Stop-Loss Earnest But Flawed

Movie reviews: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum can't save amnesia romance

(NEWSER) - In The Vow, Rachel McAdams plays a woman who must learn to love her husband again after amnesia wipes her memory. It's no surprise it was released ahead of Valentine's Day: It's pure mushiness, critics say.

• In the New York Daily News , Elizabeth Weitzman calls the film a "down-the-middle, by-the-numbers fantasy, in which no one is too quirky or interesting or challenging in any way." Still, "there’s no shortage of viewers ready to embrace an old-fashioned, guilty-pleasure romance."

Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro star in Neil Burger film

(NEWSER) - Limitless, in which Bradley Cooper plays a struggling writer who takes a pill to vastly expand his brain power, may not exactly be award-worthy—but critics agree it's a fun ride:

• In the New York Times , AO Scott calls the movie “an energetic, enjoyably preposterous compound—it’s a paranoid thriller blended with pseudo-neuro-science fiction and catalyzed by a jolting dose of satire.” But, he notes, sometimes “the filmmakers seem to have misplaced their supply of coherence pills.”

WMD thriller may be most box-office friendly Iraq movie yet

(NEWSER) - Matt Damon reunites with director Paul Greengrass in Green Zone, and critics say the thriller, set in the early days of the Iraq war, packs all the punch of the Bourne films, though some felt its politics were a little heavy-handed.

• Green Zone "is somewhere between a blockbuster and a tract—a traction movie," writes Wesley Morris for the Boston Globe . "It whizzes and bangs and sizzles as it chases the truth like a dog off its leash.

Troops, vets object to film's 'cowboy' bomb crew

(NEWSER) - As the thriller Iraq war movie The Hurt Locker steams to Academy Awards night, soldiers and veterans are blasting the popular film as Hollywood hooey, portraying them as reckless death cowboys. Critics have emerged just days before Best Picture ballots are due for the Oscars. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has praised the film as "authentic" and "compelling," but one expert called events surrounding the bomb demolition crew at the center of the film "laughable." More»

Breakup comes after months of tabloid speculation

(NEWSER) - Ryan Philippe and Abbie Cornish have called it quits. "Abbie ended the relationship with Ryan and she moved out of their home," a rep tells People . The announcement follows months of tabloid speculation that Philippe was involved with other women, though the rep would not comment on the reason behind the split. Phillippe, 35, and Cornish, 27, met on the set of Stop-Loss in 2006. More»