You think they would’ve learned their lesson. For all of the book’s massive success, The Da Vinci Code movie managed to be both over-wrought and boring. So what made Ron Howard, Tom Hanks and co. think they could do any better with Dan Brown’s less beloved Angels & Demons?The problems are roughly the same: Hanks’ character, symbologist Robert Langdon, is a dud. He is defined by three things: Improbable bravery (for a symbologist), expert knowledge of religious iconography, and a skepticism about religion in general. He’s not really a character, he’s a cipher: But lead characters in movies need distinguishing personalities: Brown (and now Ron Howard) can’t even be bothered to give Langdon a nervous tic, a bad habit, hell, a fondness for show tunes.Also, books can be filled with an air of academic authority that allow us to buy even the more far-fetched aspects of the plot. But when a book is reduced to all plot, we tend to pick up on how silly it really is.Last time we saw Langdon, he was getting to the bottom of no...

I know what you’re thinking: Another Star Trek movie? Is this truly necessary after the cult TV show, the four spin-offs, the several (mostly bad) movies, and even the Trekkie subculture beginning to die-off? (The new generation of out and proud geeks now gravitate to the ComicCon festival—same crowd, different handshake.)
But guess what? The ol’ Enterprise still has lift-off, especially when in the hands of director J.J. Abrams (Lost), who brings an obvious reverence for the source material (read: he seems seriously geeked over the show), coupled with a TV guy’s understanding of character development, and a proven ability to steer a somewhat rusty franchise in the right direction (Mission Impossible III.)
This one is a prequel (they could’ve called it Star Trek: Origins, but X-Men got their first), so, obviously, casting was essential. Chris Pine oozes maverick cool as young Captain Kirk; Zachary Quinto is the logical but heartbreaking Spock, and all the other characters—from Simon Pegg’s...

Lately, it seems that every comic book movie down the pike can be subtitled: Or How Our Hero Got His Angst On. At this point, they should really rename the whole genre bummer books.
So, as X-Men Origins: Wolverine begins, we watch as the child version of our mutant hero kills the father he didn’t know he had (if that won’t get you a little angsty, I don’t know what will), and then goes on the lam with the glowering mutant brother he didn’t know he had. Running through the woods, they morph into their adults selves: Strapping, pumped up Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and snarly, feral Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth. We then watch scenes of the brothers fighting side by side in the Civil War, then WWII, Vietnam, and finally Iraq. Eventually, they are recruited by a smarmy government agent (Danny Huston), who wants to use them as the powerful weapons they are. Sabretooth loves all the sanctioned killing, but Wolverine doesn’t want to embrace the animal within and instead moves to peace-loving Canada, where he gets work as a lumberjack and shacks up with...

Feeling a little blue that the Ravens weren’t the sexiest story of draft weekend? No obscenely over-priced contracts, no glad-handing quarterbacks, no—okay, this one hurts a bit—stud wide receivers? Instead, we selected an offensive tackle. A very, very good offensive tackle, mind you, but an offensive tackle nonetheless. Well, guess what Ravens fans? We win! Because I ask you this: Is there a major motion picture coming out about Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez or Michael Crabtree? No there is not. But there is one about Michael Oher, our first round pick. It’s called The Blind Side and it even stars Sandra Bullock. Here’s what it says in the press release: “The Blind Side” depicts the remarkable true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher’s presence in the Touhys’ lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own." Bullock will play Mrs. Touhy. Tim McGraw will play Mr. Touhy. And newcomer Quinton...