Review: 'Justin Bieber's Believe' is one for the zealots
If Justin Bieber is retiring, as he tweeted rather dubiously on Christmas Eve, does that make "Justin Bieber's Believe" his version of...
Is 'Saving Mr. Banks' too hard on 'Mary Poppins' creator?
In the winter of 1933, in a thatched cottage in Sussex, England, a complicated woman named Pamela "P.L." Travers began to write "Mary...
Review: 'Wolf of Wall Street' ★★
In the waning years of the last century at Stratton Oakmont, the Wall Street brokerage house run like a coked-up 24-hour bacchanal by Jordan...
Review: 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' ★★
So. Turns out the only thing the prototypical American milquetoast Walter Mitty needed to get happy was a little stubble and a lavish travel...
In 'Justin Bieber's Believe,' Jon Chu aims to look beyond stardom
Justin Bieber wasn't sure he liked what he saw.
Review: '47 Ronin' doesn't quite cut it as a samurai fantasy
There's the kind of movie that comes riding into theaters on such a prolonged wave of bad buzz — changed release dates, backstage...
Review: 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'
Katniss Everdeen, it turns out, is not the only person catching fire this fall. She's matched flame for flame by Nelson Mandela and his...
Review: 'Grudge Match'
"Grudge Match" is a sort of "Punchy Old Men," a slow-footed high-concept comedy that pairs up the screen's greatest pugilists, circa 1981,...
Meagan Good, the new member of the 'Anchorman' team
The first time Meagan Good met Will Ferrell, she threw her shoes at him.
Diversity efforts slow to change the face of Oscar voters
The next Academy Awards promise to be one of the most inclusive ever for people of color.
'The Hobbit 2' bests 'Anchorman 2' at the box office
The highly anticipated, hotly promoted "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" fell significantly short of its box-office expectations,...
'12 Years' stars, other actors talk up costumes, characters and more
Do the clothes really help find the character? Is it a good idea to watch your own acting? And are movies sacrificing entertainment to be...
Bullock, Streep, Dench: Golden time for actresses of a certain age
June Squibb, 84; Judi Dench, 79; Meryl Streep, 64; Oprah Winfrey, 59; Emma Thompson, 54; Sandra Bullock, 49; Julia Roberts, 46; Cate...
The Ron Burgundy marketing blitz
Anderson Cooper salutes him as a "news legend." Wolf Blitzer calls the journalist "one of the most influential anchors in broadcast history....
'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,' and the public one of Ben Stiller
NEW YORK — Over the last 15 years, much of Ben Stiller's work — "Zoolander," "Meet the Parents," "There's Something About Mary,"...
'Anchorman 2' makes $13.2 million in its first two days
In case anyone hasn't heard, "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" has hit theaters. The heavily promoted sequel generated an estimated $5.1...
'The Hunt,' 'Grandmaster,' 'Great Beauty' make Oscar foreign shortlist
The Motion Picture Academy on Friday released the shortlist of nine foreign-language films that will pass to the next round of the race, and...
In Jonze's hands, future in 'Her' feels a lot like now
Opening on Christmas day, along with "Grudge Match" and a few other films with which it has nothing in common, writer-director Spike Jonze's...
Review: 'Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues' ★★ 1/2
Maybe if I liked the first "Anchorman" a little less, I'd like "Anchorman 2" a little more. Still, I laughed. Louder and crasser than the...
Review: 'Her' ★★★★
A delicate, droll masterwork, writer-director Spike Jonze's "Her" sticks its neck out, all the way out, asserting that what the world...
Steve Carell empties out his head to return to his 'Anchorman' days
ORLANDO, Fla. Steve Carell is determined to lower expectations for "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues."
O'Toole and Fontaine made magic with their faces and voices
It has been a terrible week, because of the loss of two wonderful voices and faces.
