I freely admit the main reason I went to “The Flash” was with eager anticipation for the return of Michael Keaton as Batman. So be it, but as “The Flash” and its time- and universe-bending plot undertook its twists and turns, I found so much more to enjoy than Keaton being back in the bat-saddle as the Caped Crusader. For his performance, I (and, it must be said, the entire preview audience) was enraptured and cheering—but this is a Flash movie

“Deep Water” is Adrian Lyne’s return to filmmaking after twenty years. Now 82, his last film was 2002’s excellent “Unfaithful” starring Diane Lane and Richard Gere, a strong character-driven erotic drama.

Lyne’s best films (“Unfaithful,” “9 1/2 Weeks,” “Fatal Attraction” and his extremely undervalued 1997 version of “Lolita”) find an interesting balance of character

It would be ungracious to deny that David Fincher’s “Gone Girl,” lengthy as it is, whizzes past, keeping us highly entertained throughout. I haven’t read the book on which it is based so I don’t know if the structural change that has apparently caused an uproar is for the better or not. Anyway, both book and screenplay are by the same author so she’s entitled to doing what she wants with either.

Here’s a topic for sitting around the campfire: are the worst films by the best directors still better than 80% of what is released? Are say, "Bringing Out the Dead" or "The Hudsucker Proxy" still relative carrots for the eyes when compared to the "Transformer" movies? Terrence Malick’s "To the Wonder" is a lot more "The Prairie Home Companion" than "McCabe and Mrs. Miller." Following in the wake of his towering

Less than three years after “Tree of Life” and his Palme D'Or win at Cannes, Terrence Malick is back with “To the Wonder,” a film-as-poem whose secret only he knows, apparently. At some point during the time lapsed Malick’s creativity and inspiration went out the window. In fact, with this vaguely sensory, visual fog of a film, Malick, convinced of his own genius and assured of making a new masterpiece, has completely forgotten to tell a story.

I never get my prediction for Best Movie right. This year, I did. Sure, you will claim that “Argo” was a shoo-in, what with the trail of fire it’s been leaving behind it these past few months (unstoppable, that movie was, picking up multiple nods along the way), and you’re right. “Argo” is where the money’s at. Although shot in Turkey, the Ben Affleck-directed political thriller takes place in Tehran, Iran, right in the

Ben Affleck has made his comeback on the international stage with […]

Not ones to be outdone Iran’s government is funding a film about the American hostage crisis of 1979 in response to what they consider the “distorted” vision put forth in “Argo,” directed by Ben Affleck and which garnered major accolades at the Golden Globes this past weekend. "The screenplay for ‘Setad Moshtarak’ (‘Chiefs of Staff’ in Farsi) was approved by the authorities and we expect to get the shooting budget shortly," Iranian director Ata

"Argo" is a great thriller, well-acted (special kudos to John Goodman and Alan Arkin), with spectacular cinematography in an Istanbul passing off as Tehran and a nail-bitingly suspenseful last half-hour. Incredibly, the far-fetched story really happened. The year is 1979 with Iran’s Islamic Revolution in full swing. In November, when the terminally ill Shah who has left Iran months before is allowed into the United States for huma-

Ben Affleck’s gradual rise from the “Gigli” debacle to alpha-director-status is doubtlessly one of Hollywood’s best comebacks. And yet, the actor-director faces his toughest challenge yet with “Argo,” out in theaters today, a fresh take on a controversial international affairs incident. Six American diplomats stuck inside Tehran during the 1979-80 events there (hostage crisis, etc.) are rescued by a CIA extraction team under the pretense that