This is a film that challenges the audience to plug into the story and stick with it. But if you do, it pays off with a portrait of a manipulative, dark character, one who continually surprises the viewer with his choices.

"The Master," Paul Thomas Anderson's newest film, was partially inspired by Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. In "The Master," Philip Seymo...

As one of the character puts it, "This is a unique and dramatic situation." But to the audience, The Descendants is simply about saying good-bye.

I saw a lot of really good movies this year, and I see no reason not to celebrate as many of them as I can get away with. So now, in alphabetical order, the 10 'runner-ups' of the year.

The Descendants is my favorite film of the year for its ability to find the pain, dignity and humor in the story of a man watching his way of life die, even as he has to act as steward to its demise.

Despite its flaws, this should be seen by everyone as a cautionary tale of what could happen to an unsuspecting victim by a sinister cult leader bent on recruiting followers for whatever nefarious purposes he or she has in mind. Think of it as a cautionary tale.

As two leading contenders for this season's Best Actress awards, Albert Nobbs star Glenn Close and Martha Marcy May Marlene breakout Elizabeth Olsen w...

In September, I wrote about the transition of the generations between actors and how we're at a moment where we can see it happening.

How does a young woman allow a complete stranger access to her inner thoughts, giving him full sway over her feelings and actions? An interesting question brought vividly to life in the buzzed-about indie film Martha Marcy May Marlene.

Spellbinding, chilling, Martha Marcy May Marlenemarks a triumphant first film for writer/director Sean Durkin.

Ultimately, "Martha Marcy May Marlene" is a film about secrets, both those kept between characters, and the ones kept from the audience. In his de...

How bad does your life have to get to surrender your being to the demands of a communal cult? How tentative does our grasp on our individual self need to be to give it up to the hive identity, led by one person's desires?

Sean Durkin is reserved, messy haired and in desperate need of milk for his tea. It's early on a Sunday morning, just hours after the big, Hollywood b...

One shouldn't draw strict, taught parallels to the two situations, but it is interesting that Elizabeth Olsen's breakout film is one about escaping a ...