http://bhamweekly.com/birmingham/articles.sec-4-1-film.html Thanksgiving is the number one day for movie going. And this holiday season there is a chance to take a little road trip to see the number one movie of all time worldwide.]]> With hopes held high for a George Clooney directed drama about the devious nature of the politics, audiences have to settle for a script that falls short with an anticlimactic feel and a transparent conclusion.]]> Who doesn’t like a good film? Ok, who doesn’t like a weekend of good films?]]> Birmingham SHOUT Gay + Lesbian Film Festival, the only such festival in Alabama, returns to the Magic City Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 27 & 28, at various downtown locations.]]> After Tim Burton’s unfortunate Planet of the Apes remake from 2001, I doubt that anyone was particularly hankering for another movie in the franchise, let alone a prequel, but Rise of the Planet of the Apes proves to be a smart, character-driven science fiction story that has both exciting action and an engaging emotional core.]]> People going to see a movie called Cowboys & Aliens may be expecting something comedic, or maybe just plain silly. Perhaps in response to this, the filmmakers have played the premise straight, but in making sure the movie wasn’t too jokey, they managed to remove all the fun as well. ]]> We’ve certainly seen plenty of superhero movies this summer, but the new film Captain America is a very enjoyable, unabashedly old-fashioned action-adventure story that is full of two-fisted fun and isn’t afraid to be earnest, even a little corny. It’s an interesting departure for Marvel Studios, in both tone and manner of storytelling, and it’s one of the best films they have made. ]]> After more than a decade, seven books and eight films, J.K. Rowling’s beloved saga comes to a close with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which provides an exciting, emotional and satisfying conclusion to the series while also showcasing exactly how dark and somber the story has become since its wide-eyed beginnings.]]> Who among us hasn’t had a horrible boss, and thought idly from time to time how life might be easier without him or her in it? The new dark comedy Horrible Bosses knows this and gets a lot of mileage from its universally understandable premise.]]> All I really hoped for from Transformers: Dark of the Moon was that it would be better than the previous film in the series, Revenge of the Fallen, and thankfully it is.]]> As further proof of my theory that Larry the Cable Guy can ruin anything, here is Cars 2, which ends Pixar’s streak of smart, emotionally engrossing, often sublime kids’ movies by being merely a pleasant entertainment.]]> It’s always tough finding the money to film your movie, even the 20,000 bucks you need to make that micro-budget feature. A lot of filmmakers work crappy jobs, sell their bodies for medical experiments or beg their friends and family members for money.]]> Prequels are almost always a bad idea. Telling astory that has a pre-determined place where it mustwind up seems to be a surefire way to stifle creativity.The awful, artistically bankrupt Wolverinepre]]> It makes sense that the plot in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides concerns the Fountain of Youth, because this film, the fourth in the series, tries and fails to keep a flagging franchise vital. ]]> One of the great joys of the movie may be watching Paul Giamatti frown, and the warm new comedy Win Win gives us plenty of opportunities to see it. The movie gives us some wonderful, interesting characters, and shows us how generally decent people can make mistakes when the pressure is on.]]> The new superhero movie Thor, the latest in the long line of Marvel Comics movies leading to next year’s epic team-up The Avengers, is an exciting, funny and epic adventure that gives an appealing introduction to the character despite not necessarily having found the most cohesive or urgent story within which to do it.]]> One of the great joys of the movie may be watching Paul Giamatti frown, and the warm new comedy Win Win gives us plenty of opportunities to see it. The movie gives us some wonderful, interesting chara]]> Anyone wondering whether there was a burning creative urge that led the filmmakers of Scream 4 to take up the franchise again after 10 years can rest assured: There wasn’t.]]>