The first image in Sofia Coppola’s latest film is of title character, MARIE ANTOINETTE, having a slipper put on her dainty foot by a servant as she dips her finger into the neon-pink icing of a multi-layer cake. She licks her finger, and then turns to look directly into the camera with a wink and… Read More »
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, based on the book of the same name by James Bradley and Ron Powers, begins with the line “Every jackass thinks he knows what war is, especially those who have never been in one.” That may or may not be a swipe at the current administration, but it is definitely the… Read More »
FAST FOOD NATION
Very bad things happen to cattle in Richard Linklater’s FAST FOOD NATION, a feature narrative based on the non-fiction book by Eric Schlosser. In that book, there is a graphic description of how a cow is turned into the burger at the local fast food franchise. The film, co-written by Linklater and Schlosser, is just as… Read More »
BOBBY
It pains me to have to slam a film that so obviously has its heart in the right place, but BOBBY is such an inept and misguided effort that there’s no other option. Taking place on the day when and in the place where, the Ambassador Hotel, that the title character was assassinated, it’s a… Read More »
BLOOD DIAMOND
BLOOD DIAMOND wants to be so many things, including an action film, an adventure epic, a love story, and an indictment of what soulless exploitation has done to Sierra Leone. It takes 2 ½ hours or so, but still doesn’t have the emotional tug that it should by the time the final credits roll. Set… Read More »
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
The key moment in Clint Eastwood’s LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA is when General Kuribayashi, the commander of the doomed Japanese forces defending the eponymous island from Amercan invasion, stops the summary execution of two soldiers by their immediate commanding officer for having committed the crime of not dying at their post. Kuribayashi, played by Ken Watanabe, tells… Read More »
AMAZING GRACE
AMAZING GRACE is an unabashedly sentimental film and this is as it should be. It recounts the 15-year struggle of William Wilberforce to end the slave trade in the Britsh Empire at the end of the 18th century. Wilberforce and his followers were driven by sentiment, coupled with principle, to take on the big business… Read More »
THE ASTRONAUT FARMER
With THE ASTRONAUT FARMER, the Polish Brothers (Michael directing, Mark acting, and both writing the script) use a folksy veneer to their mythmaking that belies a sly sophistication, weaving together Joseph Campbell at his most profound with the spirit of The Little Engine That Could. The result is a film that explores not just the… Read More »
REIGN OVER ME
Sooner or later a film was bound to make 9/11 a glib plot point and with REIGN OVER ME, so it has come to pass. The good news is that this is one-half of a terrific film. The bad news is that Adam Sandler is in the other half. The worse news is that 9/11… Read More »
FREEDOM WRITERS DVD
FREEDOM WRITERS covers the well-trod ground of the idealistic teacher making a difference in the lives of underprivileged, inner-city kids. In this case, it’s Los Angeles a few years after the riots of 1992 and the teacher, Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank), is out to save these kids before they lose their way and end up… Read More »
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