Michael Kahn Movies

Director Steven Spielberg kicks off the big-screen Tintin trilogy with this computer-animated, motion-capture adaptation of Herge's beloved Tintin comic strip. Produced by Spielberg, Peter Jackson, and Kathleen Kennedy, the first installment in the series finds adventure-seeking Belgian reporter Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) and surly Captain Haddock (voiced by Andy Serkis) racing to recover a treasure that was lost at sea four centuries ago. Meanwhile, the malevolent Red Rackham (voiced by Daniel Craig) is determined to beat them to it. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Toby Jones provide additional voices for a film written by Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, and Steven Moffat. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flamboyant seafarer Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) lands himself in a bit of a bind after being lured onto Blackbeard's (Ian McShane) ship by enigmatic siren Angelica (Penélope Cruz), and forced to seek out the Fountain of Youth. Trapped on the Queen Anne's Revenge with the most nefarious pirate in history, Captain Jack reflects on his past with the elusive Angelica while embarking on his wildest adventure to date. With shambling zombies on deck and gorgeous mermaids beckoning sailors into the icy waters below, this time Jack Sparrow has his work cut out for him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Mark S. Waters's adaptation of the popular fantasy novels The Spiderwick Chronicles tells the tale of the Graces, a family who must adapt to their new strange surroundings. As the story begins, twin brothers Jared and Simon, along with their sister Mallory and their mother, move away from the big city to a mansion owned by their uncle. When a series of strange happenings suggest that Jared may be causing a number of disturbances, the siblings band together to figure out what is going on. Soon they discover the magical history of the property. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

An aging Hollywood icon whose fear of failure has caused his once-luminous star to smoulder strikes up an unlikely friendship with an acid-tongued checkout clerk while researching his latest role in City of Angels and Moonlight Mile director Brad Silberling's intimate drama. Crippled by his own all-consuming fears, the man who was once Hollywood's hottest icon (Morgan Freeman) is forced to consider a role in a low-budget independent after a series of more lucrative prospects wither away on the vine. When his driver abandons him during a trip to Carson to research his upcoming role, the onetime showbiz supernova strikes up a lively conversation with Scarlet (Paz Vega), an outspoken check-out girl at a Latino community market. Now, stuck on his own, far from Brentwood, the actor must rely upon the kindness of a common stranger to help him get back on his feet. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An ordinary man has to protect his children against alien invaders in this science fiction thriller, freely adapted from the classic story by H.G. Wells. Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a dockworker living in New Jersey, divorced from his first wife Mary Ann (Miranda Otto) and estranged from his two children Rachel and Robbie (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin), of whom he has custody on weekends. On one such visitation, looking after the kids becomes a little more difficult when, after a series of strange lighting storms hit his neighborhood, Ray discovers that a fleet of death-ray robotic spaceships have emerged nearby, part of the first wave of an all-out alien invasion of the Earth. Transporting his children from New York to Boston in an attempt to find safety at Mary Ann's parents' house, Ray must learn to become the protector and provider he never was in marriage. Also starring Tim Robbins, War of the Worlds was directed by Steven Spielberg, who had been planning the project for years, but set it aside until a wave of "alien invasion" films (led by Independence Day) had run its course. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Editing teaches the viewer how editors compile strips of film in order to create memorable moviegoing experiences. In addition to interviews with a variety of respected and award-winning editors, the movie offers clips form some of the most memorable films in the history of the artform. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Director P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding, My Best Friend's Wedding) helms this live-action retelling of J.M. Barrie's classic children's play Peter Pan. Starring Jeremy Sumpter (Frailty) in the title role, the film follows the adventures of the Darling children, Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), John (Harry Newell), and Michael (Freddie Popplewell), as they are visited by the boy who never grows up and whisked away to Neverland, where they encounter The Lost Boys, Tinker Bell (Ludivine Sagnier), and the evil Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs). ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Based on a short story by the late Philip K. Dick, this science fiction-thriller reflects the writer's familiar preoccupation with themes of concealed identity and mind control. Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, a Washington, D.C. detective in the year 2054. Anderton works for "Precrime," a special unit of the police department that arrests murderers before they have committed the actual crime. Precrime bases its work on the visions of three psychics or "precogs" whose prophecies of future events are never in error. When Anderton discovers that he has been identified as the future killer of a man he's never met, he is forced to become a fugitive from his own colleagues as he tries to uncover the mystery of the victim-to-be's identity. When he kidnaps Agatha (Samantha Morton), one of the precogs, he begins to formulate a theory about a possible frame-up from within his own department. Directed by Steven Spielberg, who hired a team of futurists to devise the film's numerous technologically advanced gadgets, Minority Report co-stars Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, and Neal McDonough. