Rated RDirected by Mike Nichols I (Primary Colors, The Birdcage, Regarding Henry)Starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owen, and Natalie PortmanI’m embarrassed to admit that my wife and I went to see Closer. The two of us were out of town and we went into the theatre clueless of what we were in for. Closer is a...

Rated R for sustained strong stylized violence, nudity and sexual content including dialogue.Directed by Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids movies, Desperado), Frank Miller (Elektra), Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction)Starring Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke . . . and a bunch of naked girlsYes, this film was visually enticing. But let's be honest. It dipped...

Rated RDirected by Alexander Payne (About Schmidt)Starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Hayden ChurchWhat are critics smoking?I think critics must be bored. They must be tired of the same ‘ol thing . . . so “novelty” begins to win over good film-making.Sideways was up for several Oscars.Why?Yes, it was a little creative. It even had a few funny...

Rated GDirected by Tim FywellStarring Michelle Trachtenberg, Kim Cattrall, Joan Cusack and Hayden PanettiereNot bad for a tween girl film . . . just lose “The Little Mermaid” premise.The Little Mermaid premise?You know: “parents enforce unfair rules on kid, kid rebels, things start to go well, but then something bad happens, parents find out, parents go to stop this...

Rated R for strong violence and epic warfareDirected by Ridley Scott (Alien, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Thelma and Louise, GI Jane,...)Starring Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Brendan GleesonLet’s face it . . . there is nothing politically correct about the Crusades. So Kingdom of Heaven took on a daunting task: Try to salvage a hero out of...