dogs

• American Gangster directed by Ridley Scott (2007)

  [6/10]

  "From the trailers, I expected to see scene after scene of gore and violence, but I was pleasantly surprised at the intellectual comparison of these 'real life' characters from our recent past."

• Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The by Mark Haddon (2003)

  [8/10]

  "I think that the best fiction opens up our minds to a viewpoint that we otherwise would find foreign or complicated. In The Curious Incident, Haddon provides a view of autism in a engaging way that we want to read for the mystery and enjoy because we like Chris as a person -- something that we might not have understood if we bumped into him on the street and heard him bark like a dog."

• Good Boy! directed by John Robert Hoffman (2003)

  [5/10]

  "You can appreciate Liam Aiken's development as an actor, but often the script gives lame dialogue to everyone, making Good Boy! somewhat painful to watch with not enough comedy to offset the pain."

• Lake House, The directed by Alejandro Agresti (2006)

  [6/10]

  "Alas, we have only drab locations for a common love story with a cute, but unimaginative, gimmick."

• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider directed by Simon West (2001)

  [5/10]

  "You get lots of action, and you get to watch a shapely heroine blast away tons of bad guys and a few animated stone creatures, but you can put your brain on vacation and just let your testosterone enjoy this one."

  Average score: 6.00