Ah, the nostalgic mob drama. No matter the brutality, the blood, or the sheer fear that shape the memory, movies and TV tend to make life in the mob a growth experience, read more

In “Even Money,“ acclaimed director Mark Rydell, known as an ’actor’s director,’ casts Danny DeVito, Kim Basinger and Forrest Whitaker as characters whose lives reflect the harsh consequences of adaptation to gambling. Read more

A high-profile cast can’t save this multi-narrative drama about gambling addiction from its wildly uneven tone. read more

When Vera Farmiga was preparing to play an underemployed drug addict, shivering in a rehab center and working the grocery checkout line in upstate New York, she probably didn’t know she was making the movie that would ultimately land her a plum role in “The Departed.” Read more

With his slime-time appetites and don’t-bother-me attitude, Shrek, the Grumpy Green Ogre, was the perfect antidote to that eat-your-vegetables cheer of spokesmodel the Jolly Green Giant. Note that I say “was.” read more

The irreverent toying with fairy-tale formulas that made SHREK (2001) such a delightful surprise gave way to a tidal wave of Hollywood in-jokes in SHREK 2 (2004), and in this second sequel to the, um, monster hit, the law of diminishing returns is in full force. read more

That lovable green ogre’s back. He’s still irascible and endearing – but, somehow, this incarnation lacks some of the clever originality that made his predecessors so irresistible. Read more

Hal Hartley’s 10-years-later sequel to HENRY FOOL (1998) is a hugely entertaining follow-up to his ponderous suburban fable about a boorish, self-styled intellectual and the garbage man he accidentally transforms into a world-famous poet. read more

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An overview of reviews regarding “Georgia Rule” and “Waitress,” two recently released female-oriented films, raises questions about whether a critic’s use of background information drawn from outside a film?s onscreen presence might verge on transforming platforms for serious discussion into vehicles for tabloid exploitation. Read more