Milk ***½ Gus Van Sant directed Sean Penn to a Best Actor Oscar in this biopic of crusading politician Harvey Milk, who in the late 1970s became the first openly gay man to hold public office in this country. Dustin Lance Black's Oscar-winning screenplay follows its hero from middle-age awakening to his early death at the hands of a fellow San Francisco official. The cast includes Emile Hirsch. ...more

March 13, 2009

OPENING Redbelt ** Playwright David Mamet wrote and directed this story about a mixed-martial arts instructor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who refuses to participate in prize bouts, until circumstances force him to consider entering such a competition. Review, Page 6. 99 minutes (R; strong profanity) ...more

May 8, 2008

The Wachowski brothers have tumbled into a matrix of their own with "Speed Racer," one which has rendered them completely out of touch with the outside world. ...more

May 8, 2008

You probably don't know the name Emile Hirsch. Not yet at least. He's a young, good-looking, up-and-coming actor who's been working steadily for the past few years now - he was the guy who lusted after Elisha Cuthbert in 'The Girl Next Door'; maybe that'll ring a bell. ...more

October 21, 2007

OPENING The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford *** Notorious outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) contends with his hero-worshipping "pal" (Casey Affleck) who wants to be like him so much that he kills him. 160 minutes (R; strong violence and brief sexual references) ...more

October 19, 2007