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Movies and DVDs

This section is home to columns from our chief movie reviewer, Chuck Vinch. Not sure if the latest arrival at the googleplex is worth seeing? Before you go, read Chuck’s reviews. If you’re in the mood to camp out on the couch instead, check out our reviews of the latest DVDs.

Chuck Vinch’s movie reviews

‘Call’ stumbles on preposterous second half
Halle Berry's new thriller "The Call" is built on a simple yet irresistible narrative premise:
Dazzling ‘Oz’ prequel hits all the right notes
When you mess with the mythos of a classic film so beloved, so iconic, so ingrained in our psyches that it may as well be part of our DNA, you know you're walking into a minefield.
Cold War sub movie ‘Phantom’ barely afloat
Submarine movies stick in the mind for a couple of reasons.
Solid ‘Snitch’ has social conscience, big names
"Snitch" is quite possibly the best movie Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has ever made.

More movie reviews

Drug war wild: Oliver Stone back in bold form with ‘Savages’
The sun plays an important role in Oliver Stone's latest, "Savages." In the beginning of this tale of sex, drugs, money and power, it illuminates an idyllic decadence. It warms everything in a glow...
Movie adaptation of ‘The Lorax’ is entertaining, educating
Someone in Hollywood ought to speak for the trees, and "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" does it with verve and vibrancy.
Mark Wahlberg-led ‘Contraband’ can’t sneak shortcomings past viewers
Is it written in Mark Wahlberg's contract that every movie he's in must feature him hanging with the locals in a neighborhood bar? Since that's how Contraband opens, the sense of déjà vu is...
Angelina Jolie’s ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’ a noble venture that falls short
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, so they say.
Fiery Mara, cool Craig drive Hollywood remake of Swedish hit
Hollywood has commandeered Sweden's big literary export, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," without compromising the story's Scandinavian roots or its top-of-the-world, seasonal affective disorder...
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’ overcomes sluggish script, dazzles in 3-D
Having been revered as a master for decades and functioning at the top of his game as he approaches 70, Martin Scorsese would seem to have nothing else to prove. So it's thrilling to see him make a...
Life of secrets: Leonardo DiCaprio and director Clint Eastwood shine light on FBI icon in ‘J. Edgar’
In Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar," a 1930 movie theater audience makes its preference clear. Whereas J. Edgar Hoover's pre-movie promotion reel about G-men and the FBI draws impatient boos, a trailer...
‘Puss in Boots’ a lively spin-off of ‘Shrek’ franchise
The "Shrek" movies may not even exist as far we're concerned in "Puss in Boots," which is fine, because they just kept getting worse; last year's "Shrek Forever After," in 3-D, felt especially flat....
Aimless ‘Idiot’: Ambling hero, script don’t seem to care
Paul Rudd hops from one sofa to another to another as the title character in "Our Idiot Brother," and that's sort of what the film does, too.
Sloppy slackers: Bomb-com suffers from uneven pacing, miscast star
If this has indeed been The Summer of the R-Rated Comedy, with each new movie striving to one-up its predecessors in getting down and dirty, then we're going out with a whimper with "30 Minutes or...
Comfortably dumb: Long, confusing battle sequences in ‘Transformers’ steamroll any attempt at plot
To his credit, Michael Bay tries to put a more human touch into "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," aiming to make up for the clattering mess of overgrown kitchen appliances that duked it out in the...
Hero rings hollow: Even a ripped Ryan Reynolds, CGI can’t save dull ‘Green Lantern’
Remember when big, summer blockbusters were fun — a light, clever and entertaining escape?
In the mold of Spielberg, sincere ‘Super 8’ forsakes flash for story
"Super 8" is the rarest of things this time of year: a summer blockbuster that's completely earnest and irony-free, not filled with cheeky pop-culture references or product placement. The effects,...
New ‘X-Men’ prequel explores foes’ past, predicts fertile future
Mutants, it seems, are only as good as the creators assembling their chromosomes.
Judd Apatow-produced ‘Bridesmaids’ fails to follow wedding movie genre template
"Bridesmaids" takes the typically clichéd wedding movie genre and completely upends it and reinvents it into something surprisingly daring and alive. But it also takes the Judd Apatow-style...
30 military-themed films to debut at D.C. festival
The fifth annual GI Film Festival kicks off in the nation's capital May 9 with a lineup that includes feature films, shorts and documentaries that span the centuries from ancient warfare to modern...
A real-world view of war movies
Most days, Army Col. Kevin McDonnell oversees special operations forces from the Pentagon. But this summer, he will appear on the Military Channel to provide commentary on one of the greatest...
‘Sucker Punch’: This movie feels like one
For even Zack Snyder, this is some nonsense.
‘Battle for Marjah’ vividly portrays one unit’s experience
One year ago on Feb. 13, thousands of Marines led a massive assault on the violent Taliban stronghold of Marjah, a collection of farming villages in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
Flicks yule love: Classics, gems and schlock
"God bless us, every one."
Top holiday movies: The big four
For millions of movie fans, this quartet has become an integral part of the holidays — the films you go out of your way to watch at least once a season.
Top holiday movies: The 10 best of the rest
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
Ho, ho, horrible: Santa took on Martians in weird, wacky 1964 film
The consensus among film fans is that the worst movie ever is "Plan 9 From Outer Space," the 1958 crowning achievement of schlock director Ed Wood's low-rent career.
Weak link: Lack of husband-and-wife chemistry dulls ‘Three Days’
The main dynamic you have to accept in "The Next Three Days" — the one that the entire story, all the drama, all the risk hinge upon — is that Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks actually...
127 Hours: A survival tale well told
The story of Aron Ralston, the hiker who was pinned under a boulder for five days and had to go to gut-churning extremes to survive, is well-known.
Unstoppable: On the right track for suspense
Who knew freight trains could be so sexy? Bombastic director Tony Scott turns them into sleek, beautiful behemoths in "Unstoppable," which packs a punch despite a story so linear that it's the film...
Due Date: Stars can’t steer contrived road trip
Robert Downey Jr. is miserable, stuck on a cross-country drive with a creepy Zach Galifianakis in the comedy "Due Date." And it's easy to imagine how he feels: It's often torturous just sitting...
Little buzz in this ‘Nest’
Troubled savant Lisbeth Salander isn't up to much in "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," the film adaptation of the final chapter in late author Stieg Larsson's trilogy.
‘Hereafter’: Eastwood’s compelling view of the afterlife
A tsunami pummels an Indonesian beach town at the beginning of "Hereafter," drowning untold thousands, snapping palm trees and tossing cars down narrow roads like toys.
Mesmerizing network
Checking Facebook while writing my review of "The Social Network," I notice my hairstylist commenting on how freakishly hot it's been in Los Angeles.
Documentary offers honest look at ‘Tillman Story’
Pat Tillman was, by all accounts, a complex person.

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