5 Popcorn Kernels There are a few scenes in Lassie, the newest reincarnation of the classic tale about a boy and his collie, that are guaranteed to make even the coldest human being weep. One of such scenes involves a young boy telling his best friend (man’s best friend, that is) that she is a bad dog and that he doesn’t love her anymore after being forced to sell her. It is a cruel scene

3 Popcorn Kernels British cinema often features a character in the role of the nanny or housekeeper. This character is usually the catalyst of change in the other characters’ lives. In Nanny McPhee, the nanny helps the man of the house find his one true love and assists the children with the acquisition of decent behavioral skills. In Keeping Mum, the housekeeper helps the woman of the

3 Popcorn Kernels "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" is a perfect example of why cinematic setting is of the utmost importance. Although this third and (not likely) final installment of the "Pirates" trilogy serves up hearty thrills and eye-popping special effects, it is too convoluted and plot heavy to really penetrate an audience. The result is an empty summer blockbuster that will

3 1/2 Popcorn Kernels Billed as a horror, "Bug" may leave fans of the genre scratching their heads. Then again, there is not a moviegoer out there who can confidently say they know what the truth is behind this feature film. "Bug" is filled with blood and torture but it is ultimately a psychological thriller. Whether or not there are in fact bugs is the central idea here. "Bug" stars Ashley

4 Popcorn Kernels"Waitress" is an awfully feminist flick but the humor will have both genders hungry for more. The movie is sweet enough to satisfy the cravings of most audiences, although the ending will work the nerves of some -- especially men. Fortunately, the talented cast of actors, including Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Andy Griffith and Cheryl Hines, are highly entertaining and make

I usually struggle to develop a list of the best 10 movies of the year. I always come up with 14 movies or more and have a difficult time cutting a few off the list. However, this year, I found the perfect 10. These movies stand out above the rest as the best -- and must see -- motion pictures of 2006. There is something for everyone on this year's list -- a family film about a beloved best

Walden Media has the perfect recipe for a family flick in How to Eat Fried Worms. The movie, based on the children’s book by the same title, revolves around a young boy who arrives at a new school only to be duped into a bet with the school bully. He must now spend his Saturday eating disgusting, creepy crawlers. School age kids will be enthralled with this motion picture, which features a

The only movie with a sillier title than Snakes on a Plane is the upcoming Let’s Go to Prison. The movie, which stars Samuel L. Jackson and has developed quite the Internet following, takes the inane storyline of an action star releasing a plethora of poisonous snakes on a jetliner to kill a witness who is going to testify against him. Many of the snakes are absurdly fake in appearance but

Justin Long of Jeepers Creepers and TV’s Ed fame is the only highlight of an otherwise average motion picture in Accepted. The movie is about a high school graduate played by Long, who gets rejected by every college to which he applies. He leases a vacant building and accepts himself into a fake university but technology goes awry and numerous other students get accepted, too. Unfortunately

Hilary Duff stars alongside her sister Haley Duff in Material Girls, a decent effort at a chick flick with very little true substance. The plot revolves around the sisters in the roles of close-to-real-life characters, heiresses to the Marchetta cosmetics company, dealing with the downfall of their father’s beloved business. It has a significant lack of laughs or any applicable life moral

Step Up would have been a very good movie had it not tried so hard. There are various storylines added to the mix that don’t add anything other than a few extra minutes to the movie. The movie tries its hardest to be more important that it actually is but it looks just like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Step Up is fun and it should have settled for that. If it did, moviegoers would have been

Horror movies should not be rated (PG-13). In not aiming for an (R) rating, filmmakers not only hold back the scares and make the horror flick less interesting but they are also responsible for inviting kids and teens to act incredibly immature. Case in point: While watching Pulse I had to listen to faux-screaming from a group of teen moviegoers. I suppose that is wasn’t their fault, though,

