If you're going to remake (or salute) a Hitchcock classic, it's fine to start off like "Disturbia." It is not fine to end up like "Disturbia." Probably the title, and the way D.J. Caruso directed a grim road crash at the start, tell us that crafty homage to the Old Master is not quite what the movie has most in mind. We can guess its target demographic, and it's hard to blame Caruso for some ... [full story]

Back in 1979, Idi Amin fled Uganda and began an odyssey that took him to several countries before he settled in Saudi Arabia. Every morning, disc jockey Don Imus would call an embassy or government functionary somewhere in the third world and demand to know the whereabouts of the fallen dictator. The man had the blood of more than 300,000 people on his hands and his whereabouts was a funny little bit on a radio ... [full story]

NEW RELEASES   'DISTURBIA – Aaron Yoo and Shia LeBeouf stars in the thriller 'Disturbia.' DISTURBIA - If you're going to remake (or salute) a Hitchcock classic, it's fine to start off like "Disturbia." It is not fine to end up like "Disturbia." Probably the title, and the way D.J. Caruso directed a grim road crash at the start, tell us that crafty homage to the Old Master is not quite what the movie has most in ... [full story]

"The Hoax" contains a mention of Shakespeare and, while never at the bard's level, might have made the old master smile. It's a paranoid party about what fools we mortals be.   'THE HOAX' - Richard Gere portrays writer Clifford Irving and Julie Delpy is Danish singer Nina Van Pallandt in the drama 'The Hoax.' CNS Photo courtesy of Ken Regan. Richard Gere plays Clifford Irving, the handsome (like Gere), suave (like Gere), slightly oozy (like Gere) ... [full story]

How do you like your pulp - baked or fried? In the pulp double that is "Grindhouse," Robert Rodriguez bakes a load of stale if bloody pastry called "Planet Terror," while Quentin Tarantino fries up a tasty mess of fun with "Death Proof."   'GRINDHOUSE' - Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Marley Shelton and Naveen Andrews star in the action movie 'Grindhouse.' CNS Photo courtesy of Rico Torres. "Planet Terror," the most intentionally aged and streaked movie since ... [full story]

Hell must be made of gumbo, moss, mud and blood. At least, that's the recipe you might derive from "The Reaping," which cooks the old hocus-pocus into bogus hokum.   'THE REAPING' - Idris Elba and Hilary Swank star in the suspense movie 'The Reaping.' CNS Photo courtesy of Gene Page. Katherine (Hilary Swank) is a former minister - faith and family lost in disastrous Sudan - who has become a sort of secular exorcist at Louisiana ... [full story]

NEW RELEASES   'THE REAPING' - Hilary Swank descends into a creepy situation in the suspense movie 'The Reaping.' CNS Photo courtesy of Gene Page. THE REAPING - Hell must be made of gumbo, moss, mud and blood. At least, that's the recipe you might derive from "The Reaping," which cooks the old hocus-pocus into bogus hokum. Katherine (Hilary Swank) is a former minister - faith and family lost in disastrous Sudan - who has become a sort ... [full story]

Don't misunderstand me, "Bobby" (Genius, 3 1/2 stars) is a fine piece of filmmaking. Emilio Estevez did a nice job pulling together the cultural and political storms that buffeted society in 1968 and wove them into an engrossing tale of the 24 hours leading up to Robert Kennedy's assassination in Los Angeles on June 4. But even more engrossing is the actual film footage of Kennedy on the campaign trail that Estevez has salted through ... [full story]

NEW RELEASES   'MEET THE ROBINSONS' - Lewis is an inventive orphan who is trying to track down his birth mom in the animated family film 'Meet the Robinsons.' CNS Photo courtesy of Disney. MEET THE ROBINSONS - Many of the digitally shot movies, even those high on effects, are not filmed for serious depth of field. They look pancaked. And so the 3-D effects of a cartoon movie like "Meet the Robinsons" really stand out. And ... [full story]

"The Lookout" opens with one of the most risky or foolhardy gambits in any movie. It empties almost all sympathy for the protagonist.   'THE LOOKOUT' - Jeff Daniels and Lewis Gordon Levitt are featured in the action film 'The Lookout.' CNS Photo courtesy of Allen Fraser. Chris Pratt, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is seen driving at fast speed through the Kansas night, when he turns off his lights. He wants his lovely girlfriend to savor the ... [full story]

Many of the digitally shot movies, even those high on effects, are not filmed for serious depth of field. They look pancaked. And so the 3-D effects of a cartoon movie like "Meet the Robinsons" really stand out. And up, enjoyably.   'MEET THE ROBINSONS' - Lewis and Wilbur are hot on the track of the mysterious Bowler Hat Guy in the animated family film 'Meet the Robinsons.' CNS Photo courtesy of Disney. This Disney release animated ... [full story]

If ever there was a good soldier during the Cold War it was CIA counterintelligence specialist Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) in the epic drama "The Good Shepherd" (Universal 3 1/2 stars). If you measure what a man gives up for his comrades and country, there would be few to match Wilson. It seems that, as the movie goes on, you shudder and wonder what more this guy could sacrifice. Each time he gives something, one ... [full story]

  GERARD BUTLER - Gerard Butler plays Spartan King Leonidas in the action film '300.' CNS Photo courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures. With chiseled abs that would make Adonis jealous, Gerard Butler stars as the bare-chested Spartan King Leonidas in the action epic "300." Blending historical fact with computer-enhanced fantasy, the film's surreal spin on ancient Greece is lifted straight from Frank Miller's graphic novel, inspired from a legend about 300 Spartan warriors who held off a ... [full story]