Alonso Duralde

'Scary Movie 5' Review: The Sound of Spaghetti Not Sticking to the Wall

April 12, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 9 weeks ago

"Thirty-three years later, we’re still quoting “Airplane!” whereas almost no one is going to remember “Scary Movie V” after, oh, Monday."

  

'42' Review: Despite a Few Errors, Baseball Biopic Presents a Jackie Robinson Who's Both Heroic and Human

April 11, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 9 weeks ago

Writer-director Brian Helgeland acknowledges the groundbreaking ballplayer’s legend without turning him into a plastic dashboard saint

  

'Trance' Review: Danny Boyle's Hypnotic Thriller Makes Twists Fun Again

April 5, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 10 weeks ago

James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson and Vincent Cassel lead us down a brilliantly entertaining rabbit hole of shocks and surprises

  

'The Company You Keep' Review: Fugitives, Radicals, Secrets...But Where's the Passion?

April 3, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 10 weeks ago

Robert Redford’s tale of former anti-war activists on the run fails to cut it as a thriller, character study or contemplation of big ideas

  

'Evil Dead' Review: Great Grey Gobs of Greasy, Grimy Ghoulish Guts

April 3, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 10 weeks ago

Despite a misstep or two, a new cast and crew return to Sam Raimi’s legendary cabin in the woods and bring plenty of terror with them

  

'Temptation' Review: Tyler Perry, Even Sudsier and More Sanctimonious

March 29, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 11 weeks ago

Who better to shill for the institution of marriage than 43-year-old bachelor Perry, who uses homophobia as a punch line and HIV as a cheap plot gimmick?

  

'The Host' Review: Invasion of the Boring Snoozers

March 28, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 11 weeks ago

Replace vampires and werewolves with body-snatching aliens, and you’re left with another dippy Stephenie Meyer love triangle

  

'Room 237' Review: The Secrets of the Universe, as Hidden in 'The Shining'

March 27, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 11 weeks ago

Documentary goes down a rabbit hole of conspiracies and secret meanings in Stanley Kubrick’s classic adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel

  

'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' Review: Saturday Morning Cartoon Writ Large

March 27, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 11 weeks ago

The PG-13 action sequences pile on relentlessly, lest the audience get a chance to breathe…or think

  

'From Up on Poppy Hill' Review: Teenagers, and a Nation, Come of Age in Another Miyazaki Triumph

March 21, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 12 weeks ago

No cat-buses or walking castles this time out, but the very human storytelling packs a punch

  

'Olympus Has Fallen' Review: Where Are You, Bruce Willis, Now That POTUS Needs You?

March 21, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 12 weeks ago

 “Die Hard” comes to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. with this thrilling but dopey action flick that keeps things moving even while it defies logic

  

'The Croods' Review: Dazzling Fun Proves Even a Caveman Dad Can Evolve

March 20, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 12 weeks ago

Nicolas Cage leads a family of Neanderthals into a whole new world in this amusing and visually stunning animated film for all ages

  

'Admission' Review: Toss This Tina Fey Rom-Com on the Reject Pile

March 20, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 12 weeks ago

Despite the presence of Tina Fey and Paul Rudd neither the rom nor the com work here

  

'Spring Breakers' Review: 'Where the Boys Are' - But With More on Its Party-Till-You're Numb Mind

March 14, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 13 weeks ago

Harmony Korine deconstructs a cherished teen ritual with this hedonistic horror show of nubile teens, reckless partying and a dreadlocked James Franco

  

'The Call' Review: Halle Berry Thriller Starts Strong, Gets Hung Up

March 14, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 13 weeks ago

This suspenseful tale starring Halle Berry as a 911 operator works better as a workplace thriller than as a “Silence of the Lambs” knock-off

  

'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone' Review: Magician Comedy Has Nothing Up Its Sleeve

March 13, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 13 weeks ago

Despite the presence of Steve Carrell and Jim Carrey, the laughs get shackled up and suspended in a tank of repetitiveness and sentimentality

  

'Oz the Great and Powerful' Review: Sam Raimi Manages to Fill Some Mighty Big Ruby Slippers

March 5, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 15 weeks ago

James Franco goes from carny conman to reluctant messiah in this ingenious prequel to the 1939 classic

  

'21 & Over' Review: When an 'Animal House' Wants to Be a 'Breakfast Club'

March 1, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 15 weeks ago

Raucous comedy from the writers of “The Hangover” can’t nail the pivot from raunchy to poignant, despite the charming cast’s best efforts

  

'Stoker' Review: When Style Becomes Self-Parody

February 28, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 15 weeks ago

Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska are buried in stares and significant pauses in director Park Chan-Wook’s overdone American debut

  

'Phantom' Review: Capable Cast Can't Keep This Sub Tale From Scuttling

February 27, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 15 weeks ago

Even with Ed Harris, David Duchovny and William Fichtner on board, this Cold War true story never reaches adequate depth

  

'Dark Skies' Review: When Your Haunted House Is Behind on the Mortgage, It's Doubly Terrifying

February 22, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 16 weeks ago

Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton star in an effectively chilling thriller about a suburban family under attack by both invisible creeps and a sluggish economy

  

'Inescapable' Review: All That's Inescapable in This Action/Personal Drama Mash-Up Is Marisa Tomei

February 22, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 16 weeks ago

Marisa Tomei shines in an otherwise by-the-numbers tale of a Syrian spy confronting his past after his child is kidnapped

  

'Escape from Planet Earth' Review: A Black Hole of Entertainment

February 15, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 17 weeks ago

This bland and charmless kiddie flick can’t even muster enough personality to be awful

  

'No' Review: A Tale of Vision and Daring, Told With Not Enough of Either

February 14, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 17 weeks ago

Gael Garcia Bernal stars as an ad man who helped overthrow a dictator, but the movie could use his character’s skill at thinking outside the box

  

'A Good Day to Die Hard' Review: The Cat's in the Cradle and the Uranium's Enriched

February 13, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 17 weeks ago

Bruce Willis’ iconic John McClane works out his father-son issues amidst noisy, chaotic violence — call this one “Daddy Die Hard”

  

'Beautiful Creatures' Review: Casting Spells with Tongue in Cheek

February 12, 2013 By Alonso Duralde 18 weeks ago

The teen romance feels real while the supernatural stuff goes crazily over-the-top in this surprisingly entertaining post-“Twilight” tentpole

  
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