By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
"You have seen the errors in your policy," Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) hisses in the latest Saw movie. And, kids, he's hissing a pun at Big Insurance when he does, the profiteers who determine "who lives and who dies."
'Amelia': Swank soars, but movie plays it safe
By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
Amelia has magnificent period settings and airplanes and majestic aerial photography. It boasts two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, perfectly cast as Amelia Earhart, with Richard Gere as Earhart's promoter-publisher husband, George Putnam. They even have nice on-screen chemistry.
'Astro Boy': Animated movie lacks rocket fuel
By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
Lovely dollops of wit and warmth float through the big-screen version of Astro Boy, the latest Japanese TV cartoon to make it to the big screen. But the look, themes and slam-bang Transformers violence of that 1960s animated series make this every bit as dated as Speed Racer, even if it is easier to watch.
With flood of movies, vampires have their day in the sun
By David Germain Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Vampires have been an eternal force in Hollywood horror since silent-movie days, yet they have risen to new heights as the Twilight franchise, TV's True Blood and other incarnations put the bite on viewers.
'Cirque du Freak': Vampire spoof doesn't spoof enough
By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is sort of a Twilight-lite. It's about vampires and it's about teenagers. But where Twilight vamps down Romance Novel Road, Freak, based on Darren Shan's novels, is a lark, and in this case, the laughs are intentional.
'Good Hair': Don't be caught nappy
By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
Like the titular follicles this documentary surveys, Good Hair is a bit all over the place.
Polanski case ignites Hollywood bashers
Rich Copley Herald-Leader Culture Columnist
The arrest of Roman Polanski has revived memories of a really gross crime and the flogging of a favorite mid-American target: Hollywood liberals.
'Where the Wild Things Are': A faithful but dull adaptation
By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
The author of Where the Wild Things Are picked Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) to direct the long-planned film of the beloved children's book. But whatever Maurice Sendak thought the quixotic Jonze would bring to the movie — a penetrating understanding of the thin, allegorical picture book, perhaps — what Jonze delivers, with a script by Dave Eggers, is not a children's movie. This dull, downbeat yet faithful adaptation is a Sesame Street of the Spotless Mind.
Spike Jonze's 'Wild Things' took a long journey to big screen
By Mark Caro Chicago Tribune
The promotional materials for Spike Jonze's long- gestating film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are kick off with this quote from the director: "I didn't set out to make a children's movie; I set out to make a movie about childhood."
'Paranormal Activity': Spawn of 'Blair Witch Project'
By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
Some movies are a more shared experience than others, and that's certainly the case with Paranormal Activity, a micro-budget horror flick about things that go bump in the you-know-what in a nice new home.
'The Boys Are Back': Father knows worst
By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
A widowed dad doesn't quite come to grips with his shortcomings as a parent in The Boys Are Back. This mournful melodrama serves up Clive Owen as a "free range" parent in an Aussie Kramer vs. Kramer. The movie argues that no matter how selfish or irresponsible, Dad is still the right one to raise his son.
'Law Abiding Citizen': vigilante thriller, minus the humanity
By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
Law Abiding Citizen is a glib, brutal and preposterous revenge fantasy, a take-the-law-into-your-own-hands rabble-rouser that taps into a lot of fears and genuine gripes about the American legal system.
'Bright Star': A glowing love story
By Roger Moore The Orlando Sentinel
John Keats' life, love and death make him a romantic cliché and a fine subject for a period romance in Bright Star.
