Gary Thompson

Gary Thompson is the Daily News film critic.

Email Gary at thompsg@phillynews.com

John Cusack (right) and Lily Morgan (left) prepare for the end of the world in "2012," which hits theaters tomorrow.

Gary Thompson: A Gary Thompson production

Posted 2:18am

A 12-YEAR-OLD I know asked me if he should be worried about the movie "2012," based on purported Mayan predictions that the world would end on Dec. 21, 2012.

Gary Thompson: 'Child' follows search for reincarnated soul

By ROBERT W. BUTLER, McClatchy Newspapers

Posted 11/07/2009

One of 2009's most intriguing documentaries played so briefly that you probably missed it. But thanks to the eternal life promised by DVD, you can see "Unmistaken Child" in the comfort of your own living room. It could rock your world.

Gary Thompson: Not-so-classic noir a better buy than take-it-or-leave-it 'Pelham' - 11/06/2009: 'THE TAKING of Pelham 123" and "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra" hit DVD this week - two titles that will not be on the expanded list of 10 Oscar best-picture nominees.
Gary Thompson: Is there even a top 10 this year? - 11/05/2009: AS THE movie biz prepares for its first 10-candidate best-picture race in 56 years, insiders are having second thoughts.
'Goats' tells bizarre tale of Army mind control - 11/05/2009: By GARY THOMPSON, thompsg@phillynews.com

"The Men Who Stare At Goats" is the latest Hollywood look-in on the Iraq war and, well, it's not "The Hurt Locker." In fact, it's not the least bit interested in capturing any kind of boots-on-the-ground reality, and I guess the title is your first clue.
Fooled ’ya: ‘Fourth Kind’ uses Internet to trick moviegoers - 11/05/2009: By GARY THOMPSON, thompsg@phillynews.com

"The Fourth Kind" takes its title from the sliding scale of alien encounters - sighting, evidence, contact and abduction. Oh, those boorish extra terrestrials. Haven't they skipped a few steps?
Creepy 'Christmas' - 11/05/2009: By GARY THOMPSON, thompsg@phillynews.com

There are four ghosts in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," but most movie versions have downplayed the story's pee-your-pants potential. That changes with "Disney's A Christmas Carol," a Robert Zemeckis animated movie that uses the latest 3-D and computer-graphic artistry to bring up the scare quotient in Dickens' classic story.
Gary Thompson: Trick-or-treaters at the door - zombies on the DVD - 10/30/2009: THE BIG-name titles this week are "Ice Age 3" and the Woody Allen/Larry David collaboration, "Whatever Works." But, hey, it's Halloween, and though the idea of Woody Allen and Larry David making a movie about an old guy who romances Evan Rachel Wood is pretty scary, it's appropriate to look for a real horror movie.
A Gary Thompson production - 10/29/2009: "BOONDOCK SAINTS" writer-director Troy Duffy is famous for being an overnight failure in Hollywood, an example of how not to do things.
‘Saints’ comes marching in — again - 10/29/2009: By GARY THOMPSON, thompsg@phillynews.com

The original "Boondock Saints" built its following on DVD - talked up from teen to teen as the movie that Hollywood and other grown-ups did not want you to see.
Horror in slow motion: ‘Antichrist’ too showy - 10/29/2009: By GARY THOMPSON, thompsg@phillynews.com

Danish downer Lars Von Trier says, a bit defensively, that he was depressed when he made "Antichrist." No kidding, Lars.
Supernatural showing - 10/29/2009: Net-hyped ‘Paranormal Activity’ an old-school horror flick

By GARY THOMPSON, thompsg@phillynews.com

THREE WEEKS have elapsed since "Paranormal Activity" crept into local theaters on little Internet feet. It's now the No. 1 movie in America, so it is no longer ethically possible for me to ignore it. In my defense, the first week's showings were at midnight, way past my bedtime.