'Cicero March' added to National Film Registry
Members of the Chicago Film Archives are celebrating the selection of a 1966 documentary about a notorious Chicago-area civil rights march...
George Hurrell put glamour into the Hollywood portrait
Stars had faces in the golden age of Hollywood. And for many years, photographer George Hurrell, the father of the Hollywood glamour...
Foreign films to broaden your holiday horizons
For millions of Americans, it just wouldn't be Christmas without George Bailey regaining his faith, young Susan Walker believing in Santa...
'Fruitvale' to 'Llewyn Davis': Small parts, huge performances
In a season of outstanding performances wrapped up in awards possibilities, the little gems can too easily be overlooked. So once again,...
National Film Registry adds 'Mary Poppins,' 'Pulp Fiction,' 'Roger & Me'
A beloved musical about a magical nanny, an epic about the first astronauts, a silent film with a Native American cast and a sci-fi thriller...
Bill Kurtis: An anchorman's journey to 'Anchorman'
There was a time, a time long before the "Anchorman" franchise, when the local Chicago anchorman/journalist/producer/voice-over actor/gala...
Review: 'Faust' ★★★
In exchange for making films as good as "The Sun," about Emperor Hirohito, and "Alexandra," about a long-simmering war's effects on a...
Review: 'Walking with Dinosaurs' ★★ 1/2
The BBC series "Walking With Dinosaurs" gets a kid-friendly big-screen treatment, complete with cutesy story and dino-poop jokes, in...
Review: 'American Hustle' ★★★★
My favorite minute of movie this year comes early in David O. Russell's "American Hustle." Christian Bale's character, the con man Irving...
Review: 'Inside Llewyn Davis' ★★★ 1/2
"Inside Llewyn Davis" takes place in winter 1961, just before Bob Dylan makes the scene. The scene is the Greenwich Village folk music...
Santa Barbara Film Festival to honor Robert Redford
The 29th Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced Tuesday that Robert Redford will...
Weinstein brothers return to their roots, reunite with Miramax
Harvey and Bob Weinstein are getting the reunion they've long sought — and moviegoers could end up getting sequels to such older...
Thinking real big
Charting a course through Middle-earth can be nearly as taxing as surviving an international media tour for an end-of-year blockbuster....
Review: 'Hours' clocks in as a modest memorial to Paul Walker
"Hours," one of Paul Walker's last films and arriving in theaters just two weeks after his death in a fiery crash, comes as a modest...
Movies in the now, which changes from moment to moment
With her candidly quotable, cutely gif-able kookiness, on screen and off, there may be no actress who seems more of right now than...
Awards campaign for James Franco is suitably Alien
The line between the real and the surreal is a thin one for James Franco. The actor's persona has become such a carefully cultivated hall of...
'Hobbit' sequel 'Smaug' takes off with $8.8 million Thursday night
It looks like the air was thick with "Smaug" on Thursday night as the second part of director Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" trilogy rolled into...
Tyler Perry gives America a lump of coal this Christmas ★
Tyler Perry made his fortune by pandering to a predominantly African-American audience. So a tip of the Santa hat for him trying to...
Readers critique Tribune movie critic Michael Phillips
Today we hear from you, the unassailable and cherished readers. Hello, by the way. Hope you're well.
St. Augustine cancels Essanay restoration project
An ambitious plan to transform part of the historic Essanay Studios complex in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood into a museum celebrating the...
'12 Years a Slave' and 'American Hustle' lead Golden Globes nominations
Slavery drama "12 Years a Slave" and 1970s con-artist caper "American Hustle" led the Golden Globe Awards nominations announced on...
Review: 'Saving Mr. Banks' ★★★
No feathers, animated or otherwise, will be ruffled by "Saving Mr. Banks," director John Lee Hancock's genial fictionalized account of how...
Review: 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' ★★★
One year and several hundred films later, I confess my mind isn't over-full of vivid memories of director Peter Jackson's first "Hobbit." It...
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