SONNY BUNCH

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘The Last House on the Left’

It's one of the lower things that a critic can do, to spoil the ending of a movie he doesn't like in order to dissuade his readers from seeing it. But what happens when the movie spoils itself in the trailer? Published March 13, 2009

TV casts diversify as black shows dwindle

At the same time many in Hollywood are celebrating the election of President Obama and the racial healing it signals, some in the entertainment industry have turned a critical eye on themselves, noting the disappearance of several minority-oriented television programs from the airwaves. Published March 6, 2009

MOVIES: ‘Watchmen’ leap into action

Considering that we're in a golden age of comic-book movies, a time when titles such as "Spider-Man 2," "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight" wow audiences and critics alike, it's no wonder that "the most acclaimed graphic novel of all time" - if "Watchmen's" advertising campaign is to be believed - is hitting the big screen. Published March 5, 2009

EDGE: JFK’s assassination, through filmmakers’ lens

James Piereson's 2007 book "Camelot and the Cultural Revolution" featured an intriguing look at the liberal slide from progressive patriotism into anti-imperialist self-loathing during the 1960s and beyond in the wake of John F. Kennedy's assassination. It's a text to keep in mind as you watch the new D.C.-based romantic thriller "An American Affair." Published February 27, 2009

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ nabs 8 Oscars

UPDATED: "Slumdog" is "top dog" at the Oscars as the cast and crew brought home the best picture, best directing and six other awards at the 81st annual Academy Awards. Published February 23, 2009

MOVIES: ‘Fanboys’

Imagine a film centered around a quartet of astrophysicists making a trans-Atlantic journey to break into the Large Hadron Collider and conduct an experiment. During their wacky trip to the Franco-Swiss border, they crack wise about muons, quarks and the vagaries of string theory. Published February 20, 2009

EDGE: Outsider, insider vie for Oscar gold

Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke are locked in battle in the best-actor category. Will Hollywood rally around an industry favorite or put aside its biases to celebrate a longtime outsider prone to gaffes? Published February 20, 2009

2009 Oscar Picks: Sonny Bunch’s head/heart choices

"Slumdog Millionaire" is the only transcendent film in a field of "Forrest Gump" knockoffs like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," cliched biopics like "Milk" and glorified TV movies like "Frost/Nixon." Published February 20, 2009

MOVIES: ‘Friday the 13th’

This week's "Friday the 13th" is the latest update of a classic horror franchise from action master Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes imprint. The trend started in 2003, when Marcus Nispel directed an update of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" to mixed reception. Published February 13, 2009

MOVIE REVIEW: The Pink Panther 2

"The Pink Panther 2" is intended as an inoffensive family comedy, and in that it (kind of) succeeds. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that anyone over the age of about 10 will find much to cheer in this film. Published February 6, 2009

MOVIE REVIEW: Coraline

With "Coraline," Henry Selick and his team of stop-motion animators have created a real wonder, one that will entertain children for years to come. Published February 6, 2009

BOOKS: Blacklisting Myself

In the pantheon of Great Screenwriter Memoirs, there is only one name — William Goldman. Published February 1, 2009

MOVIES: ‘Wendy and Lucy’

Wendy is a homeless woman trekking to Alaska in search of a job. Lucy is her dog. Director Kelly Reichardt spends the 75 minutes of "Wendy and Lucy" narrative weaving an intimate, narrowly focused story of unanchored life on the road and just how tenuous such an existence is. Published January 30, 2009

MOVIES: ‘Taken’

"Taken" is the grown-up, more mature brother of the "The Transporter" series. Both were fathered by Luc Besson, but "Taken" is a fast-paced, high-octane action movie that, unlike its younger sibling, has the decency to take itself seriously. Published January 30, 2009

‘Che’ spurs debate, Del Toro walkout

UPDATED: A controversial new biopic about Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is awakening old passions and provoking vigorous defenses and denunciations of the iconic revolutionary and - in the case of an interview with The Washington Times - a dramatic walkout. Published January 27, 2009