Movie Reviews

Shaz (Toni Collette), a hotheaded stranger new to the Australian town of Dolphin Heads, becomes the unlikely answer to a local politician's problems when she steps in to nanny his children.

Going 'Mental' And Enjoying The Ride

by David Edelstein

P.J. Hogan's new movie is madder than madcap, a zany, nonconformist boundary-pusher whose offbeat manner makes for a rich and grounded film. Toni Collette plays the part of a modern-day Maria von Trapp as if she has nothing to lose — and Anthony LaPaglia shows his true Aussie accent.
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'Trance': Not Danny Boyle's Best Work

by Kenneth Turan

Director Danny Boyle is best known for the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire. His latest film is called Trance. Critic Kenneth Turan says the film's overall coldness means there isn't anybody you care to identify with or any outcome you want to see.
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Rodney Ascher, director of the experimental documentary Room 237, leads an exploration of differing interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's classic horror film The Shining.

Hunting For Secrets In 'The Shining's' Room 237

by John Powers

A new documentary looks at obsessive fans of Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film The Shining, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. These fanatics look for hidden meanings in the movie, and while some of their theories sound outrageous, it's too simple to call such thinking deranged.
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Movie Review: 'Gimme The Loot'

by Kenneth Turan

Gimme The Loot is a new independent film that's had a charmed life, including winning the best narrative prize at South by Southwest and an appearance at Cannes. The comedy is written and director by Adam Leon.
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James Franco stars as the Wizard of Oz before the Wizard meets Dorothy in Oz the Great and Powerful.

'Oz': Neither Great Nor Powerful

by David Edelstein

There are three reasons to see this prequel to the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz: the trio of witches played by Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams. But James Franco, who stars as the wizard-in-the-making, disappoints — and the film as a whole is a bit snoozy.
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