It is conventional wisdom that there are some films that are so bad that they?re good. And it?s a given that, with few exceptions, say GIGLI, which stunned the press audience with whom I endured it into a stunned silence, they are just that much more enjoyable when accompanied by a panoply of snide and… Read More »
LAND OF THE DEAD
Zombies are intrinsically disturbing yet compelling. Dead, yet walking, stupid, yet lethal, slow, yet relentless. Never mind being unsightly. They are as perfect a fodder for metaphor as the brains of the living are for the zombies themselves, a conceit that George A. Romero has a particular knack for locking onto, as evidenced by his… Read More »
HELL HOUSE
George Ratliffs HELL HOUSE is a disturbing, fascinating documentary about the non-traditional house of horrors dreamed up by TrinityChurch in Cedar Hill, Texas. Over a decade old, the Halloween attraction doesnt have vampires and ghosts, instead vivid scenes of people committing sins and being dragged to Hell by demons are played out for paying patrons who… Read More »
AN UNREASONABLE MAN: RALPH NADER, HOW DO YOU DEFINE A LEGACY?
There is no doubt that Ralph Nader has been one of the most influential private citizens of the 20th century. Before he got riled up about it, car safety was optional as far as manufacturers were concerned, environmental degradation was the province of wild-eyed counterculture radicals, and food safety was an illusion. By being AN… Read More »
THE LOOKOUT
With fearless performances in Greg Araki’s poetically disturbing MYSTERIOUS SKIN, in Rian Johnson’s piquantly original BRICK and now in writer/director Scott Frank’s THE LOOKOUT, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has established himself as one of the finest actors of his generation. As good as Frank’s script is, and make no mistake, it is superb, it’s Gordon-Levitt who takes… Read More »
COLMA — THE MUSICAL
malls and cemeteries, to the wistful production number staged among gravestones, but the experience, the limbo, if yoCOLMA: THE MUSICAL is a serious, sophisticated piece of filmmaking that takes three kids suffering post-graduation blues and makes their struggle to get on with their lives speak to everyone, not just 18-year-olds. The setting is Colma, the… Read More »
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE starts with the Simpson family attending the ITCHY AND SCRATCHY MOVIE, with Homer loudly complaining that he feels like a sucker for paying money to see something that he can see on television for free. Maybe Itchy and Scratchy didn’t push any envelopes, but despite Homer’s literal finger-pointing, this is something you… Read More »
THE LOOKOUT DVD
THE LOOKOUT is another showcase in the burgeoning career of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, one of the best actors working today. It may be a low key noir in which he is working, but his performance as Chris Pratt, a brain-damaged former golden boy, is nothing less than riveting. The evolution of his character surpasses the seeming… Read More »
ROVING MARS
What Disney does better than anyone else out there, and has for fifty years, is take real-life science and fill it with all the wonder that the people involved feel for it. ROVING MARS is a prime example. This 40-minute documentary about exploring the red planet for signs of life, past or present, with the… Read More »
3:10 TO YUMA
Stark, intelligent, and supremely suspenseful, 3:10 TO YUMA is a masterpiece of psychological drama coupled with a darn fine action flick that uses the classic western as its idiom. And then turns it on its head. Though a remake of the film of the same name from 1957, there is a freshness and an edginess… Read More »