Film: ‘ParaNorman’ (2012)

Film: ‘ParaNorman’ (2012)

Norman Babcock, the 11-year-old hero in the stop-motion 3D animated feature “ParaNorman,” sees dead people. In addition to communing with the spirits of those who have passed on – he’s severely bullied and marginalized at school for his preoccupation – Norman has...
Film: ‘Ruby Sparks’ (2012)

Film: ‘Ruby Sparks’ (2012)

Calvin (Paul Dano), the male protagonist in “Ruby Sparks,” got hit by Neptune – the planet that oversees creativity and whatever springs from the imagination – at a young age. That visit from the trident god helped Cal write a best-selling book. He’s been bereft of...
Movie: ‘The Imposter’ (2012)

Movie: ‘The Imposter’ (2012)

“The Imposter,” a new true-crime documentary directed by Bart Layton about a missing and then seemingly found child, is a bulging sandwich containing layer-upon-layer of deceits. The movie is set in Texas where blond 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay disappeared in 1994,...
Film: ‘Ted’ (2012)

Film: ‘Ted’ (2012)

  Neptune fuzzes out whatever it touches. So it’s not surprising that a fuzzy-wuzzy teddy bear – a huggable plush toy that typically blurs out the harder-edged discomforts of toddlerdom and childhood – is a good Neptunian stand-in for super-blurry imaginary...