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Based on the 1969 short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long, by Brian Aldiss, this science fiction fantasy bears similarities to Pinocchio (1940) and originated as a long-gestating project of director Stanley Kubrick that passed to his friend Steven Spielberg after Kubrick's death. Haley Joel Osment stars as David, a "mecha" or robot of the future, when the polar ice caps have melted and submerged many coastal cities, causing worldwide starvation and human dependence upon robotic assistance. The first mecha designed to experience love, David is the "son" of Henry (Sam Robards), an employee of the company that built the boy, and the grief-stricken Monica (Frances O'Connor). David is meant to replace the couple's hopelessly comatose son, but when their natural child recovers, David is abandoned and sets out to become "a real boy" worthy of his mother's affection. Along the way, David is mentored by a pleasure-providing mecha named Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) and a talking "super toy" bear named Teddy. His adventures take him to the Roman Circus-style "Flesh Fair," where mechas are destroyed for the amusement of humans; Rouge City, where Gigolo Joe narrowly avoids capture by police; and finally a submerged New York City, where David's creator, Professor Hobby (William Hurt) reveals the secrets of the boy's creation. Brendan Gleeson and narrator Ben Kingsley co-star in A.I., which was adapted from Kubrick's treatment by Spielberg, in his first crack at screenwriting since Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In the 1860's, industrialist Hugh Crain financed the construction of Hill House, a beautiful but forbidding mansion where Crain hoped to house a wife and children. However, Crain died an unexplained death at Hill House, and ever since tales have circulated that the mansion is haunted by evil spirits. 130 years later, Dr. David Marrow (Liam Neeson), long fascinated by the Hill House legend, brings three people there for what he tells them will be a study in sleep disorders. Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is outwardly brave, but it soon becomes evident that Hill House's sinister reputation has her on edge. Luke (Owen Wilson) quickly finds himself wondering: if this is really about studying sleep, why bring everyone to a haunted house? And Nell (Lili Taylor) finds herself inexplicably drawn to the mansion, with a fascination that soon bears terrifying fruit as the true story of Hill House is revealed. The Haunting was directed by Jan de Bont; the screenplay was written by David Self and based on Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting Of Hill House, which was also the basis for Robert Wise's 1963 film The Haunting, widely regarded as one of the screen's finest ghost stories. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This Steven Spielberg-directed exploration into a long-ago episode in African-American history recounts the trial that followed the 1839 rebellion aboard the Spanish slave ship Amistad and captures the complex political maneuverings set in motion by the event. Filmed in New England and Puerto Rico, the 152-minute drama opens with a pre-credit sequence showing Cinque (Djimon Hounsou) and the other Africans in a violent takeover of the Amistad. Captured, they are imprisoned in New England where former slave Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman), viewing the rebels as "freedom fighters," approaches property lawyer Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey), who attempts to prove the Africans were "stolen goods" because they were kidnapped. Running for re-election, President Martin Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne) overturns the lower court's decision in favor of the Africans. Former President John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) is reluctant to become involved, but when the case moves on to the Supreme Court, Adams stirs emotions with a powerful defense. The storyline occasionally cuts away to Spain where the young Queen Isabella (Anna Paquin) plays with dolls; she later debated the Amistad case with seven U.S. presidents. The character portrayed by Morgan Freeman is a fictional composite of several historical figures. For authentic speech, the Africans speak the Mende language, subtitled during some scenes but not others. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt and Carey Elwes may be billed as the stars of Twister, but the film's real attractions are the cyclones themselves. Best experienced in a theater, the nail-biting, blow-the-audience-out-of-their-seats computer generated graphics, cutting edge sound and other special effects are designed to take viewers straight into the roaring funnel of a gigantic tornado. In order to focus on special effects and action, the story is simple and the characters are drawn in broad strokes with little depth. Jo Harding (Hunt) became a storm chaser (a meteorologist who photographs and scientifically studies tornadoes in the field) after a large twister sucked her hapless daddy into oblivion when she was a girl. Bill (Paxton) was a storm chaser too, but left to become a successful weatherman. His change of profession ruined his marriage to Jo. Before separating, the Hardings invented DOROTHY, a gizmo designed to release thousands of tiny sensors when a tornado passes over it. The Hardings hope the information transmitted by the sensors will provide insight into the nature of the whirling windstorms. Backed by a large corporation, the villainous Dr. Jonas Miller (Elwes) has created a similar machine. Neither gadget has been field tested and both groups of storm chasers are anxious to find tornadoes. At the peak of the worst twister season in decades, Bill shows up at Jo's truck with his prissy fiancee Melissa (Jami Gertz) so Jo can sign divorce papers. Suddenly a twister is spotted. With little hesitation, Bill rejoins the mad rush to reach it in time to activate DOROTHY. Jonas and his team are right behind them. Throughout the day the storms become worse and the rivalrous race becomes more intense. As they continue facing incredible dangers together Jo and Bill find renewed love while poor Melissa finds only an intense desire to get away from these storm-obsessed lunatics. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi