philmguy

If you allow video games to warp your brain enough, you start to view life as series of pixelated levels to be conquered. When you get out of work, you see the

Diary of a Wimpy Kid – A live-action tween melodrama based on Jeff Kinney’s bestselling book series, the film is the story of Greg (Zachary Gordon), a social

The people who cut the trailer for The Other Guys had an interesting strategy: Rather than show all the funniest moments in order to sucker people in, they

The Breakfast Club: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray – The seminal 1985 John Hughes drama about the bonding of high school kids from different social strata is

Clash of the Titans – A special-effects heavy orgy of badly-acted yet engrossing Greek mythology, the remake of the cornball classic tells the story of divine

I’m fairly certain Salt is not a fictional drama, but instead an insider documentary on the secret life of Angelina Jolie. Just look at those eyes of hers. You

Cop Out – Writer/director extraordinaire Kevin Smith bizarrely chose to remove the “writer” portion of his title from this disjointed venture, a hit-and-miss

We've all seen these opaque, befuddling Inception trailers for months now, and everyone knew it would be mind-blowingly awesome because it's directed by

The Bounty Hunter – Run, don’t walk, away from anyone who insists on wasting your night renting this utter failure of an action comedy, featuring Jennifer

“Despicable” is too harsh an evaluation for the animated 3D kid magnet du jour, Despicable Me. I’d go with “Bland Me” or “Direct-To-Video-Worthy Me.” The

Acorn Media Box Sets – A trio of superb British TV dramas are each out in new DVD collections. Doc Martin is the tale of an abrasive, obsessive doctor who

The Crazies – Timothy Olyphant takes on the role of small-town lawman that he’s worn so well in Deadwood and Justified. He’s as solid as ever, but gets lost in

I missed my high school reunion, but Grown Ups is exactly how I pictured it would have been: You see a bunch of people you used to get along with and admire,

Entourage: The Complete Sixth Season – Although the season starts off with a whimper, this feel-good fantasy comedy aimed at men eventually hits its usual

To me the most commanding sign of the power of this great and beautiful film is the way it managed to make my 3-year-old son cry. Luke is not a sensitive child.

The Book of Eli – Smoldering with otherworldly intensity, Denzel Washington powers this surprisingly riveting post-apocalyptic drama about a lonely, driven

Caddyshack 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray – The ageless 1980 golf comedy doesn’t get any funnier in HD, but the movie is definitely one well worth owning, and

The fact that this movie exists infuriates me. The fact that it's good makes my head explode in anger. The good news about The Karate Kid remake is that it may

Alice in Wonderland – Tim Burton’s trippy live-action pseudo-sequel to Lewis Carroll’s classic literature and beloved 1951 animated Disney film hits most of its

The Road – Viggo Mortensen stars in this slow, post-apocalyptic Cormac McCarthy adaptation about a man and his son who slog toward the south as they strive for

It's not often a horror film reaches into the depths of my soul, grabs my heart and shatters it into a billion terrified pieces, and rarer still that a sequel

Valentine’s Day – Taking the path well worn by Magnolia, Love Actually, Crash and countless others, the star-studded romance looks in on numerous interrelated

You're at an Italian restaurant and Fresh Ground Pepper guy comes over and asks you if you'd like some. You say yes and he's way over-enthusiastic and gives you

Daria: The Complete Series — The brilliantly satirical 1997-2001 MTV animated series, which spun off of Beavis and Butt-Head, follows a droll, intellectual girl

You know the feeling. You ask a coworker with genuine interest if she’s got any pictures of her newborn. She giddily pulls out her phone and shows you picture

Dirty Dancing: Limited Keepsake Edition The cornball 1987 dance flick with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey gets yet another re-release, this one an unnecessary

Avatar – To me, James Cameron’s Oscar-bypassed masterwork is just as impressive in 2D, well, at least in high definition, as it was in 3D in the theater. The

The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! – Comedy Central’s animated mockery of reality shows, in which knockoff cartoon celebrities from various eras lived

Apollo 13 Blu-ray: The stirring 1995 drama follows the true story of a near disastrous lunar voyage in which astronauts saved their lives with quick thinking.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – A shamelessly dopey but passable computer-animated family comedy continues the franchise’s resurgence. Jason Lee, who

Fantastic Mr. Fox – Wes Anderson’s Oscar-nominated stop-motion animated film is about a self-regarding family of foxes who undergo an existential crisis. George

I’m not sure if hot tubs can serve as spacetime vortexes that transport you back 24 years, but movies sure can. Hot Tub Time Machine, the nonsensical-as-Sarah

Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Blu-ray – The two Pixar masterpieces that made the studio a leader of the animation world come out in high-definition — in those

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire – This stinging drama about an overweight high school girl (Gabourey Sidibe), the victim of rape and tremendous

The NeverEnding Story Blu-ray – This 1984 fantasy classic blooms to gorgeous life on Blu-ray, which lets you appreciate the outstanding special effects –not

Nurse Jackie: Season One – Edie Falco finds gainful employment following her run on The Sopranos, as a take-no-prisoners NYC ER nurse who navigates a fast-paced

Normally it’s a less-than-promising sign when a film gets bumped from an Oscar-friendly late-year release to February, but don’t let that scare you off the

The Time Traveler’s Wife – Eric Bana plays a man afflicted with a genetic disorder that causes him to leap through time, and Rachel McAdams is his harried wife.

The way the producers of the Love Actually-like ADHD-afflicted romantic comedy Valentine’s Day see it, the more stars, and interlinked characters — each with

Couples Retreat – Vince Vaughn and Malin Akerman make up one of four couples who venture off to an idyllic resort for some intense couples therapy with

New York, I Love You – Inspired by the French anthology Paris, je t'aime, this collection of shorts rounds up loads of stars and big name directors, including

Fame: Go in with low enough expectations and you may find yourself lulled into contented sedation in this remake of the 1980s TV show and movie, set at the

Whenever the apocalypse happens, there's always that one guy left over to roam the desolate countryside, scavenge the decrepit goods left over by others and

Paranormal Activity: The runaway horror hit of the year plays even better at home than it did in the theater because it's set in a creaky house plagued by a

There is one moment of hope in Leap Year, and it comes near the end of the movie, after the idiot lead character, Anna (Amy Adams) faces a severe disappointment

(500) Days of Summer — For my money, the best film of 2009 was this decidedly un-romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel as mismatched

Family Guy: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side — Fox's scattershot animated comedy series sets Star Wars in its sights once again, mocking The Empire

Director Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is full of new revelations about the old British sleuth whose exploits were based on the great Encyclopedia Brown. For

District 9 — The breakout sci-fi hit of last summer brings the thunder on a spectacular Blu-ray and run-of-the-mill DVD. Set in South Africa, the story is about

Director Rob Marshall tries to recapture his Chicago magic with Nine, a hyperactive musical with elaborate song-and-dance explosions, energetic performances and