The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (review)
How’s this for a rude childhood awakening? You discover that your father, whom you adore and worship, is actually an evil Nazi stooge.
2008 theatrical releases
Quantum of Solace (review)
We can only blame *Casino Royale.* The 2006 reboot of James Bond was so brilliant, so satisfying, so organically of the moment that it could only prove hard to top, and even hard to equal.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (review)
You have to give them credit, whoever came up with idea of blowing regular ol’ movies up to IMAX size, because it has brought back to movie theaters the kind of spectacle we simply can’t reproduce at home, not even with plasma widescreens and blu-ray players. I saw *Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa* in IMAX: It. Is. Jaw-droppingly. Gorgeous.
Role Models (review)
There’s something sad and pathetic about a movie character with more dignity and self-respect for himself than for the movie he’s in has for him. He’s like a cold and bedraggled puppy lured in from the rain who gets kicked in the teeth while he’s warming himself by the fire. Such is the fate of *Role Model*’s Augie Farks, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse…
Soul Men (review)
It’s one of Bernie Mac’s last performances, and it’s his first and only appearance onscreen with Samuel L. Jackson. Pity it’s not worth it even for that.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (review)
Porn: I’m so not a fan of it. For the same reasons I’m so not a fan of most slasher/torture horror movies. Cuz it’s all about body parts, not about people. But *Zack and Miri Make a Porno* is not about body parts: it’s about people.
Changeling (review)
This I will concede: I finally get what the big deal is about Angelina Jolie.
Eagle Eye (review)
It could be called *Why the PATRIOT Act and Total Information Awareness Is Bad… For Dummies.*
RocknRolla (review)
Guy Ritchie would surprise us if he surprised us. *RocknRolla,* his latest mockney crime caper, is exactly what you expect it to be. Hell, it’s exactly what you *want* it to be…
War, Inc. (review)
No extras on the *War, Inc.* DVD? Really? I was so hoping for something — a commentary track, a making-of — that would help me understand why this seeming can’t-miss satire misses.
