Beth Barnes

Introducing the Dwights is a tour de force for Brenda Blethyn, and boy, does she eat it up and spit it out. She plays Jean, the matriarch, lunchroom cook by day, stand-up comedienne by night. We quickly come to realize two things about Jean: (1) she was clearly pretty good (and popular) once, but the schtick is getting old; (2) she’s nowhere near ready to admit that, or to even consider sharing th...[Read More]

I write to laud Hot Fuzz, a wonderfully enjoyable action comedy that unabashedly steals from/honors just about every notable action/cop/buddy movie that’s come before it. And I know that because several of the special features go to great pains to point out just which parts of Hot Fuzz came from just which previous films.

I wasn’t too sure about this film when I sat down to watch it; I recalled it had gotten little attention in its theatrical release, and it seemed like a pretty goofy idea – a farmer who builds a rocket in his barn? Sure.

I work with journalists in a journalism school; I’m privileged to know many journalists. So, I certainly followed with fear and then sadness the story that unfolded over January and February of 2002 about the kidnapping and eventual murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan.

I avoided seeing Becoming Jane when it was in theatrical release, and I regret that decision now. I’m a big Jane Austen fan (she’s the Jane in question), and I thought this was an overly fictionalized treatment of part of her life. After watching this film and doing a little checking, I know now that there’s a fair amount of fact underlying this story, and it’s taught me things about Jane I didn’t...[Read More]

Wild Hogs is a fairly predictable comedy about four middle-aged men trying to regain their lost youth and prove to themselves that they’re not all washed up. It’s a story you’ve seen before, but what makes this worth spending time watching is who the four actors are: Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy and John Travolta. Odd assortment, right? The group clicks pretty well given how dissimi...[Read More]

Venus offers something we rarely see now: really meaty roles for older actors. It stars giants Peter O’Toole and Vanessa Redgrave, plus the lesser known (at least in the U.S.) Leslie Phillips and relative newcomer Jodie Whittaker.

I was a little skeptical about the early buzz on The Queen. Could it really be that good? Could Helen Mirren’s performance as Elizabeth II be as great as the critics were claiming? When I finally got to see the film in the theater, the answers were yes and yes.

There are movies that somehow fail to garner much critical or public attention despite being really very good. “The Good German” is one of those movies. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric, excellently acted, suspenseful drama. If you missed it in the theatre (and that wouldn’t have been hard to do in many markets), WATCH it.

I’ve rarely been as confused by a film as I was by The Fountain. It’s billed in its trailer as a time travel love story, and by its co-writers in the special features as science fiction; I can see elements of both in it, but nothing that really holds it together as a coherent story. And because of that lack, it’s very, very hard to figure out just what’s happening.

The bad news: Three times was definitely too many for this franchise. The good news: This installment actually plays better on DVD than it did in the theater. At least, it’s better than I remember it being.

Night at the Museum is a great good time, for both adults and kids. (I saw it in the theatre with my 12-year old nephew and we both loved it.) And, the extras on this special edition release just make a good thing better.