People Like Us

New on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming this week, Depp and Burton repeat offend, while one of the year's best films sneaks out after a limited run in theaters. ...

I don't watch many movies like 'People Like Us.' Weepies, they call 'em. (Okay, they called 'em that in 1940.) (Okay, they called 'em that in 1940 in my mind.) Weepies are basically little bits of soap opera – some family struggle which culminates in tears, hugs and a big fat life lesson. Sometimes we get lucky and they explode with insight and good writing (I mean, what's 'Hannah and Her Sisters'

Alex Kurtzman has crafted a remarkable career as a genre film and television writer/producer. He and partner Roberto Orci have been attached to some of the most beloved science-fiction offerings of the last several years. From televisions ‘Fringe,’ to the wildly successful cinematic ‘Star Trek’ reboot (as well as the sequel that is currently in production), the pair has left a sizable imprint on t

Dear Hollywood, What the hell, man? I know that at the end of the day all you care about is the bottom line, but, as individuals, you are liberals.  That's just the way it is. But I guess the special red telephones got disconnected because things got out of hand this weekend. There are not one, not two, but three otherwise normal, liberal Hollywood movies from big studios that think nothing of a l

Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are the poster children of the current crop of big studio movies. They wrote 'Star Trek,' "Mission: Impossible: III,' "Cowboys and Aliens' and are credited on the first two 'Transformers' films. These are powerful guys, and with 'People Like Us' they're finally making their small personal film. Here's the latest featurette for it.

People Like Us' is summer counter-programming, though it has a big-budget summer cast that includes Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jon Favreau. If that's surprising for what looks like a small emotional movie, it's directed by Alex Kurtzman - who wrote the script with writing partner Roberto Orci. And that may be the explanation to the cast: he's worked with most