All articles by Joe Lozito

John Cusack teams up again with Director Stephen Frears in the story of a record store owner and his relationship troubles which hits the nail on the head more often than not.

It turns out “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” minus the emotion, multiplied by “Rashomon” adds up to a visually stunning martial arts epic in the wuxia tradition. Of course, caring about the characters would be nice and Jet Li still can’t act, but the eye candy is undeniable.

Director Guillermo del Toro has a little trouble stringing together a plot from Mike Mignola’s cult comics, but the movie keeps its tongue firmly in its cheek and Ron Perlman is almost frighteningly perfect as the title.

Gene Hackman steals the show – and a lot more – in David Mamet’s slick caper thriller which delivers the expected goods but feels oddly routine.

"The Haunting," Jan De Bont’s new special effects showcase, answers the burning question, ‘can Hollywood still make a scary movie?’

The third Harry Potter film is given a stunning overhaul by new-to-the-franchise director Alfonso Cuarón. It’s a shame the filmmakers didn’t throw a new writer into mix as well. Series vet Steven Kloves’ script emphasizes the sub-Hardy Boys obviousness of the plot, forsaking much of the magic.

Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts and a fresh new mystery that would make the Scooby gang proud. Though some trimming should have been in order, the stellar cast, led by Daniel Radcliffe, is almost able to hold your attention for the overly long running time.

"Home Alone" director and Spielberg protégé Chris Columbus’s reverent but weightless adaptation of the much-beloved, mega-selling children’s book about the boy wizard of the title is literate but less than magical.

Scattershot gross-out comedy turns out to be funnier than you’d expect thanks to its charismatic leads (John Cho and Kal Penn, respectively) and a script that wisely never dwells too long on a gag.

From the opening scene of ‘Happiness,’ Todd Solondz’s new pitch-perfect black comedy, it is clear that none of the characters is going to achieve the title emotion.