Film – Chuck Koplinski

Expect an amazing chemical reaction I hate a good love story. Perhaps it is just a quirk in my personality, but I have never appreciated the shameless manipulation of the genre. As films, they are rarely challenging or intriguing. Why then would I recommend The Notebook, an unabashedly romantic and sentimental tearjerker? This one seems […]

It only seems like 80 days Halfway through Around the World in 80 Days, a poor man, locked up for a petty crime, cries out, “Please, let me go! I’m bored!” That’s pretty much what I was thinking as I sat in the theater, wondering, “Are we there yet?” This Disneyfied version of Jules Verne’s […]

Newest Potter film sets the standard for the series Told at a breakneck pace and sporting a stylistically somber look lifted directly from film noir, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban proves the most satisfying entry yet in the series of film adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s immensely popular books. Fans of the novels often […]

This Helen will launch a thousand snores The title figure of Raising Helen (Kate Hudson) lives in a tame version of the fast lane. Executive assistant to the head of a successful modeling agency (Helen Mirren), Helen is on her way to becoming an agent when her life is sidetracked by a tragedy. After a […]

Anyone who saw Brad Pitt’s first major screen role as the hitchhiker in Thelma and Louise should have realized that here was a future star. The part was small, but Pitt made it stand out with his natural screen charisma and peculiar sense of humor. His detractors attribute his success to his “pretty boy” looks, […]

Shrek sequel isn’t equal to orginal Witty and innovative, Shrek put the DreamWorks animation division on the map in 2001. The film’s breezy pace, lively voice characterizations by A-list movie stars, and clever script spelled box-office success. Producing a sequel was a no-brainer. Shrek 2 has a tough act to follow, and — no surprise […]

Homer lite: How Troy was lost in less than three hours You don’t need to brush up on your Homer to get through Troy: Director Wolfgang Petersen and screenwriter David Benioff set the stage quickly in the film’s first half hour. For those who dozed off during history class, Agamemnon (Brian Cox) has united all […]

Monstrous monster movie deserver an angry mob Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) wants to hatch his unborn progeny. He thinks that Wolfman’s blood and Frankenstein’s constitution are key to his plan. Enter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman), a secret agent for the Vatican and emissary charged with killing evildoers. Along with his trusty sidekick, Carl (David Wenham), […]

Some people who work in film are actors, and some are stars. Denzel Washington is undeniably both. The TV drama St. Elsewhere first brought him attention, but his supporting role as antiapartheid martyr Steve Biko in Cry Freedom proved that he belonged on the big screen. Throughout his impressive career he has shifted effortlessly from […]

The mating call of lawyers in love Laws of Attraction proves a totally disarming and charming comedy, thanks in large part to genuine chemistry between its two stars, aging sex symbol Pierce Brosnan and classic beauty Julianne Moore. Playing the roles of two successful New York divorce lawyers, Brosnan and Moore provide the sparks necessary […]

13 imitates Big but comes up short The body-switch premise was done to perfection in Penny Marshall’s Big when young David Moscow turned into Tom Hanks. Even in an adult’s body, the character of Josh looked at the world with a 13-year-old’s sense of wonderment and innocence. Hanks’ performance and Marshall’s deft direction turned this […]