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Trends for '10

Revivals, fantasy films and tons of 3-D movies are coming to a theater near you

Three days after the monster known as “Avatar” hit theaters, I received an e-mail press release from Paramount Pictures. It read that the third “Jackass” movie would be making its way to theaters on Oct. 15, 2010 — this time in “eye-popping 3-D.”

Review: ‘Edge of Darkness’

Gibson’s big comeback is painfully erratic

On a few occasions, “Edge of Darkness” shows glimpses of greatness. Unfortunately, they’re muddied with over-the-top performances and some really, really bad Boston accents. One word can describe this Mel Gibson thriller: uneven. “Edge of Darkness” meanders between the realms of corporate suspense and shoot-’em-up revenge flicks with a handful of cute father-daughter flashbacks.

DVD Review: 'The Hurt Locker'

An intense war movie with thrilling action and dramatic power

Hollywood has churned out plenty of war movies through the years. World War II and Vietnam have been done to death and through those topics, unquestionable cinematic classics have emerged. But when it comes to the Iraq war and our country's conflicts in the Middle East, nobody has been able to nail it on film. Enter "The Hurt Locker," a tense action thriller and dramatic powerhouse with gritty realism thanks to director Kathryn Bigelow's unflinching direction and a can't miss cast.

Review: 'The Lovely Bones'

Poor storytelling dooms potentially good film

If the Disney Channel ever made a movie about a 14-year-old girl being brutally raped and killed, it would be called "The Lovely Bones."

Review: 'The Book of Eli'

Action flick entertains despite greater aspirations

In Hollywood's current trend of post-apocalypse now (see "2012" and "The Road"), "The Book of Eli" may come off as a somewhat generic genre flick. Regardless of the film's obvious aims at heavy themes and profundity, that's exactly what it is. Luckily, audiences will walk out of "The Book of Eli" still having seen a pretty good action film, with Denzel Washington carrying the material with effortless magnetism.

A decade at the movies

The '00s gave audiences Spider-Man, Nemo, Edward and Bella and McLovin - and Heath Ledger at his best

If the '30s and '40s are considered the "Golden Age of Cinema," this decade should be dubbed the "Green Age." While most of the country has suffered during the economic decline, the movie industry has proven to be recession-proof. From 2000 to 2009, box office records were broken time and time again. As a result, Hollywood keeps pumping out more and more movies.

Review: 'Sherlock Holmes'

Revival turns up the action, turns down the mystery

Spoiler alert: The ending of "Sherlock Holmes" sets up a sequel. Warner Bros. clearly expects Detective Downey Jr. to be another bankable franchise. Well, those studio execs better hope for some big bucks at the box office this weekend because "Sherlock Holmes" falls flat in too many ways to have much staying power.

Review: 'Up in the Air'

A breezy, bruising masterpiece perfect for our tough times

Ladies and gentleman. We have a winner. With a flawless George Clooney, a stellar supporting cast, Jason Reitman's expert direction and a story that perfectly captures and forever preserves the country's present economic angst, "Up in the Air" is without a doubt the best movie of the year.

Review: 'Avatar'

James Cameron's monsterous sci-fi epic soars despite flaws

When you're James Cameron, the visionary director of box-office champ "Titanic" and you've declared yourself "king of the world," what do you do next? Simple. You create another one from the ground up.

Hottest movies of the coldest season

Anticipated films come to theaters this winter

It's Oscar season and the holiday season, which means Hollywood is pumping out films like crazy right now. Here are the best of the best coming to theaters in the next month.

Review: 'The Road'

Cormac McCarthy's popular novel hits the screen, comes to KC

You could call it a modern-day classic. You could also call it an exercise in narrative masochism. Either way, Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Road," about a father and son's brutal and often depressing quest for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, has become one of those books that fans worry will lose its essence when adapted to the big screen.

Review: 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon'

Sequel improves on shortcomings of 'Twilight'

Never judge a book by its cover, the old saying goes. Likewise, we should never judge a movie by its posters full of shirtless young men like Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson, with their brooding abs and heartthrob poses. The core of the "Twilight" fanbase will always be boy-obsessed teenage girls, and the first film of the series was fine for them (watch the MTV Movie Awards for reference). The large remainder of the "Twilight" audience, however, had to endure god-awful acting, mediocre writing, poor special effects and an overbearing seriousness that bogged down the film. Not to mention, much of the movie deviated from the plot and dialogue of Stephenie Meyer's book. For the most part, all of those issues have been resolved in "New Moon."

Oh, the horror

How do this decade's scary movies stack up against the legends?

In the '70s, "The Exorcist," "Halloween" and "Jaws" frightened theater-goers to the point of physical shaking. In the '80s, iconic teen killers Freddy Kreuger and Jason Voorhees became Hollywood's horror heroes. The '90s are largely remembered for the psychological scares of "The Sixth Sense," "The Silence of the Lambs" and "The Blair Witch Project." Unfortunately, many will remember the '00s for the onslaught of dumbed-down torture porn films like "Hostel," "Turistas" and "Captivity." Or cookie-cutter slasher flicks like "Sorority Row" and "Prom Night." Or mediocre remakes and revivals like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "When a Stranger Calls" and "The Wicker Man." Do you remember 2001's "Jason X"? Jason was in outer freaking space! Ugh. Truthfully, only one or two horror films a year are ever really noteworthy. This article will sift through the junk and find the few gems this decade had to offer.

Michael Jackson's last movie debuts in St. Joseph

There may not have been fans turned out in sequins, white gloves and hi-water pants but fans, none the less, went to Hollywood 10 Theater to see Michael Jackson's last performance.

Review: 'Where the Wild Things Are'

Classic children's tale doesn't quite work on the big screen

The few hundred words, playful drawings, beastly characters and lessons of childhood emotion in Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" has helped it to become a cultural landmark in children's literature. But it's also made the task of adapting it for the big screen without losing the book's essence seem impossibly daunting. This is left up to the imagination of visionary writer/director Spike Jonze, who even with a talented voice-over cast and spectacular images, only gets half the job done.