Alonso Duralde

'John Carter' Review: Lifeless on Mars

March 8, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

“Avatar” and all the other subsequent pillagers of the original Edgar Rice Burroughs story make this big-screen treatment feel redundant

  

De Niro Serves Up Thick Slices of Ham in ‘Being Flynn’

March 2, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

The actor goes way overboard as a would-be writer in this screen adaptation of Nick Flynn’s “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City”

  

‘Project X’: It's Like a Party With Great Guests But a Loud, Awful Band

March 1, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Review: The ultimate out-of-control high-school party gets played for laughs, but there’s an unmistakable whiff of white male privilege throughout

  

'The Lorax' Finally Gets Dr. Seuss Right

March 1, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

The “Despicable Me” team brings the beloved eco-fable to the screen with visual pop and catchy songs

  

Tyler Perry’s Good Intentions Outweigh His ‘Good Deeds’

February 24, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Now that Perry has finally become a competent director, his shortcomings as a writer are amplified

  

‘Wanderlust’ Meanders Into an Unfunny Time Warp -- Seriously, Hippies?!

February 24, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Review: “Wanderlust” misses far more than it hits, despite Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston

  

In Belgian Oscar-Nominee ‘Bullhead,’ Both the Cattle and the Cowman Are Full of Steroids

February 23, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Debut film "Bullhead" from Michael R. Roskam depicts adult criminals still grappling with childhood traumas. It's a Best Foreign Film nominee from Belgium

  

Even Nicolas Cage Seems Restrained in Oddly Tame 'Ghost Rider' Sequel

February 17, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Not even the teaming of Nicolas Cage and the “Crank” guys can rev up this sequel/reboot featuring Marvel Comics’ biker-from-hell

  

Gorgeous 'Arrietty' Will Charm Children and Parents Alike

February 16, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Legendary Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli concocts a delightful adaptation of Mary Norton’s classic kids’ book “The Borrowers”

  

‘Michael’: The Banality of Evil, Now with Extra Banality

February 16, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Director Markus Schleinzer delivers chills without frills in this look at a pedophile kidnapper’s day-to-day existence

  

Poorly Drawn ‘Chico & Rita’: Color It Another Oscar Mistake

February 10, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Review: The vibrancy of jazz and '50s Havana can’t make up for the cardboard love interests in this dashed-off nominated feature

  

In ‘Safe House,’ the Cars and the Guns Get the Best Lines

February 9, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Review: When the tires stop screeching and the people start talking, the new Denzel Washington-Ryan Reynolds thriller "Safe House" gets substantially less thrilling

  

Watch Anything – Seriously, Anything – Other Than 'Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace' 3D

February 9, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Any of these diversions will be a better use of your time than another two hours with Jar Jar Binks in “Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3D”

  

‘Journey 2’: Where Else Are You Going to See Michael Caine Riding a Giant Bumblebee?

February 8, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

There’s nothing to hate about 3D family adventure "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" starring Dwayne Johnson — but not all that much to like, either

  

'The Woman in Black' Delivers Scares in Abundance

February 3, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Daniel Radcliffe brings a haunted gravitas to his first post-“Harry Potter” screen performance

  

‘The Innkeepers’: Chills and Chuckles Share a Room

February 2, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Director Ti West’s follow-up to “House of the Dead” starts out like a slacker comedy before exploring the scary secrets of a haunted hotel

  

Exciting 'Chronicle' Could Have Skipped the Gimmicks

February 2, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Clever teen sci-fi-action epic "Chronicle" suffers from the recent glut of first-person-camera movies

  

Review: ‘Declaration of War’ Takes an Upbeat Look at a Dour Subject

January 26, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Surviving on humor and resilience when your child is diagnosed with cancer — and also when you make a movie about it

  

Review: 'The Grey' More Than Just 'Taken' With Wolves

January 26, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Liam Neeson takes on the tundra in a movie that’s more ambitious than the average man vs. nature thriller

  

Review: 'Man on a Ledge' Teeters on the Edge of Silliness

January 25, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Sam Worthington stars in a familiar thriller that winds up relying too heavily on clumsy plotting

  

Boy Meets Girl and Grandpa Meets Robot in Quirky New Sundance Comedies

January 21, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

"Robot and Frank" and "The First Time" gently tweak genre expectations while remaining firmly mainstream-friendly

  

Review: 'Celeste and Jesse' Could Stand Another Trip to the Editing Room

January 20, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Someone's going to buy it -- and that someone will quietly return the film to the editing bay to tighten up the film's whiny, sluggish second half and make it as smart and funny as the film's first half

  

Review: Ain't Soderbergh's 'Haywire' a Kick in the Head!

January 19, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

MMA fighter Gina Carano may not be the greatest actress, but her fighting skills make a definite impression

  

'Pina': A Kinetic Snapshot of a Brilliant Career -- in 3D

January 13, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Wim Wenders’ 3D documentary captures the kinetic, poetic power of Pina Bausch’s extraordinary choreography

  

Review: Squirm-Worthy 'The Divide' a Contemporary Lord of the Flies

January 12, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and these shelter-dwelling New Yorkers are ready to kill each other

  

Review: 'Contraband' Operates by the Numbers, Loses Count

January 12, 2012 By Alonso Duralde 1 year ago

Mark Wahlberg’s got the smuggler’s blues in a generic and uninvolving action flick that wastes its A-list cast