Time for a French lesson in smart storytelling

Claude Lelouch film keeps us guessing about a man's identity and where it all leads

You know you're in a French film when someone blurts, “Your anti-smoking terrorism ------ me off!”

It's much ado about sloughing

The Hunter Thompson story is well-done, but why give 2 hoots about this 3-hit wonder?

On Oct. 23, 1974, Hunter Thompson came to Duke University to give a speech about – well, no one knew, as he informed the Major Speakers Bureau on the day of the event that he would instead reply to questions submitted on 3x5 index cards.

Streep and co-stars make Swede music

'Mamma Mia!' comes a-strutting with utterly irresistible Abba-tude

Before Meryl Streep ever appeared in a movie, she gave one of the finest performances I've seen in more than four decades of playgoing.

Now even cups show us movies!

Item from Film Journal magazine:

'Dark Knight' shines light on
grim America

Superb sequel has more on its mind than thrills

Only two English-language filmmakers have spent the last decade making great movies without exception, and they're doing battle at our multiplexes right now.

• 'Dark Knight' trailer and movie showtimes
• Video | Toppman's take on 'Dark Knight'
• Interactive | Interviews, trailers and more

$5 movie offer  is common sense 

Someone in authority is finally helping to relieve the strain of this bad economy, and not in a way that's going to raise taxes later, foul the environment or create debt.

'Side Show' shows surprisingly grand side

This endearing musical amplifies the lives of real conjoined twins, British girls, who settled in Charlotte.

There's a sadly beautiful scene in the film “Freaks” when the sideshow attractions get away from gawking crowds for a picnic.

A new old face takes over the theater beat

Yes, it's me – the same guy you saw a few pages back in the movie section. Former theater critic Julie York Coppens left to take a job in Ohio, and I'll be theater critic for the fifth time at The Observer.

No front-runners yet in Oscar race

What if they held the Oscars next winter and nobody came? As things stand now, that wouldn't be a bad idea. For the first time in 21 years on the movie beat, I can't think of a single release in the first six months worth a best picture nomination.

‘Wanted' is one bloody ride

Foreign directors often run into language difficulties as they make their first films in English, but not Soviet-born Timur Bekmambetov.

When Charlotte played its ‘Ace'

Before Dino De Laurentiis jump-started the N.C. movie business with a studio in Wilmington,

Pixar's talking trash in 'WALL-E'

Stinging warning against human greed accompanies touching tale of robotic love

Pixar has never had much use for human beings. They torture toys, imprison fish, frighten soft-hearted monsters, step on insects or fry them with magnifying glasses.

• Trailers, ratings & more movie info
• What's playing at your local theater?

• Video | Toppman on 'WALL-E' and 'Wanted'

History and visuals are worth another look in ‘Mongol'

A tale of a ruling khan and grisly warfare proves eye-opening.

Bad timing for a good film festival

A full film fall has overflowed: Floyd Rance and Stephanie Tavares-Rance, who are behind the Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival, will drop a local version of it into the busiest time of Charlotte's movie year.

Documentary touches on how women think

When you watch the documentary, “What's Your Point, Honey?” you'll notice that the young girls in it talk with question marks?

'The List' gets a big DVD deal

Filmmakers from the Charlotte region should take note of a milestone Tuesday: the DVD release of “The List.”

‘Foot Fist' unlikely to find a way here

Concord's Jody Hill shot the martial arts comedy “The Foot Fist Way” in the summer of 2005 and made a mild splash at Sundance five months later.

A showcase for soulful films

The world of film is vaster than you imagine, and you'll glimpse part of that world at the second annual Create Carolina festival at Winthrop University.

2 valuable local film groups could use your support

The Charlotte Film Society and Charlotte Film Festival, elements crucial to Charlotte's alternative film scene, both enter important weeks as of today.