Flagpole.com: Movie Pick

Movie Pick: Amateurs - She's Out of My League

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:55:00 -0700

Movie Pick: Modern Warfare - Green Zone

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:55:00 -0700

Green Zone manages to combine intellectual filmmaking and kinetic moviemaking.

Movie Pick: Better Than It Sounds - The Last Station

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:55:00 -0800

The Last Station is sprightly, humorous and romantic, and one of the sweeter cinematic surprises of late.

Movie Pick: Lost in Wonderland - Alice in Wonderland

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:55:00 -0800

Burton’s Alice in Wonderland suffers from a distinct lack of wonder and magic.

Movie Pick: Get a Little Crazy - Crazy Heart and The Crazies

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:55:00 -0800

Movie Pick: Crazy Good - Shutter Island

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:55:00 -0800

Shutter Island is an intimidating psychological thriller.

Movie Pick: Not Quite a Greek Tragedy - Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:55:00 -0800

Perry Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief does no justice to its printed origins.

Movie Pick: Aaahoo - The Wolfman

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:55:00 -0800

In The Wolfman, the beast is satisfyingly unleashed.

Movie Pick: Everyone Should Get an Education - An Education

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:55:00 -0800

An Education is an enchanting film and an Oscar contender.

Movie Pick: Firth Rate - A Single Man

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:55:00 -0800

In A Single Man, Colin Firth gives his best performance yet.

Movie Pick: The Return of Mad Mel - Edge of Darkness

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:55:00 -0800

Edge of Darkness will not be enough to convince any rabid anti-Gibsonites to shift their allegiances.

Movie Pick: Ordinary Inspiration - Extraordinary Measures

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:55:00 -0800

The only truly extraordinary measure about this movie is paying to see something offered daily for free on Lifetime.

Movie Pick: Southern Voices - That Evening Sun

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:55:00 -0800

That Evening Sun paints an authentic portrait of the rural South.

Movie Pick: Heaven Is Not a Place on Earth - The Lovely Bones

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:55:00 -0800

While visually stunning, The Lovely Bones doesn't quite deliver the emotional depth of the novel.

Movie Pick: Almodóvar Holds On - Broken Embraces

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:55:00 -0800

Broken Embraces unfolds like a Hitchcockian telenovela.

Movie Pick: Heath Ledger's Curtain Call - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:55:00 -0800

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' strength resides in its visual opulence not a compelling narrative.

Movie Pick: Don't Shoot the Messenger - The Messenger

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:55:00 -0800

The Messenger is a non-traditional war movie that eventually follows the clichéd marching orders of a film about soldiers coming home.

Movie Pick: Catch This Flight - Up in the Air

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:55:00 -0800

With its topicality, Up in the Air is a timely comic drama.

Movie Pick: Loving the Alien - Avatar

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:55:00 -0800

Avatar may tell a familiar story, but its fantastical creatures and seamless integration of CGI and 3D look unlike any film you have ever seen.

Movie Pick: 2010 Preview

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:55:00 -0800

Drew lists his most anticipated releases of 2010.

Movie Pick: What Is Old Is New Again - The Princess and the Frog

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:55:00 -0800

The Princess and the Frog feels like the hand-drawn Disney classics of the past.

Movie Pick: Reason to Stay Up Late - The Room

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:55:00 -0800

The Room is a midnight movie cult classic.

Movie Pick: A Seriously Funny Film - A Serious Man

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:55:00 -0800

A Serious Man perfectly blends what the Coens’ love and do best, bleak humor and existential dilemma.

Movie Pick: Family Feud - Brothers

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:55:00 -0800

Brothers, a remake of Susanne Bier’s Brødre, is more than a simple war movie.

Movie Pick: A Championship Sheen - The Damned United

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:55:00 -0800

The Damned United is a champion.

Movie Pick: Wes Anderson Gets Animated - Fantastic Mr. Fox

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:55:00 -0800

With Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson has crafted a glorious storybook world.

Movie Pick: New Moon Brightens Twilight - The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:55:00 -0800

Twilight true believers will have no trouble loving the follow-up as much, if not more than, its predecessor.

Movie Pick: This Boat Rocks - Pirate Radio

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:55:00 -0800

With its “rockin’ '60s” backdrop, Pirate Radio is a romping, nostalgic party.

Movie Pick: What a Disaster - 2012

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:55:00 -0800

This audacious, awful flick makes The Day After Tomorrow look downright documentarian and artful.

Movie Pick: Open the Box - The Box

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:55:00 -0800

The Box is a razor-sharp, straight-faced send-up of 1970s supernatural flicks.

Movie Pick: A Glance Will Suffice - The Men Who Stare at Goats

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:55:00 -0800

The Men Who Stare at Goats leaves you with a smile but little reason to stare when a single viewing satisfies.

Movie Pick: Wish Upon Keats' Bright Star - Bright Star

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:55:00 -0800

Bright Star feels fresh and vibrant, not stuffy and dull.

Movie Pick: Last Dance with MJ - This Is It

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:55:00 -0800

This Is It is a wonderful memorial to this strange man who thrilled millions.

Movie Pick: Minimal Frills, Maximal Chills - Paranormal Activity

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Paranormal Activity sidles up next to the Great Old Ones of '70s occult horror.

Movie Pick: Loving a Vampire Is Hard - Thirst

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Thirst will slake your own bloody hunger better than any film since Let the Right One In.

Movie Pick: The Best - Where the Wild Things Are

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Spike Jonze has created an exquisite film with Maurice Sendak’s beloved 339 words.

Movie Pick: The Rest - The Stepfather and Law Abiding Citizen

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Neither film is worth the price of admission.

Movie Pick: Beat a Hasty Retreat - Couples Retreat

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Couples Retreat lazily glues together a sitcom collage of misunderstandings about sex, massages, etc.

Movie Pick: Get Your Hair Done - Good Hair

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Good Hair takes a potentially boring subject and makes it entertaining.

Movie Pick: Sk8r Grrl Power - Whip It

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Sometimes, roller-skating girls in fishnets pounding on one another is enough.

Movie Pick: Lying Is Good - The Invention of Lying

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Ricky Gervais makes something honest out of the oldest trick in the book.

Movie Pick: Serviceable Science Fiction - Surrogates

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Surrogates is ostensibly a mystery (robo-noir), but its surprises will not catch even a half-engaged viewer off guard.

Movie Pick: Ponyo Won't Spirit You Away - Ponyo

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Ponyo delights, but its conceptual flaws weaken its impact.

Movie Pick: More Body Than Brain - Jennifer’s Body

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:55:00 -0700

If it had been more satirical, the flaws in Jennifer’s Body would have been easily hidden by its appealing, genre-bending curves.

Movie Pick: A Damon-ic Delight - The Informant!

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:55:00 -0700

The Informant! is a riotous shakedown of corporate scandal and sputtering federal agents.

Movie Pick: The Dangers of Greek Life - Sorority Row

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:55:00 -0700

This film exemplifies everything that’s right and entertaining about slasher pics.

Movie Pick: 9 Does Not Add Up to Much - 9

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:55:00 -0700

As visually deep as 9 is, it is proportionally shallow of character and story.

Movie Pick: The Latest Death of Horror - Halloween II

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:55:00 -0700

The relentless, exploitative film just left me exhausted and depressed.

Movie Pick: The Right Combination - The Hurt Locker

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:55:00 -0700

The Hurt Locker is the best film of 2009, so far...

Movie Pick: World War QT - Inglourious Basterds (R) and Shorts (PG)

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:55:00 -0700

Inglourious Basterds is the film both critics and moviegoers have been waiting for from Tarantino since Pulp Fiction.