Chuck Koplinski

Mooseport skewers the conventions of politics and media Mooseport is an out-of-the-way burg in Maine that’s besieged by the media when former president Monroe “Eagle” Cole (the unflappable Gene Hackman) decides to retire there. Content to reap millions from a lecture tour, he’s sucked back into public life when given the opportunity to run for […]

Make a Date with four charmers in a tale of love and values Is love more likely to survive in the spotlight of fame or with wholesome values and anonymity? That’s the question three young adults in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton must answer as fate and ashrewd business manager (Nathan Lane) throw their […]

Liberty is derivative of classic romances, but lacks style and grace Andy Cadiff’s Chasing Liberty has more than a few similarities to the Audrey Hepburn romances Roman Holiday and Two for the Road — so much so, I wouldn’t be surprised if first-time screenwriters Derek Guiley and David Schneiderman didn’t have copies in their VCRs […]

Love is hope Ñ and on Cold Mountain, it’s worth the sacrifice Anthony Minghella’s adaptation of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain initially labors under the weight of the high expectations that have dogged this production since its inception. But much like the heroine at its center, shy Southern Belle Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman), who finds her […]

Roberts delivers low-key, mature performance in Smile Art history instructor Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) seems unprepared to handle the overachieving and conformist women of Wellesley College. Her students, ’50s-era debutantes, think they know all there is to know about art from their textbooks. But they’re unable and unwilling to form their own opinions. Forced to […]

King is a feast for the eyes, with a compelling story at its heart When last we left the hobbits Frodo and Sam, they were heading to Mordor to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Meanwhile, brothers-in-arms Aragorn, the elf Legolas, the dwarf Gimli, the wizard Gandalf and hobbits Pippin and […]

Dancing with wolves, Japanese-style A disillusioned Civil War veteran sets out to a foreign land where he encounters an ancient culture. Its values of honor, loyalty and courage prove a revelation. Though sheltered by the tribe’s leader, he meets with resistance from others. He eventually joins this culture and marries a young widow. Though it […]

Billy Bob Thornton is Willie, an ex-con whose annual scam is to get hired as a department store Santa along with his dwarfish buddy, Marcus (Tony Cox). Their goal: Rip off the place on Christmas Eve and score a take that’s big enough to last the whole year. This Christmas, the plan goes awry. Willie’s […]

Despite a promising premise that would have done Rod Serling proud (a likeable heroine caught in a nightmare that forces her to question reality), Gothika plunges headlong into the ridiculous, turning what could have been a taut, atmospheric thriller into a joke. Halle Berry portrays psychiatrist Miranda Gray, who blacks out after a horrific automobile […]

And so the saga of the messiah Neo (Keanu Reeves) ends with a bang instead of a whimper in The Matrix Revolutions. Too bad. Since the original made its debut in 1999, Andy and Larry Wachowski’s sequels have taken on an air of self-importance. Reloaded, the second entry in the series, caused the curious to […]

Who would have ever thought that the crew behind the Airplane! and the Naked Gun movies would actually add a little class to any sort of cinematic endeavor? But writer/director Jerry Zucker and his team of writers do just that with Scary Movie 3, the latest installment in the studio’s horror spoof series. Created by […]

Strong performances overshadow implausible plot of Runaway Jury The latest cinematic adaptation of a John Grisham novel, Runaway Jury, is a shamelessly entertaining film that asks viewers to set aside common sense and overlook some gaping plot flaws. In large part, it succeeds because of gripping performances by a powerhouse cast that includes Dustin Hoffman, […]