Baz Lurhman’s adaptation of “The Great Gatsby,” which opens this Friday, could be the most satisfying version of the novel yet. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 masterwork has been made into a movie four other times -- the last being a 2000 TV production starring Paul Rudd --...

When we first heard about “Pain & Gain,” it didn’t sound like the usual Michael Bay movie. For one thing, it’s the director’s lowest budget production since his feature debut. For another, it’s based on a true story of a kidnapping plot, so it seemed more like a...

Summer is heavy with blockbusters, but the hottest season of the year isn’t reserved just for big-budget action, sci-fi, and superhero movies. Some of us like alternative (or supplemental) programming, and, fortunately, there are lots of small films with huge appeal catering to our hunger for indie goodness....

Some divorced couples need to stay far, far away from each other. And this isn’t too difficult for the most part. But if they have children together they might eventually be forced to inhabit the same room for a few hours in order to witness a son or daughter’s big...

Have you finished filing your taxes? Did you make sure to write off all that you could in order to pay the lowest amount possible? Maybe you got to deduct that Goodwill donation and your student loan interest. How about a loss on a feature film that bombed at the...

It’s quite rare for a movie about a person’s life to be 100 percent correct. Dramatic flavor, poetic license, romanticization, sugar coating, and other means to create entertainment out of real life understandably causes the occasional fact to go out the window. Although it’s sometimes just a matter of accidental...

The idea that bigger is better doesn’t always apply to movies. Sure, we love the sci-fi action spectacle that can be bought for hundreds of millions of dollars. But we also love what can be achieved for hundreds of thousands of dollars (or less). A lot of the time, it’s...

Warning: You could be framed for something you didn’t do at any given moment. Maybe even by your own government, whether intentionally or due to a misunderstanding. Will you know what to do if this happens? If not, Hollywood might be able to help, as “wrong man” scenarios have been...

Stephen Hawking is right. Alien visitors to Earth would likely be hostile. But that shouldn’t stop us from fantasizing about the alternative. Who doesn’t like to dream of a day when extraterrestrials arrive and only want to communicate, provide us with renewable energy alternatives, and be our best...

With “Oz the Great and Powerful” conjuring up tons of money at the box office and “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” opening Friday, this is a great time for magic at the movies.

Since the dawn of cinema, movies and magic have gone hand in hand. One...

Bill Nighy can add a splash of fun to any fantasy film, from "Flushed Away" to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." He’s even enjoyably outrageous in a small scene-stealing role in “Wrath of the Titans.” This weekend, Nighy has the chance to be memorable once again, in

Having your identity stolen has become a greater possibility in the age of the Internet, so much so that it is now a springboard for a new Hollywood comedy called “Identity Thief.” In the movie, Melissa McCarthy plays a woman who commits fraud and charges items under the...

The five Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature this year show that the power of film can make a difference. One has changed policy at the Pentagon, another could change policy for Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and yet another has blown up the career of a singer-songwriter...

The latest retelling of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” opens this week with “Warm Bodies,” an adaptation of Isaac Marion’s novel of the same name about a zombie boy who falls in love with a human girl. Star-crossed lovers are one thing, but affairs between monsters and mortals are...

Tommy Wirkola’s “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” may be the freshest take on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, but it’s nowhere near the first adaptation of the story on film, nor is it the only one out this year. In fact, there are at least four other versions...

Arnold Schwarzenegger is back on the big screen in his first lead role in a decade, this time playing a former big-city cop who settles in for the quiet life of a small-town sheriff. But don’t worry, this isn't some laid-back rural drama. If film history has taught...

The buddy comedy road trip aspect of “The Guilt Trip” may seem very familiar, especially if you’ve seen “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and its unofficial remake, “Due Date.” The mother and son bonding part of the movie, however, is not so recognizable. There are plenty of films involving...

Many of the people who go see “Jack Reacher” won’t be aware that Tom Cruise is way too short to play the title character (when the actor was cast in the role last year, fans of Lee Child’s best-selling book series were up in arms over the choice)....

Thanks in part to Judd Apatow, the movie spin-off is going places. He already produced one with “Get Him to the Greek,” which branched off “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Now he’s got a directorial project in “This is 40,” a story spun off from “Knocked Up.” For those unaware,...

Some actors are best known for an iconic TV character they've played. But most of them have had at least one other notable role to be remembered by. Jackie Gleason isn't just Ralph Kramden, he's also Minnesota Flats and Buford T. Justice. Henry Winkler isn't just The Fonz, he's also...