As FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER begins, there is no doubt about what the audience is in for. A planet dissolves before our very eyes, and with special effects that could most charitably be described as inferior. And so it goes for the rest of the flick. It soon becomes apparent that this… Read More »
BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA — DVD
THE BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA is easily one of the most beautiful films of this year. A paean to the transcendent power of imagination, it is a story about children coming to terms with not fitting in with their peers as well as the shortcomings of the adults in their lives, but it is anything but… Read More »
1408
1408, based on the short story by Stephen King, is a slick psychological thriller masquerading as a good old-fashioned ghost story. It’s old-fashioned in the sense that it relies on the jump-and-scare technique rather than the slash-and-burn one. It also relies on some fiendishly clever twists and an intelligent script that’s smart not just because… Read More »
Chris and Paul Weitz Talk ABOUT A BOY
Chris and Paul Weitz were the directors of the wildly successful AMERICAN PIE. I was suitably impressed that they were able to switch successfully from broad farce to an insightful, even sensitive, comedy about a man who refuses to grow up and a boy who had no choice in the matter. Talking with them, it quickly became apparent that… Read More »
EVAN ALMIGHTY
With EVAN ALMIGHTY, the sorta, kinda, not exactly sequel to BRUCE ALMIGHTY, we learn that treacle is neither better nor worse than puerile. It’s a lateral move and they are both annoying. Jim Carrey, the Bruce of the previous film, opted out of the sequel, and so the powers-that-be turned to Steve Carell’s character, the boorish… Read More »
BRAND UPON THE BRAIN!
Guy Maddin’s BRAND UPON THE BRAIN! is such a purely, viscerally visual experience that, like trying to describe a dream, much is lost when trying to put the language of the subconscious into words. And that is what Maddin is working with here. Boasting no spoken dialogue, eccentric black-and-white exposures, he bills this as a… Read More »
KNOCKED UP
An ad campaign is supposed to attract a target audience to a film. Let me amend that. It’s supposed to attract the >right< target audience to a film. In the case of Judd Apatow’s KNOCKED UP, a huge mistake as been made. To judge by the commercials and such, this is a raunchy comedy with… Read More »
LICENSE TO WED
Like so many young lovers embarking on the adventure that is marriage, LICENSE TO WED begins well, full of hope and the promise that this will be a trip to the moon on gossamer wings fraught with fun. Alas, as with 50% of all marriages in this country, this film breaks down irretrievably, leaving all… Read More »
RATATOUILLE
The story of Pixar’s latest animated triumph, RATATOUILLE, is as audacious as its hero. Not only is it as light and airy as a soufflé, it’s also as complex as the precise physics and flavorings that makes it a miracle. The hero is an unlikely choice in animal hero, a rat, albeit one drawn with… Read More »
SICKO
Click here to listen to the interview with Michael Moore for BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE.Click here for the DVD review of SICKO.There is an “aha” moment in SiCKO that is so stunning, so irrefutable in its logic, that it distills the entire argument against for-profit medicine on its head and then sends it scurrying for cover,… Read More »
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