Gritty, grim ‘Book of Eli’ is difficult movie to enjoy Neil Pond February 2, 2010 In a not-too-distant future, a nuclear war has turned Earth into a seared wasteland, and one wandering survivor carries an important, one-of-a-kind artifact: a Bible. (More)
Amy Adams shines in otherwise boggy ‘Leap Year’ Neil Pond January 26, 2010 When a matrimonially impatient New York woman wants to light a fire under her reluctant-to-pop-the-question boyfriend, she pursues him to Ireland, where a leap year tradition puts the proposal ball in her court. (More)
Blue, beautiful ‘Avatar’ will blow you away Neil Pond January 19, 2010 The new special-effects blockbuster from director James Cameron takes place on the moon of a distant planet some 150 years from now. Human expeditions into space have sniffed out something special underneath the lush, primal surface of Pandora---something that can solve all of Earth’s energy woes. (More)
Meet the new ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Neil Pond January 12, 2010 Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle wrote several novels and nearly 60 short stories about his most popular fictitious character, the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, and the cerebral criminologist was portrayed in more than 100 movies throughout the first half of the 20th century. (More)
‘Princess’ breaks Disney’s color barrier Neil Pond January 5, 2010 “The Princess and the Frog” continues a Disney tradition of fair maidens, handsome squires and wishes made upon a star. But this teeming gumbo of characters, songs and story set in the jazzy, culturally rich French Quarter of New Orleans during the 1920s isn’t just another Disney fairytale. (More)
Whimsical delights abound in ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’ Neil Pond December 22, 2009 Using old-school, stop-motion animation, director Wes Anderson brings to “Fantastic Mr. Fox” the cool hipster wit that became his trademark in live-action indie favorites like “Rushmore,” “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Darjeeling Limited.” He takes Roald Dahl’s 1970 storybook tale, about a chicken-stealing fox, and expands it with eccentric characters, fantastic miniature sets and superstar Hollywood voices. (More)
‘Blind Side’ pours on the feel-good goo Neil Pond December 15, 2009 An underprivileged teen becomes a football-field powerhouse in “The Blind Side,” based on the true story of Michael Oher, now a player for the Baltimore Ravens. (More)
2012 Neil Pond December 8, 2009 So you think you’re having a bad day? (More)
