Westhoff Reviews

With “After Earth,” Will Smith proves not only that someone in Hollywood is still willing to work with M. Night Shyamalan, but that someone might still have a reason to work with him.

When it comes to the “Fast & Furious” series, the Borg had it right: “Resistance is futile.”

For Michael Bay, scaling back to make the dark crime comedy “Pain & Gain” was a smart move.

Although it has been shortened and transposed over time, a quote attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson goes, “To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.”

Writer-director Brian Helgeland approaches every scene of “42,” the story of baseball barrier breaker Jackie Robinson, as if it were a history lesson.

Comedy legends Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner get together almost every night to watch a movie, and Reiner says they love movies that contain the line “Secure the perimeter!”

Although “Admission” is being sold – and sold hard – as a romantic comedy, the story is as much a drama as a comedy, and it turns serious toward the end.

“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” is a comedy about magicians without much magic to it.

Disney has made major waves in the last few years buying up family friendly media properties, such as the Muppets, Marvel Comics and “Star Wars.” But the practice is not new.

When the Academy Awards executives chose to extend the number of best picture nominations beyond five without doing the same with the best director, they created a situation.

Several subjects are more ill-suited to comedy than identity theft: undergoing a root canal procedure, watching your house burn down, learning a beloved pet has died.

The zombie craze has become like the creature itself: It just keeps lumbering ahead, unstoppable and unkillable.

"Zero Dark Thirty” and “Argo” will compete against each other as best picture nominees at next month’s Oscars.

As a work of literature, “The Hobbit” is not “The Lord of the Rings,” but Peter Jackson does his best to erase the distinctions.

“Killing Them Softly” is another one of those films that makes you wish Quentin Tarantino had taken up hotel and restaurant management.

Let’s get it out of the way: If you’re going to see “Life of Pi,” you must see it in 3-D.

Released on the 50th anniversary of the James Bond films, “Skyfall” is simultaneously one of the series’ most rousing entries and one of its most vexing.

“Wreck-It Ralph” is the giddiest cartoon comedy in years. The more you know about video game history, the more you’ll laugh.

“Cloud Atlas” is a weird and wild storytelling odyssey that follows a single soul through the centuries.

When filmmakers go from Morgan Freeman to Tyler Perry as their leading man, they are definitely trading down.