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All the elements are in place for an instant classic, but The Departed never fully congeals. We’re given tiny snippets of relationships between the characters in Martin Scorsese’s ‘competing mole’ flick, and so we don’t really care about them all that much. It’s a pity, because we won’t see a collection of talent like this [...]

Something about a debt, a key, a chest, a sea monster, the East India Company and – oh look, swordfight! It’s best to remain unconcerned with deciphering the plot in order to enjoy this visually stunning film. The standard twists have been deployed to keep the storyline afloat for two sequels with mixed effect (love [...]

It’s no small wonder Forest Whitaker is this year’s Oscar favorite; he is both captivating and terrifying as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in a fictional film based loosely on real events. Unpredictable and brutal, the self-proclaimed ‘man of the people’ rises to power in a military coup, then slowly comes undone amid traitors both real [...]

Despite an occasionally confusing ride, Lucky Number Slevin ranks up there with Ocean’s Eleven and The Score as a must-see contemporary con film. Stacked with talent including Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, Bruce Willis and Lucy Liu, the film is carried surprisingly well by Josh Hartnett. Give him and this film a chance; you [...]

The best of the series. If you’re familiar with “Alias” or “Lost”, you’ll spot director J.J. Abram’s fingerprints all over this film (which he co-wrote as well). He’s even brought along half of his previous casts, so if you miss Felicity (Kari Russell), you’re in luck. Philip Seymour Hoffman is perfectly understated as a ruthless [...]

Put aside the improbable way Kim (Rachel Bilsson) zeros in on Michael (Zach Braff) at a wedding he’s attending with his pregnant girlfriend. Put aside the inconsistently unhinged behavior of Michael’s girlfriend’s mother (Blythe Danner). Put aside the mostly unresolved stories of his friends’ meandering lives. Put aside this movie. D.

With tickets selling online at the scandalously low price of $12.50 apiece, you have no reason not to catch this quirky gem at Chicago’s Goodman Theater before its run ends next Monday (11/12). A widow struggles — literally — to let go of her dead husband’s memory while a suitor waits in the wings; sadness [...]

The best part of this disappointing film is over within three minutes; I could watch those gorgeous title screens all day. A few more rewrites would’ve pushed this film solidly into the black comedy realm where it rightfully belongs. Instead, the laughs fall flat, and the tongue is not placed firmly enough in cheek for [...]