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For his role as a widower in “The Boys Are Back,” Clive Owen was short-listed last year as a possible Oscar contender. As we saw last week, that didn’t happen, but it remains a good performance, so for a well-executed, underseen drama, rent it on DVD. Owen is Joe, an Australian sportswriter whose wife suddenly […]

Don’t tell film critic Richard Schickel “? or the majority of the voters of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, for that matter “? but I don’t think Clint Eastwood’s films as are as mint-worthy as everyone else seems to. Still, I respect the man as a risk-taking filmmaker “? and as “Dirty” […]

From the cover of “Phantom Racer,” you might think you were getting a “Ghost Rider” rip-off, only with a stock car vs. a motorcycle. Truth is, this flick recalls John Carpenter’s “Christine” crossed with Steven Spielberg’s “Duel,” more than anything. Nearly two decades ago, a racing accident claimed the life of Cutter McCullough (Adam Battrick), […]

Comedian Patton Oswalt turns in a terrific performance in “Big Fan,” and it’s not a comedic one. Although the film has its funny moments, it’s a drama “? one that aims to disturb, and succeeds. The directorial debut of “The Wrestler” screenwriter Robert Siegel, “Big Fan” casts Oswalt as Paul, a sad, dumpy, middle-aged man […]

As it did with “Dead Space,” Anchor Bay Entertainment has unleashed an animated feature film to tie in to a high-profile video game from EA “? in this case, “Dante’s Inferno.” Don’t take “animated” to mean “plop the kids in front of the TV,” because this one’s for the big boys and girls, refreshingly. “Dante’s […]

Although not much actually happens in it, “The House of the Devil” is one of the better horror films to come out of 2009. Barely released in theaters, writer/director Ti West’s ’70s-style shocker is sure to carve out its own little cult on DVD. Set in the early 1980s, when Walkmans were the size of […]