It Comes at Night IT COMES AT NIGHT (2017) Starring Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Christopher Abbott, Riley Keough, Griffin Robert Faulkner, David Pendleton, Chase Joliet, Mick O’Rourke and Mikey the dog. Screenplay by Trey Edward Shults. Directed by Trey Edward Shults. Distributed by A24. 97 minutes. Rated R. Okay, I’m just going to out and say it: I’ve fucking had it with post-apocalyptic melodramas. It Comes at Night may not necessarily be a bad example

The Mummy THE MUMMY (2017) Starring Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Annabelle Wallis, Russell Crowe, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari, Simon Atherton, Stephen Thompson, James Arama, Matthew Wilkas, Sohm Kapila, Sean Cameron Michael, Rez Kempton, Erol Ismail, Selva Rasalingam, Shanina Shaik and Javier Botet. Screenplay by David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie and Dylan Kussman. Directed by Alex Kurtzman. Distributed by Universal Pictures. 107 minutes. Rated PG-13. As T

Bethany BETHANY  (2017) Starring Stefanie Estes, Zack Ward, Shannen Doherty, Tom Green, Anna Harr, Keith Jardine, Leon Russom, Felissa Rose, Kevin Porter, Kirsty Hill, John Murray, Thomas Downey, Tommy Pistol, Tiana Whitley, Hunter Johnson and James Cullen Bressack. Screenplay by James Cullen Bressack & Zack Ward. Directed by James Cullen Bressack. Distributed by Uncork’d Entertainment.  100 minutes.  Not Rated. Writer/director James Cullen Bressack has been putting together

Wait Till Helen Comes WAIT TILL HELEN COMES (2016) Starring Sophie Nélisse, Isabelle Nélisse, Liam Dickinson, Maria Bello, Callum Keith Rennie, Frank Adamson, Mary Downing Hahn, Abigail Pniowsky, John B. Lowe, Darren Felbel, Jerni Stuart, Emily Parker, Kally Berard, Tom Young, Susan Kelso, Robin Ruel, Arne MacPherson, Ethan Chernick, Cassandra Tusa and Logan Creran. Screenplay by Victoria Sanchez Mandryk. Directed by Dominic James. Distributed by TriCoast Entertainment.  87 m

Hunt For the Wilderpeople HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (2016) Starring Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Oscar Kightley, Cohen Holloway, Stan Walker, Mike Minogue, Rhys Darby, Troy Kingi, Taika Waititi, Hamish Parkinson, Stu Giles, Lloyd Scott and Taika Waititi. Screenplay by Taika Waititi. Directed by Taika Waititi. Distributed by Sony Pictures.  101 minutes.  Rated PG-13. New Zealand writer/director (and comedian) Taika Waititi

6 Plots 6 PLOTS (2012) Starring Alice Darling, Ryan Corr, Penelope Mitchell, Eliza Taylor, Emily Wheaton, Joey Coley Sowry, Damien Harrison, Andrew Clarke, P.J. Lane, Peter Berzanskis, Matt Callan, Peter Flaherty, Saskia Hampele, Steve Hayden, Dean Kirkright, Lulu McClatchy and Nicole Joy Tan. Screenplay by Tim C. Patterson. Directed by Leigh Sheehan. Distributed by Lionsgate.  87 minutes.  Rated R. If you just look at the first 15-20 minute set-up of the straight-to-video Au

The Finest Hours THE FINEST HOURS (2016) Starring Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz, Kyle Gallner, John Magaro, Beau Knapp, Eric Bana, Graham McTavish, Abraham Benrubi and Michael Raymond James. Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamsay & Eric Johnson. Directed by Craig Gillespie. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.  116 minutes.  Rated PG-13. The Finest Hours is based on a true story, and yet it never quite feels true.  Not that it is too

The Club THE CLUB (EL CLUB) (2015) Starring Alfredo Castro, Roberto Farias, Antonia Zegers, Jaime Vadell, Alejandro Goic, Alejandro Sieveking, Marcelo Alonso, Jose Soza, Francisco Reyes, Diego Muñoz, Gonzalo Valenzuela, Catalina Pulido, Paola Lattus, Erto Pantoja and Felipe Ríos. Screenplay by Guillermo Calderon, Daniel Villalobos and Pablo Larrain. Directed by Pablo Larrain. Distributed by Music Box Films.  96 minutes.  Not Rated. If there is such a thing as a “feel-bad film

THE GOOD DINOSAUR (2015) Featuring the voices of  Raymond Ochoa, Frances McDormand, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Elliott, Maleah Nipay-Padilla, Ryan Teeple, Jack McGraw, Marcus Scribner, Jack Bright, A.J. Buckley, Anna Paquin, Peter Sohn, Steve Zahn, Mandy Freund, Steven Clay Hunter, Dave Boat, Carrie Paff, Calum Mackenzie Grant and John Ratzenberger. Screenplay by Meg LeFauve. Directed by Peter Sohn. Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.  93 minutes.  Rated PG. After nearly 20 years o

Fear Clinic FEAR CLINIC (2015) Starring Robert Englund. Fiona Dourif, Felisha Terrell, Angelina Armani, Brandon Beemer, Bonnie Morgan, Cleopatra Coleman, Corey Taylor, Kevin Gage, Nancy Telzerow, Richard Fike, Max Federman and Thomas Dekker. Screenplay by Aaron R. Drane and Robert Hall. Directed by Robert Hall. Distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment.  95 minutes.  Rated R. Robert Englund has put together a pretty decent career in horror films thanks to one role.  That’s doub

