Misfortunes of Imaginary Beings

The Hangover  My daughter was surprised when I rented this one. It didn't seem like my kind of film, she said.    Well, okay, I gue...

Star Trek Now that's a movie. A smartly made movie, with an excellent cast of young actors who evoke the originals without undue mimic...

Up Like so many Pixar films, particularly WALL-E and Ratatouille , this one packs much of its charm and inventiveness in the beginning. Th...

Waltz With Bashir When Ari Folman's film switches to live action at the very end, you can see clearly why he chose animation. It's ...

Revolutionary Road Sometimes it's hard to put your finger on exactly why a film doesn't work for you. Here's a well-acted, skill...

My Neighbor Totoro Now 21 years old, this Miyazaki film is enduringly fresh. It is brilliantly grounded in a real human story, that of the...

Changeling "True stories" are such a trap for a filmmaker, especially the "incredible but true" variety of stories like ...

Vicky Cristina Barcelona Did Woody Allen find something new in himself by getting out of New York City? I haven't been a Woodyphile f...

Kiki's Delivery Service A charmer, more linear, less crowded with mysterious detail than other Miyazaki films such as Howl's Moving ...

Howl's Moving Castle What is it about the Japanese imagination? I'm thinking not only about Hayao Miyazaki but also about Haruki Mur...

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button This is what I call a "stunt film." It gets so caught up in its tricks that it forgets to be a...