Tim Allen is making himself a family flick staple. His latest project, Zoom, may feel a bit familiar. That is because a very similar movie called Sky High was released last year. The two movies both feature the training grounds for young superheroes but only one of them is worth a watch. Sky High was an action-packed special effects extravaganza able to appeal to both kids and adults. Zoom

World Trade Center is an astounding motion picture with probably more heart than any other movie this year. However, being supreme doesn’t equal perfection. 2004 saw a movie with a similar plot minus the truth in Ladder 49, a movie that starred John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix. While World Trade Center portrays the tragic events of September 11th without crossing any uncomfortable lines it

Earlier this year, Curious George hit the big screen appealing to youngsters and only youngsters. The movie was pretty bad, but you have to respect a flick that knows its target audience. A similar respect is due to Boynton Beach Club except it appeals to older moviegoers and it is not a bad movie at all. If studios release motion pictures geared toward children then it only seems fair that

Will Ferrell needs to stop making goofy comedies. His shtick works sometimes, as in A Night at the Roxbury and Elf, but mostly it winds up being fatally annoying, as in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and, now, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. His track record just isn’t great enough for him to keep doing this to audiences. As it turns out – the dumber the title, the dumber

There have quite a few animated flicks released this summer. Movies about ants, haunted houses, cars and woodland critters made for some of the best entertainment of the year so far. Barnyard: The Original Party Animals, the latest computer-animated feature to hit theatres, is certainly fun but it lacks that extra special something that each of those other movies I referenced had. It is

Some of Robin Williams’s best acting occurs in small, dark motion pictures like One Hour Photo and The Big White. That tradition continues in The Night Listener, a Hitchcockian thriller inspired by true events. It is a sincerely suspenseful mind-bender that requires the moviegoer to come to their own conclusions and allows them to become totally engulfed in the sinister world in which it

Michael Mann usually makes movies that overflow with action and teem with style. While the latter of these two traits made the final cut of the lengthy Miami Vice, the former somehow missed the boat. The feel of the undercover cop picture may have changed since its television debut but it is definitely still present on the big screen. Unfortunately, the action is comparatively M.I.A. The

Those expecting an Oscar-caliber motion picture from John Tucker Must Die will be despondently disappointed. That much is not all too surprising. However, what is surprising is that those expecting a decently funny flick from it will also be let down. There are hardly any laughs in the feature and even less intelligence. Unfortunately, even for a stupid movie John Tucker Must Die is

The Descent presents several very scary moments. These moments are not your typical startles but actually legitimate scares – the kind not easily found at your neighborhood multiplex. Had the movie featured a more interesting group of characters and the story not been somewhat tainted by confusingly unrelated events, The Descent could have been a horror masterpiece. Instead, it will have

Until last year Woody Allen was in a horrible rut. He made film after film that was accepted by neither critics nor audiences. However, with Match Point, the director’s foray into drama, he had an Academy Award nominated piece of cinema that was embraced by audiences. He didn’t waste any time with his newfound success as his newest work, Scoop, is now in theatres and features the female lead

Richard Linklater is known for some pretty different films. He is the mastermind behind such features as Slacker and Before Sunset. With A Scanner Darkly, he reaches new heights in the unusual, though. The movie, which is animated using a technique called rotoscoping and involves animating over the live-actors, is unlike anything you have ever seen and for that reason alone it is worth

The Ant Bully will likely get a bad reputation due to its similarities to Antz and A Bug’s Life. However, comparing those three motion pictures is like comparing The Jungle Book to Bambi. The fact that animals comprise the cast of characters is not the be all and end all. The same can be said for the flicks with insects for main characters. Once you get past the ridiculous preconceptions

One of my favorite motion pictures of all time is the modern Christmas classic The Polar Express. Part of that film’s appeal is its special brand of animation called performance-capture. The process that is performance-capture animation involves filming real actors to represent the movements of the animated characters to acquire a more authentic look. Monster House, the latest animated feat