Planes: Fire and Rescue PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE (2014) Featuring the voices of Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, Danny Mann, Julie Bowen, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, Curtis Armstrong, Ed Harris, Wes Studi, John Michael Higgins, Fred Willard, Hal Holbrook, Teri Hatcher, Stacy Keach, Cedric the Entertainer, Barry Corbin, Regina King, Dale Dye, Matt Jones, Bryan Callen, Danny Pardo, Corri English, Kari Wahlgren, Patrick Warburton, Rene Auberjonois, Kevin Michael Richardson, Erik Estrada, St

Labor Day LABOR DAY (2014) Starring Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, Clark Gregg, J.K. Simmons, Brooke Smith, Alexie Gilmore, Tom Lipinski, Maika Monroe, Brighid Fleming, Micah Fowler, Chandra Thomas, Dylan Minnette and James Van Der Beek. Screenplay by Jason Reitman. Directed by Jason Reitman. Distributed by Paramount Pictures. 111 minutes. Rated PG. Jason Reitman has been on quite a tear as a director.  His first four films – Thank You For Smoking

Divergent DIVERGENT (2014) Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Jai Courtney, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Ray Stevenson, Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn, Maggie Q, Christian Madsen, Casimere Jollette, Mekhi Phifer, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Justine Wachsberger, Amy C. Newbold and Ben Lamb. Screenplay by Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor. Directed by Neil Burger. Distributed by Summit Entertainment. 139 minutes. Rated PG-13. Y.A. (Young Adult) novels have been f

Bottled Up BOTTLED UP (2014) Starring Melissa Leo, Marin Ireland, Josh Hamilton, Jamie Harrold, Fredric Lehne, Nelson Landrieu, Tibor Feldman, Lynn Cohen, Karen Shallo, Twinkle Burke, Brendan Boyce and Christine Wright. Screenplay by Enid Zentelis. Directed by Enid Zentelis. Distributed by Osiris Entertainment.  84 minutes.  Rated R. Melissa Leo is such an endlessly fascinating actress that she makes this little independent movie better than it probably should be.  However, w

THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN (2012) Starring Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams, Odeya Rush, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Rosemarie DeWitt, David Morse, M. Emmett Walsh, Lois Smith, Dianne Wiest, Common, Michael Arden, James Rebhorn, Rhoda Griffis and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Screenplay by Peter Hedges. Directed by Peter Hedges. Distributed by Walt Disney Picture. 100 minutes. Rated PG. The Odd Life of Timothy Green takes infertility - a truly tragic, difficult life problem that aff

Disturbia DISTURBIA (2007) Starring Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roehmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, David Morse, Aaron Yoo, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Matt Craven, Viola Davis, Brandon Caruso, Luciano Caruso and Daniel Caruso. Screenplay by Christopher Landon and Carl Ellsworth. Directed by D.J. Caruso. Distributed by Dreamworks SKG.  104 minutes.  Rated PG-13. Okay, yes, if you get technical, Disturbia is merely a modern riff on Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window.  Also, it has one of the worst titles

The Marine THE MARINE (2006) Starring John Cena, Robert Patrick, Kelly Carlson, Anthony Ray Parker, Abigail Bianca, Jerome Ehlers, Manu Bennett, Damon Gibson, Drew Powell, Frank Carlopio, Firass Dirani, Remi Broadway, Steve Harmon, Damien Bryson and Robert Coleby. Screenplay by Michell Gallagher & Alan McElroy. Directed by John Bonito. Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox. 93 minutes. Rated PG-13. John Triton is the old-school Rambo-type of movie hero. He can engage in hand-t

John Tucker Must Die JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE (2006) Starring Jesse Metcalf, Brittany Snow, Ashanti, Sophie Bush, Arielle Krebbel, Penn Badgley, Jenny McCarthy, Fatso-Fasano, Kevin McNulty, Patricia Drake, Jeffrey Ballard, Taylor Kitsch, Steve Bacic, Dean Wray and Jon Cuthbert. Screenplay by Jeff Lowell. Directed by Betty Thomas. Distributed by Baxter Films. 101 minutes. Rated PG-13. Have you ever watched one of those dumb daytime talk shows in which a group of desperate women ye

Doom DOOM  (2005) Starring Karl Urban, The Rock, Rosamund Pike, DeObia Oparei, Ben Daniels, Raz Adoti, Richard Brake, Al Weaver, Dexter Fletcher, Brian Steele, Yao Chin, Robert Russell, Daniel York, Ian Hughes, Sara Houghton, Blanka Jarasova and Doug Jones. Screenplay by David Calliham and Wesley Strick. Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Distributed by Universal Pictures.  100 minutes.  Rated R. There are very few things in the world more boring than watching someone else play

The Family Stone THE FAMILY STONE (2005) Starring Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Tyrone Giordano, Brian White, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Schneider, Savannah Stehlin, Jamie Kaler, Robert Dioguardi, Carol Locatell, Ginna Carter, Gus Buktenika, Michael Pemberton, Ron Wall and Christopher Parker. Screenplay by Thomas Bezukha. Directed by Thomas Bezukha. Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox.  102 minute