Denerstein: ‘Green Zone’ peddles yesterday’s news 
Green Zone, which deals with the early stages of the war in Iraq, winds up firing more blanks than expected. The problem: The movie revolves around a discovery – there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — that’s lost much of its punch. Put another way: It’s difficult to watch director Paul Greengrass’ urgently presented drama without wishing it would tell us something we didn’t already know.
Denerstein: ‘Remember’ strains not to be forgotten
What you think of Remember Me probably depends on whether you believe the movie’s emotional end justifies the mediocre means by which it got there. I’d vote no.
Denerstein: Plenty of grit, but to what end?
One cop (Ethan Hawke) needs money to buy a house. Another (Don Cheadle) wants a promotion that he believes will liberate him from the morally murky world of undercover work. A third cop (Richard Gere) maintains a safe distance from conflict because he has only seven days remaining until retirement.
Denerstein: Burton meets Lewis Carroll: Call it a draw
Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland is richly imagined and abundantly creative, so much so that it’s impossible to watch this version of Lewis Carroll’s classic without acknowledging the extraordinary amount of effort that must have gone into it. But the hard work of the filmmaker probably isn’t the sort of thing you want to be thinking about on a trip to Wonderland, referred to as Underland in Burton’s edition.
Denerstein: Polanski lowers his voice in ‘Ghost Writer’
In Shutter Island, director Martin Scorsese decided to bring his considerable technique front-and-center. Scorsese pushed his ingredients into a hyper chamber of thrills where extravagant visual gestures become the norm. In his new thriller The Ghost Writer, Roman Polanski — another top-ranked director — follows a different route.
Denerstein: A great trilogy about pervasive corruption
don’t know when I’ve seen a movie as devastating as The Red Riding Trilogy, a three-picture adaptation of four novels by British author David Peace. The three movies – which open Friday at the Starz Denver Film Festival – originally were made for British TV and total five hours in length.
Denerstein: Handicapping Oscar, my predictions
It’s time for the fun game the whole family can play. We’re talking about that international pastime and water cooler preoccupation known as Predict the Oscars. I try not to make too big a deal out of this annual exercise because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences already makes a big enough deal out of the way it pats itself the back.
Denerstein: Tough teen times, ‘Fish Tank’ reviewed
Fish Tank — which tells the story of a hostile 15-year-old who lives in a decaying London suburb — strikes a perfect balance between distressing content and unobtrusive style. As a result, the movie earns its place as a gritty coming-of-age story about a character thrown into situations that require resources she has yet to develop, perhaps never will.
