In spite of it not being PC in some crowds, kids like to play war. They always have.

The story of Red Riding Hood is 700 years old. A number of versions emerged from inception to now.

Martian society is matriarchal.

Ugetsu is an unusual film, but thanks to the Battelle Film Club, we get the chance to view it.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen director Michael Bay says his 2009 sequel was crap.

A twist of fate strands a chameleon in the desert.

This question has been debated since the first humans appeared.

Beastly is a paint-by-numbers teen-targeted love story loosely based on The Beauty and the Beast.

Here is one positive — the Oscars telecast ran just 10 minutes over its three-hour limit.

Two thoughts about Sunday’s Academy Awards show.

Hall Pass is the first flick from the Farrelly brothers in three years.

RICHLAND — Introducing a film for the Battelle Film Club is one of my favorite things to do.

This is the last week, and this weekend is the last weekend of the 34th Annual Portland International Film Festival.

From the trailers and the TV ads, here’s what you likely already know about Unknown.

I Am Number Four is pure formula.

These are reviews of what is happening this week and next weekend, which will give you time to plan to travel to Portland and purchase tickets if you are interested in attending.

A gnome on a stage does a monologue that sets the stage for Gnomeo and Juliet.

The expansion of the Roman Empire ended at Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland.

Tilda Swinton is Emma Recchi, a middle-aged Russian woman in a loveless marriage.

I will be posting reviews of films being show at the Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) for the next couple of weeks.

Blue Valentine details the break-up of a marriage.

Mention mastery of animation and up pops names like Walt Disney, or Andrew Stanton and his cohorts at Pixar, the great Hayao Miyazaki and even Dreamworks’ Andrew Adamson.

You are never going to get me into a cave. And not just because I’m claustrophobic.

Three Oscar nominations pushed the studio to finally go wide release with 127 Hours.

It took a surprising amount of time and a request from a Tri-City Herald reader to get this November 2010 release to a Tri-Cities screen.

The Mechanic is a perfect title. All the moving parts are predictable.

Here are the basics. A young American enters the priesthood but has no faith.

RICHLAND — Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were great in small doses.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the Oscar nominations for 2010. As always, the Academy takes few chances and the picks are very mainstream.

Movie making is complicated. That's one reason very few movies get a one or a zero on my rating scale.

No Strings Attached stars Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher.

If you don’t read the title right, The King’s Speech is misleading.

Team the acting and writing talent of Seth Rogen and the writing talent of Evan Goldberg with the artsy-fartsy directing skills of Michel Gondry and you could be doing Gone with the Wind and it would turn out to be quirky comedy.

What would you do if you caught your best friend’s spouse or girlfriend or boyfriend cheating?

In January 1992, I produced my first column for the Tri-City Herald. Reviewing film is my favorite thing to do, it’s a hobby, it’s a job and it’s a life love.

January begins my 20th year as the Tri-City Herald’s movie critic.

The Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove gets a second Tri-Cities run with a one-night showing at the Battelle Film Club's bi-weekly meet-up at the Battelle Auditorium.

The character of criticism changed in 2010.

True Grit is one of the few Hollywood redoes that actually adds improvements to the original.

Director Darren Aronofsky leads you into deep, dark territory as his leading lady does a macabre and deadly dance with madness.

I wasn’t able to catch a critic’s screening of The Fighter but did manage to finally catch it.

Not learning a thing from the Wachowski brothers The Matrix sequel disasters, Disney decided to push a TRON reprise through the holiday movie portal and with options to view it in three dimensions or two.

Created by Hanna-Barbera in the late 1950s, Yogi and the stable of his cookie-cutter co-stars Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Magilla Gorilla and others were the beginning of the ruin of TV cartoons.

Period pieces aren’t my thing.

The 68th annual Golden Globe Award nominations were announced on Tuesday.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader sets sail to the usual fantasy fare: valiant heroes, animals that talk and fight, monsters, magic and adventure in a far away land.

The topic of best lists came to my attention a couple of weeks ago.

Since the advent of television, families have gathered around the boob tube during the holidays to catch classic Christmas movies.

Make Way for Tomorrow is the most beautiful love story you’ve seen this side of Disney’s Lady and the Tramp.

This year’s Oscar telecast hosts have been announced. Anne Hathaway and James Franco.