JOE ALTOMERE

“Like Father Like Son” is a remake of “Freaky Friday” except this time it’s not Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster trading places, it’s Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron.

Back in 1996, an independent movie called “Swingers” hit the scene and introduced mainstream Hollywood, and society, to two little-known actors named Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. Since then they have become two of the most bankable names in Hollywood. ...

Mel Gibson has created two distinct lives for himself in Hollywood. No, I’m not talking about things he says when he gets pulled over by the cops. Gibson has cultivated winning box-office careers both in front of and behind the ...

One of the great things about a family is knowing someone has your back and that you have theirs. Another great thing about family is that it doesn’t have to be connected by blood or, in the case of “Fly ...

We all have problems. They can be big — buying a house with no credit — or small — trying to swat that mosquito that keeps buzzing around your ear at four in the morning.

There are obvious reasons for watching certain movies. If you watch “Animal House,” you want to laugh. If you watch “The Exorcist,” you want to be scared. Those movies give viewers a rush that many of us enjoy. But why ...

Tom Hanks is one of this generation’s most revered actors. With films like “Forrest Gump,” “Philadelphia,” “Saving Private Ryan,” and “The Green Mile,” his body of work speaks for itself.

I’m sure at some point in your life you’ve received a prank phone call. Annoying as they might be, they’re usually all in jest (at your expense, of course). But given the right scenario, they can be quite frightening.

A few weeks back I wrote a review for “The Answer Man,” a low-budget comedy that ran around in the independent film circles. When I first popped it in, a few trailers (movie previews) played before it and one of ...

One of the things that makes life interesting is sometimes it has to keep you on your toes. A flat tire here, a hurricane there. It’s not all bad, though. Sometimes, to keep you on your toes, you’re given a ...

Popcorn. One of the main staples of any movie-going experience. I like popcorn, but what I like even better than popcorn is a popcorn movie. A popcorn movie is something you watch knowing full well it’s goofy and ridiculous but ...

I’ve always had a tepid relationship with science fiction. Setting phasers to stun and robots named HAL just never really interested me.

Part of what I love most about writing this column every week is getting to write about a newer movie, especially when it’s one I’ve never seen before. Don’t get me wrong, nothing beats a classic movie, but even those ...

The way I see it, there are two stages we reach in life — more and less. The first stage is when we all think we’re experiencing the best days of our lives. We know it all and we’re all ...

I love a good courtroom movie. In life, a courtroom is the last place I’d want to be, but give me two hours of watching someone else having to stand before a judge and I’m entertained.

Twenty years ago if you were to mention the name Steven Seagal you would get a friendly nod and a comment along the lines of, “Oh yeah, I loved him in ‘Hard To Kill’” or “He was great in ‘Above ...

The Winter Olympics are upon us, and while I’m not a huge sports fan (I spent too much time watching movies), I have to admit it’s a little exciting.

Many movies put out around Valentine’s Day are meant to be watched with our better halves in hopes of being swept off our feet. It usually doesn’t work, and we’re left with a bad taste that not even Listerine could ...

I was flipping channels a couple weeks ago and came across “The Pink Panther;” not the classic 1963 film starring Peter Sellers, but the 2006 remake starring Steve Martin. It grossed more than $100 million. When you finish watching it ...

In any given situation, if something terrible goes down you can simply pick up the phone and dial 911. On the flip side, if something minuscule happens, like a paper cut, you can cover it with a Band-Aid and call ...

Ever wonder what your pets are thinking? You can be in the kitchen singing a Duran Duran tune and look over to notice your dog staring at you with his head cocked to the side, a bewildered expression on his ...

Today is the 37th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade landmark decision on abortion. The Daily News will be hosting live video — courtesy of our news partner NBC-2 — of anti-abortion protest along U.S. 41 and Golf Drive from ...

We all have bad days. I’ve found that it makes me feel better when I’m having a bad day to watch a movie about someone who’s having a far worse day than I am. I can point at the screen, ...

People seem to have varying definitions for the term “humanity.” Some of us like to scream about others not having enough of it, while some think just the opposite. Regardless of how you feel, you can’t really deny that humanity ...

When you live a certain way for a certain amount of time you get in the frame of mind that that’s simply the way things are. So if we do alter our lives, it’s usually not on our own, but ...

If you’re like me, you probably have a long list of Christmas movies that you have to watch every year. I have about 30 that I watch religiously each year. Most are classics: “Christmas Vacation,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Home ...

When you hear the name Pierce Brosnan, the first thing you probably think of is a martini that is shaken, not stirred. Or maybe, if you are a TV fan, his dashingly cool detective in “Remington Steele.”

Black Friday weekend led me to thinking of the movie I’m writing about this week, “Falling Down.” It’s not about society going crazy, it’s about a man driven over the edge by society who decides to call society out, with ...

It’s very hard to weed out the good chick flicks from the bad, and more often than not the good ones slip through the cracks. That’s why I picked “Return To Me” this week. It’s a good one that slipped ...

Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of the inaugural Naples International Film Festival is the excellent selection of short films. Here are equally short reviews of each.

“Patience of the Memory” is an animated short that utilizes various paintings, drawings and sketches of the city of Dresden by “bringing them to life.”

“The Bronx Balletomane” tells the story of a man’s secret dream of becoming a ballet dancer.

“Smile” will make you do just that. It’s about a mother who decides to share her son’s happy grin with the whole city.

“Good Rules for Bad Guys” is essentially an instructional video for super villains. It’s shot as a throwback to the educational videos of the ’50s and ’60s.

“Please Recycle” is a documentary-style film about a group of friends who get together every year to rake leaves into piles and summarily jump into them.

“Skylight” is an animated look at how the hole in the ozone layer is affecting our wildlife. It comes off as a comedy and induces several chuckles by way of its animal characters.

“Boutonniere” is a darkly comic take on the joys of going to prom.

“Sun Sessions” is a look at the rise and fall of teenage love. The main character, Henry, is introduced to Jane at a party.

Max is a down-on-his-luck accountant who has had no luck with love. He’s not particularly handsome, and definitely not hip.

“You’re Outta Here” is an animated musical about a woman who dumps her lousy boyfriend and kicks him out of the house.

“Le prix à payer” is a French film (subtitled in English) shot in black and white that tells the troubled story of three jewel thieves.

“The Optician” is about a nervous eye doctor, John, who’s in love with his assistant, Barbara.

“Amelie and Alchemy” is a documentary-style film about a chemist who wants to take a picture of his 4-year-old daughter, Amelie.

“Leonardo” is an animated film that chronicles the conception and experimentation of some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous designs.

For a while now we’ve been inundated with vampire material. The problem with a vampire-obsessed pop culture is that only the big stuff gets recognized. From the good (“True Blood”) to the bad (“The Vampire Diaries”) to the ugly (“Twilight”). ...

I’m always up for a good horror movie. Even a bad one, because much like pizza, bad ones are still pretty good. Not that scary movies require an occasion to enjoy them, but with Halloween creeping up there’s no better ...

When you hear the name John Wayne, I’m sure that a few things come to mind: The Duke. Cowboy. Legend. Cliché. I hate that last part, but it’s true. To most people, John Wayne was just a guy who wore ...