunted people, each searching for genuine emotional connections with others. Anderson has proved himself particularly adept […]

When finding the path to salvation means never growing up Very few films move audiences in an intimate and genuine way. Marc Forster’s Finding Neverland is among the exceptions. In telling the tale of how J.M. Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, came to form an emotional bond with four boys and their widowed mother, […]

Great doesn’t begin to describe Alexander Close to the end — but not close enough — of Oliver Stone’s ambitious historical drama Alexander, the Macedonian king of the title finds himself facing a mutinous army that’s reached the end of its rope. Having fought in more than 50 battles and traveled more than 10,000 miles […]

Soak up a little joy with SpongeBob To say that SpongeBob SquarePants looks at the world through rose-colored glasses is an understatement: He is, without a doubt, the happiest animated household cleaning product ever. Nowhere is this more evident than in his motion-picture debut, which features all of the familiar characters of Bikini Bottom, including […]

Film Express true to classic’s visual appeal and poignant story Since its publication in 1985, Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express has become an acknowledged classic of children’s literature, a Yuletide tale about faith and hope made unique not only because of the poignancy of the tale but the author’s distinctive illustrations as well. The […]