Should we accept the common virtue of safety? Or, sometimes in the future when cars become self-regulated, will we--too stubborn to lose the thrill--reject the disappearance of the human element? Pushing toward that thrill is at the axis of "Rush," Ron Howard’s superb film about Formula 1 racing of the seventies. At the end of the push, Peter Morgan’s script suggests, is ecstacy or mortality. ... more >
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Rush

Snow White and the Huntsman
In the same vein as Tim Burtons “Alice in Wonderland," “Snow White and the Huntsman” seeks to turn a classic female fairytale character into a battle-crying version of “Robin Hood." Not that that’s a bad thing. I can’t wait to see Goldilocks pick up a flamethrower and hunt some bear in a movie real soon. Charlize Theron takes on the role of the evil queen, who tricks a king, ravages his land, ... more >

The Avengers
“The Avengers” is the smorgasbord comic book movie we’ve been waiting for years to see. Many middling films were made (I’m looking at you “Thor,” “Hulk,” and “Captain America”) just in order to set up origins for this one. And it fell to director Joss Whedon to make this all come together. But he should have known better than to do so through nothing, but action sequences. It starts with ... more >

“The Cabin in the woods” -REVIEW
Smart horror–is that an oxymoron? Not in “The Cabin in the Woods,” a devilishly-twisted film written by Joss Whedon, maker of beloved TV series “Buffy” and “Firefly.” Whedon starts with a generic plot premise that has been hackneyed to death: youth in the woods, getting feisty inside and out a cabin, and then getting killed. Luckily, Whedon torques this premise and pushes into unfamiliar ... more >