Alonso Duralde

'Moonrise Kingdom' Review: Wes Anderson's Sad-Tweens Tale Engaging, Deadpan-Funny

May 23, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 4 days ago

While it won’t win over detractors who think that Wes Anderson’s work is precious and fussy, "Moonrise Kingdom" does see the filmmaker firmly rooted in his comfort zone

  

'Men in Black 3' Review: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones Drag Down a Cool Party

May 22, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 5 days ago

If the marquee names are going to phone it in this flagrantly, why not reboot the franchise with Josh Brolin and “SNL” star Jay Pharoah?

  

'Battleship': What the Critics Think of Taylor Kitsch's Naval Adventure

May 18, 2012 By Brent Lang 1 week ago

America's critics fall over each other trying to sink Peter Berg's "Battleship"

  

'What to Expect' Review: All the Appeal of Pickles and Ice Cream

May 17, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 week ago

There’s an OK drama buried within the hacky sitcom clichés of this idiotic, all-star comedy that’s as funny as post-partum depression

  

'Battleship' Review: Sheer Adrenaline Keeps Dopey Action Epic Afloat

May 17, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 week ago

Peter Berg’s big-budget board game adaptation is as ridiculous as you expect, but it’s never dull

  

'The Dictator' Review: Laughs Keep Sacha Baron Cohen's Shaky Regime Afloat

May 15, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 week ago

Sasha Baron Cohen’s latest is a scattershot mess, but the film delivers enough solid gags to keep audiences from revolting

  

'Where Do We Go Now?' Review: Political Tale Can't Figure Out If It's a Satire

May 11, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 2 weeks ago

Nadine Labaki’s inventive satire of Middle East politics that won Toronto's audience awards makes bold comic statements but collapses when tragedy erupts

  

'God Bless America' Review: Dark Satire Curdles into Cranky Rant

May 10, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 2 weeks ago

Writer-director Bobcat Goldthwait’s jeremiad against reality TV feels preachy, ponderous and about five years out of date

  

'Dark Shadows' Review: It's Not Just the Vampire That Sucks in Tim Burton's Retread

May 10, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 2 weeks ago

Johnny Depp’s courtly vampire provides the only laughs in this leaden misfire of the "Dark Shadows" pop-culture reboot

  

'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' Review: A Sweet and Funny Fantasy for Retirees

May 3, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 3 weeks ago

Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and an all-star cast of Brits get their groove back in a ramshackle retirement home in India

  

'A Little Bit of Heaven' Review: 107 Minutes of Cutesy, Cancerous Hell

May 3, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 3 weeks ago

Kate Hudson vehicle marries the worst of rom-com whimsy with the deadliest pretty-girl-with-cancer clichés

  

'The Avengers' Review: A Satisfying Super-Hero Sandwich

May 1, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 3 weeks ago

In "The Avengers," director Joss Whedon gets the Marvel Comics super-team the same way that Spielberg and Lucas understood serials in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”

  

'The Pirates! Band of Misfits' Review: This Clay Play Goes Overboard But Gets the Booty

April 27, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 4 weeks ago

The latest Aardman Animations adventure is silly enough for kids and smart enough for their parents, but it gets a bit frantic by the end

 

  

'The Five-Year Engagement' Review: Too Long, But Worth the Commitment

April 26, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 4 weeks ago

Jason Segel and his “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” collaborator score with another hilariously prickly and poignant look at relationships

  

'Safe' Review: Jason Statham Gives This B-Movie Some A-Movie Cred

April 26, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 4 weeks ago

British action star Jason Statham keeps the adrenaline pumping as he protects a young girl from corrupt cops and Russian and Chinese mobsters in "Safe"

 

  

'Chimpanzee' Review: Welcome to the Disneyfied, Sanitized Jungle

April 20, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 5 weeks ago

Stunning photography gets cranked through the happy-ending machine, resulting in a kid-friendly doc that’s neither fish nor fowl

  

'Darling Companion' Review: This Shaggy Dog's a Loveable Mutt

April 19, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 5 weeks ago

Diane Keaton heads an all-star cast that mixes Lawrence Kasdan’s zingy dialogue with his weakness for spoiled Baby Boomers

  

'Think Like a Man' Review: Cast Makes Romantic Infomercial Click

April 19, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 5 weeks ago

An engaging cast and a steady stream of laughs help mask the familiarity of this rom-com based on Steve Harvey’s dating guide "Think Like a Man"

  

'The Cabin in the Woods': See It Before Someone Spoils It

April 12, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 6 weeks ago

Joss Whedon’s "The Cabin in the Woods," a witty and scary take on teenagers on a doomed vacation, is best enjoyed if you go in knowing as little as possible

  

'The Three Stooges': Lots of Yucks Amid the Nyuck-Nyuck-Nyucks

April 12, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 6 weeks ago

"The Three Stooges," the comedy nobody wanted, turns out to be hilarious. It's the Farrelly Brothers' best since “There’s Something About Mary”

  

'Damsels in Distress' Review: Whit Stillman's Latest Has Great Lyrics, But the Music's a Little Off

April 6, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 7 weeks ago

“Metropolitan” director Whit Stillman returns after a long hiatus and once again charts the mating habits of the contemporary preppy

  

'American Reunion' Review: This Pie Has Become Tasteless

April 5, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 7 weeks ago

The balance of sweet and smutty that made the original “American Pie” so memorable is sorely absent from this pointless sequel

  

'Goon' Review: Comedy - and Brutality - on the Ice

March 30, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 8 weeks ago

Seann William Scott’s kindhearted hockey brute anchors this hilariously brutal sports comedy

  

'Bully' Review: Best Intentions Don't Always Lead to Best Movies

March 30, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 8 weeks ago

"Bully," the buzzed-about documentary, says all the right things about the hot-button issue of bullying but doesn’t say them particularly well

  

'Wrath of the Titans' Review: Release the Crappy Sequel!

March 29, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 8 weeks ago

Sure, “Wrath of the Titans” may improve on the awful converted-3D original -- but it's far less compelling than almost anything you can pop into your X-Box these days

  

‘The Deep Blue Sea’ Review: Passion and Torment in a Cold-Water Flat

March 23, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 9 weeks ago

Rachel Weisz mixes sex appeal and melancholy in this examination of an unfaithful wife in post-WWII London

  
Most Popular
Columns