There was, inevitably, going to be a feature film take on the Columbine massacre and in Gus Van Sants ELEPHANT, we have one that does not exploit the tragedy with cheap attempts to tug on our heartstrings with cliché sentiment. Instead, he offers rich and disconcerting food for thought with a terrifying vision of teen… Read More »
LOVE, ACTUALLY
LOVE, ACTUALLY takes upon itself the daunting task of presenting to us love in all its manifestations. Theres the fairy tale, the tragedy, the farce, the friendships and the betrayals all rolled up into a set of interwoven tales that charm but never pander, giving us the bitter with the sweet, the whimsy with the… Read More »
MONSIEUR IBRAHIM (MONSIEUR IBRAHIM ET LES FLEURS DU CORAN)
MONSIEUR IBRAHIM is a journey from darkness to light, literally and figuratively. The guide is the M. Ibrahim (Omar Sharif) of the title, a guardian angel, metaphorically, who intervenes at the perfect moment to save Moses (Daniel Boulanger), a neighborhood kid, from despair and worse. Moses is being raised by his dour father, a man… Read More »
LAST CASTLE, THE
I will say this for THE LAST CASTLE, it being such a ho-hum picture it doesnt put us in the uncomfortable position in these uncertain times of dealing with the moral dilemma of enjoying a finely crafted film about American soldiers fighting among themselves. Its surprisingly dull for a film that has so many things… Read More »
COLD MOUNTAIN
If you already know that war is hell, then you can safely give COLD MOUNTAIN, based on the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by Charles Frazier, a miss and save that almost three hours of your life for something else. If for a reason unfathomable by me you need the lesson driven home for… Read More »
MONA LISA SMILE
MONA LISA SMILE is what can diplomatically be called a safe film. Its full of lush cinematography that evokes a cloying sense of nostalgia for the early 1950s where the action takes place. There are the adorable outfits the almost all-girl cast wears. The soundtrack is full of pop standards calculated to set the mood… Read More »
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
I’ve never read the bestselling book, House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III, but I admire the concept of it infinitely more than I admire the film of the same name that was made from it. This is a poignant tale about what the idea of home means to people, how they will… Read More »
MONSTER
Patty Jenkins’ film, MONSTER, is brilliant, breathtaking, and completely unforgettable. Those are words that are sorely overused in the land of crit-speak, and yet there are few films that are so very deserving of them. Jenkins biographical story of Aileen Wournos, convicted serial killer, has all the earmarks of a tabloid tale from one of… Read More »
AGAINST THE ROPES
The story of how Jackie Kallen made it as a manager in the testosterone-driven boxing game is a saga worthy of the sort of treatment accorded NORMA RAE or even Erin Brockovitch. Alas, AGAINST THE ROPES does not measure up to either of those films, though leading lady Meg Ryan as Kallen does turn in… Read More »
THE DREAMERS
Bernardo Bertoluccis THE DREAMERS is a moody bit of erotica that devolves into a muddle. Trying as it does to mix the heady and revolutionary nature of politics and sex in the 1960s, when it is set, it fails to draw the parallels necessary to elevate the porn-lite into a more profound, not to mention potent, realm… Read More »
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