It's probably too early in the year to brand a film the most anything of 2008. But "Snow Angels," based on the book by Stewart O'Nan and written and directed by David Gordon Green, gets a head start in the race for most depressing movie of the year. This, or any year.   'SNOW ANGELS' - Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale star in the drama 'Snow Angels.' CNS Photo courtesy of Chris Reardon.  RATINGS 4 STARS - ... [full story]

In "Flawless," a pair of amateur crooks tries to snaffle a fortune by raiding an obscenely rich British institution. So far, so familiar. But near the film's unthrilling climax, we finally see something new: a 70-something janitor (Michael Caine) chasing a 40-something executive (Demi Moore) through London's sewers.   'FLAWLESS' - Michael Caine and Demi Moore star in the crime drama 'Flawless.' CNS Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.  RATINGS 4 STARS - Excellent. 3 STARS - Worthy. ... [full story]

Its title sounds like an open invitation for a "more excruciating than root canal" joke. But no need to grasp for cheap laughs, even if that's what "Drillbit Taylor" spends a good chunk of its 102 minutes doing. If anything, the movie - in which a parade of people gets their teeth knocked in - is more likely to make your molars ache with a case of the cutes.   'DRILLBIT TAYLOR' - Owen Wilson stars ... [full story]

Director Gus Van Sant is a voyeur, hovering cinematically over the lives and lithe bodies of adolescent boys. In "Paranoid Park," it was just a matter of time until the teenage skater at the center of the story (a long way from the rock star of Avril Lavigne's "Sk8ter Boi") would end up in the shower. In this case, the scene is less blatant than the two deadly Columbine-like high schoolers in "Elephant," who hop ... [full story]

"Under the Same Moon" tells the story of Rosario, a single mother who leaves her native Mexico. Her 9-year-old son, Carlitos, left behind with his grandmother, eagerly awaits her telephone calls every Sunday at the same time.   'UNDER THE SAME MOON' - Adrian Alonso stars as Carlitos in the touching film 'Under the Same Moon.' CNS Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight.  Carlitos decides to go in search of his mother in Los Angeles after his grandmother ... [full story]

The essential message in "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!" is respect. Horton's respect for the inhabitants of Whoville, whose world happens to be on a speck of dust.   'DR. SEUSS' HORTON HEARS A WHO!' - Protecting the inhabitants of Whoville with his trunk, Horton ventures to cross a rickety brdge in the humorous film 'Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!' CNS Photo courtesy of Blue Sky Studios.  RATINGS 4 STARS - Excellent. 3 STARS - ... [full story]

There are two kinds of people. There are those who obsess over every detail in a relationship, who analyze each behavior and meditate on the significance of every word and action that transpires.   'ATONEMENT' - Keira Knightley and James McAvoy star in the wartime drama 'Atonement.' CNS Photo courtesy of Alex Bailey.  DVD RATINGS 4 stars: Don't miss: rent it/buy it 3 stars: Worth the risk: rent it 2 stars: On the tipping point: if nothing ... [full story]

NEW RELEASES CHICAGO 10 - As a movie, "Chicago 10" isn't a 10, but it is a nine. In a creative juxtaposition of animation and archival footage, this unusual documentary captures 1968, that turbulent year in which Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy were killed. Chicago, meanwhile, steered by a thuggish mayor, was the site for the Democratic national convention that erupted in   'CHICAGO 10' - The defendants, including Bobby Seale (arms crossed), and ... [full story]

As a movie, "Chicago 10" isn't a 10, but it is a nine. In a creative juxtaposition of animation and archival footage, this unusual documentary captures 1968, that turbulent year in which Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy were killed. Chicago, meanwhile, steered by a thuggish mayor, was the site for the Democratic national convention that erupted in chaos, a sorry chapter in American political history.   'CHICAGO 10' - In 'Chicago 10,' director Brett ... [full story]

Just what the heck kind of a movie is "No Country for Old Men" (Miramax/Paramount Vantage, 4 stars)? A Western? Gangster movie? Chase movie? Bloody road-trip flick? "I'd say it's a road movie ..." suggests the laconic Tommy Lee Jones, who plays the aging Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, a proud and wise lawman who feels more and more that this blood-drenched West Texas terrain is no longer home for him.   'NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN' ... [full story]

In the end, the wisdom he was seeking came for Christopher McCandless. But in the end, young McCandless died alone and starving aboard the battered and abandoned old bus No. 142 of the Fairbanks City Transit System, a ways off in the Alaska wilderness. The wisdom? That happiness is only real when shared.   'INTO THE WILD' - Emile Hirsch plays Chris McCandless in the much-acclaimed Sean Penn-directed drama 'Into the Wild.' CNS Photo courtesy of ... [full story]

NEW RELEASES PENELOPE - One could have hoped that "Shrek," with its moralizing switcheroo ending, imposed at least a generation-long hold on the ugly-princess-with-a-curse template. But that would have been a squandering of hope, which, come to think of it, doesn't do you any good when you're born, as the poor little rich girl Penelope (Christina Ricci) was, with the snout of a pig. Because it seems the snout-curse will be lifted only when she ... [full story]

One could have hoped that "Shrek," with its moralizing switcheroo ending, imposed at least a generation-long hold on the ugly-princess-with-a-curse template. But that would have been a squandering of hope, which, come to think of it, doesn't do you any good when you're born, as the poor little rich girl Penelope (Christina Ricci) was, with the snout of a pig. Because it seems the snout-curse will be lifted only when she is accepted by one ... [full story]