“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (my 0-10 rating: 7)
Genre: Sophisticated Adult Animated Feature
Director: Wes Anderson
Screenplay: Wes Anderson, based on the Roald Dahl novel
Voices: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Gambon, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe
Time: 1 hr., 27 min.
Rating: PG (hard action, slang humor)
Not for the kids. At all. Repeat: NOT, that is NOT for the kids.
Truth [...]

“The Blind Side” (my 0-10 rating: 8)
Genre: Drama, Sports
Director: John Lee Hancock
Screenplay: John Lee Hancock, based on a true story in the Michael Lewis book
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, Quinton Aaron, Lily Collins, Jae Head
Time: 2 hr., 6 min.
Rating: PG-13 (brief violence, drug and sexual references)
A just-plain well-made sports movie with superb audience [...]

“Everybody’s Fine” (my 0-10 rating: 8)
Genre: Comedy Drama
Director: Kirk Jones
Screenplay: Kirk Jones, remake of Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1990 “Stanno Tutti Bene”
Cast: Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell
Time: 1 hr., 40 min.
Rating: PG-13 (thematic elements, brief vulgarity)
I loved every second of it. Much to the denials of the critics, for whom sentimentalism has always [...]

“Pirate Radio” (my 0-10 rating: 5)
Genre: Comedy
Director: Richard Curtis
Screenplay: Richard Curtis
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Darby, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Sturridge, Talulah Riley, January Jones
Time: 2 hrs., 15 min.
Rating: R (for language, and some sexual content including brief nudity)
What to expect? Nostalgia, that’s what.
Hey, having been a part of the [...]

“2012″ (my 0-10 rating: 7)
Genre: Action
Director: Roland Emmerich
Screenplay: Roland Emmerich. Harald Kloser
Cast: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt,
Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, Woody Harrelson, George Segal
Time: 2 hrs., 38 min.
Rating: PG-13 (for intense disaster sequences and some vulgarity)
I d’no. Is there really any room to criticize a movie when it’s so much illuminating fun?
Take [...]

“The Men Who Stare at Goats” (my 0-10 quality rating: 6)
Genre: Comedy
Director: Grant Heslov
Screenplay: Peter Straughan, based on the 2004 Jon Ronson nonfiction bestseller
Cast: George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey
Time: 1 hr., 33 min.
Rating: R (vulgarity, some drug content, brief nudity)
OK, yeah,… I can see the creative poker-faced comedy it’s shooting for, but [...]

(ARA) – Like mistletoe and eggnog, overnight house guests go hand-in-hand with the holidays. Whether visitors are spending just one night or an entire week in your home, the situation can be stressful for everyone involved. Never fear. You can do a few simple things long before your company arrives to ensure their stay is [...]

“Amelia” (my 0-10 rating: 8 )
Genre: Biography, Drama.
Director: Mira Nair.
Screenplay: Ronald Bass, Anna Hamilton Phelan, based on the books “East to the Dawn” by Susan Butler and “The Sound of Wings” by Mary S. Lovell.
Cast: Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston
Time: 1 hr., 51 min.
Rating: PG (some sexuality, vulgarity)
A fine and continuously entertaining, [...]

(ARA) – The holiday season is filled with endless celebrating, shopping and decorating. But during all the hustle and bustle, people often overlook simple safety precautions. Whether decorating a home inside and out with colorful lights, setting up holiday items in your office or stringing decorations in a dorm room, it is important to remember [...]

(ARA) – There has rarely been a year when so much has been asked of so many. Families and friends across the miles have clung tight to each other and most have come out more connected than ever. When it’s time to sit down to make your holiday gift list, it’s going to be tougher [...]