RESURRECTING THE CHAMP shows the importance of casting and directing in turning a good script into a great film. Based loosely on the experiences of writer J.R. Moeringer, the writing here is solid, but Josh Hartnett as Eric Kennon, Jr., a reporter struggling the shadow of both his famous father and of his rising star… Read More »
SILK
SILK, based on the novel by Alessandro Baricco, is a singularly uninvolving bit of piffle crafted as though those who made it were afraid of waking someone. The scenery is lovely, which is a good thing, because there is nothing else happening here worth seeing. And from this we learn a valuable lesson. Art direction… Read More »
THE HOAX
What makes THE HOAX such a thoroughly enjoyable ride is that even though its anti-hero, Clifford Irving, is perpetrating the eponymous hoax, he is so good at it. His exuberance during the highs and even the lows of his scheme as kinks pop up is infectious. He is having such a good time plotting it,… Read More »
LIONS FOR LAMBS
Unstinting in its condemnation of apathy, expedience, and the people in power who take advantage of those traits in the population at large, LIONS FOR LAMBS nonetheless is a flat work that feels more like a series of actors’ exercises than the incisive movie it wants to be. Like the college professor trying to shock… Read More »
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA sweeps across the big screen like a stifled yawn. Adapted from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s poetic novel by Ronald Harwood and directed by Mike Newell, the grand passion that dominates the life of its hero, Florentino (Javier Bardem), fails to rise to the occasion. Rather than the stuff of great… Read More »
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, is a nail-biting masterpiece of suspense, operating on a philosophical level that is as sophisticated as it is compelling. It takes its tropes and its idioms from classic noirs, but with nary a cliché, and with a soul more hard-boiled than the film… Read More »
THE ELIZABETH — THE GOLDEN AGE
ELIZABETH, THE GOLDEN AGE is as ambitious and as opulent as its predecessor, ELIZABETH. Both starring Cate Blanchett in the title role, both directed with panache by Shekhar Kapur, the former was a triumph in depicting the private Elizabeth subsuming her personal desires in order to become a national icon. The latter is a muddle… Read More »
THE TUDORS — THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
There is a cautionary lesson within THE TUDORS, the vibrant, lush, and suitably visceral mini-series depicting the life, loves, and politics of England’s Henry VIII. Henry, played with frank carnality by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, fancies himself a humanist, the fashionable thing to be during the Renaissance. Under the tutelage of Thomas More, soon to be… Read More »
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
When the question “Was that supposed to be a comedy”? floats to mind after a film is concluded, there is no answer that bodes well for said flick. Such is the case with THERE WILL BE BLOOD, Paul Thomas Anderson’s robust, and fitfully manic piece of work that takes Upton Sinclair’s classic novel, “Oil,” and… Read More »
CASSANDRA’S DREAM
The funny thing, in the sense of odd rather than comedic, about CASSANDRA’S DREAM is that even though it is filmed in color, it is remembered in black and white. In Woody Allen’s lastest film, he returns to his consideration of morality, this time through the lens of classical Greek tragedy. Two brothers, Ian (Ewan… Read More »
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