Srtaff Reports

Hard to believe, but the same guy who recorded a masterpiece like "Mystery Train" also gave us the maudlin "Old Shep." Remember that one? It's a tear-jerker about a boy...

Kesha 'Animal' *** Kesha comes on like a well-worn worst nightmare, her manicure chewed and her morals thoroughly compromised. The 22-year-old music industry brat -- her mom's a songwriter who...

'Nine' **1/2 Eight and a half reasons "Nine" is a mixed bag: One: It's underweight. Based on Fellini's exhilarating "8 1/2, "Nine" contains a fraction of the story material even...

'Crazy Heart' **** There's a powerful symmetry at work in "Crazy Heart." It's a parallel between protagonist Bad Blake, a country singer at a nadir of disintegration, and star Jeff...

'Mr. Hulot's Holiday' **** It is a film attuned to the rhythms of a seaside vacation, and because you are here in Chicago, in December, can you think of a...

'A Single Man' **** Some films aren't revelations, exactly, but they burrow so deeply into old truths about love and loss and the mess and thrill of life, they seem...

'Sherlock Holmes' *1/2 Guy Ritchie can make all the superslick, ultragreasy crime movies he wants ("RocknRolla" being the most recent and one of the greasiest), but now he has given...

'It's Complicated' *** "It's Complicated" isn't: It's pretty simple. It's simply a good time, a relatively adult and easygoing conveyance for three ace performers of a certain age, working through...

Eggnog is eggnog is eggnog, right? Not so. This traditional holiday drink takes on a pronounced regional accent wherever you go in the United States. Just ask Neal Glaeser, president...

The past 12 months have offered an enormous array of enjoyable, exhilarating or challenging television, and a quick glance at my runners-up list (at bit.ly/7MrYci) offers a small indication of...