THE WAY WAY BACK is a sensitive, intelligent coming-of-age tale that is never trite, maudlin, or melodramatic. Instead, it harbors a strong sense of reality when it comes to adults acting like children and vice versa. It brings you up short with its very first shot. That would be of Steve Carells eyes in a… Read More »
BLADE II
It is a sad but inexorable fact of life that in order to get by in this world, it is necessary to have an income of some sort. There are groceries to buy, shelter to secure and clothes to be put on ones back. And so it is that I look at Guillermo del Toros association with… Read More »
COOK, THE
Take note silent film fans and devotees of comedy, silent or not. Milestone has released a sterling collection of short silent films featuring Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle in two of its three selections. Arbuckle had a brilliant and lucrative career as a top box office attraction that ended when he was tried for causing the death… Read More »
CROP CIRCLES: QUEST FOR TRUTH DVD
Last fall, when I saw William Gazeckis intriguing documentary, CROP CIRCLES: QUEST FOR TRUTH, I came away wanting to see more. Now that CIRCLES is out on DVD, I get my wish. Though, to be honest, I still want to see more, but then Gazecki has found a topic that is endlessly fascinating and seemingly… Read More »
MATRIX RELOADED, THE
As with all reviews of sequels, the first thing to get out of the way is how well this installment stands on its own. Answer, not at all. If you havent seen THE MATRIX, good luck making sense of whats going on. It wouldnt hurt to have seen the animation, LAST FLIGHT OF THE OSIRIS,… Read More »
X-MEN 2
Alas it is all too true that for the most part when it comes to filmed entertainment, we are forced to choose between spectacle and story. Think, for example, of the gulf between STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES and THE PIANIST. X-MEN 2 presents us with a third option. First-rate and imaginative special effects… Read More »
THE ITALIAN JOB
THE ITALIAN JOB has its share of action, but strictly speaking, this re-telling of the 60s flick of the same name, is a frothy caper story. The framework is the intricate plotting of not one, but two heists, with the real focus on the motley crew involved in pulling it off. It begins in the… Read More »
BRUCE ALMIGHTY
Jim Carrey wants it both ways. He wants to be the heir apparent to The Three Stooges, but he also wants to tug at our heartstrings. Until now, hes divided those aspirations between films, the silliness of ME, MYSELF, AND IRENE and the carefully calibrated corn of THE MAJESTIC. Perhaps sensing that his audience has… Read More »
CLAIRE
Milford Thomas CLAIRE is a subtle and bewitching work of art in which innocence has the same driving force and emotional impact as the cynical irony of so many contemporary films. This is a silent film made in the 21st century that captures that genre with a startling accuracy and a palpable reverence. Further, it… Read More »
WE INTERRUPT THIS EMPIRE
I don’t usually hold with films made by committee. They tend to be a study in the blandness of desperation to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Not so with WE INTERRUPT THIS EMPIRE, made by The Video Activist Network, a collective of left-leaning committed filmmakers. The reason is that this particular way of filmmaking… Read More »