Here we have a bittersweet little character study masquerading as a caper flick. There are, as you would expect, a few plot twists, none terribly surprising, but handled with a surprising, unaffected charm considering the downbeat nature of the story. Our hero is one Victor Kelly, played by an astonishingly low key Christopher Walken. Hes… Read More »
FANTASIA/FANTASIA 2000: 2-Movie Collection Special Edition
Finally together and on both DVD and Blu-Ray format, the deluxe, 4-disc, release of FANTASIA and FANTASIA 2000 is more than the chance to see both features in all their glory. It’s a chance to marvel that the old-fashioned hand-drawn animation, for all its limitations, has none when it comes to imagination. It is the emotional… Read More »
MARYAM
Ramin Serrys beautiful and thought-provoking film, MARYAM, tells a very personal story about what its like to suddenly become a stranger in ones own land. Set in 1979 during and just after the Iranian revolutions, East meets West in this most timely of tales and neither gains by what happens next as the drama plays… Read More »
SONGCATCHER
Ah summertime, barbecues, sunburns and big budget films designed to take you to galaxies far, far away or other equally unlikely locations. When the focus is on special effects, sometimes there just isnt time to worry about a script. Fortunately, for those of us who enjoy popcorn flicks but also long for something more substantial,… Read More »
SANDSTORM (BAWANDAR)
Jag Mundhra’s SANDSTORM succeeds on several levels. First, it’s a fine piece of filmmaking that tells this story of cultural discrimination with a directness that never panders to either its audience or its characters. Second, it succeeds in outlining in stark and uncompromisingly personal terms exactly what this sort of injustice means for one woman… Read More »
EYES OF TAMMY FAYE, THE
Well, there is just no getting around it. Tammy Faye Bakker Messner’s name recognition is off the charts. And the one thing that everyone knows for sure about her are those eyelashes. Long, thick, seemingly prehensile, they frame eyes that have wept more than everyone on your block combined, and for more TV cameras than… Read More »
HAPPY ACCIDENTS
There comes a time in any romantic relationship when the couple in question drops the carefully cultivated dating personas. You know, when the pleasant, smiling, eternally non-plussed character designed to impress the other party gives way to the real person underneath. Sometimes this reveals delightful quirks that only serve to endear the one to the… Read More »
CHOPPER
Before he was the geek turned unjolly green giant in THE HULK, before he was part of the hapless band of soldiers storming Mogadishu in BLACK HAWK DOWN, Eric Bana turned in a dazzling performance as the most personable psychopath you can imagine in CHOPPER. Fortunately for Bana and for us, the Sundance Channel will… Read More »
GREENFINGERS
There are many reasons to see GREENFINGERS. Its a pleasant little bit of British escapism, based on a true story, that charms with its odd premise, keen sense of justice, and sharp humor as it delivers a sweet little love story. But right at the top of the list of reasons has to be its star,… Read More »
IVANSXTC
Based on the Tolstoy story THE DEATH OF IVAN ILLYICH, IVANSXTC takes the Russian bureaucrat from the 19th century and transmutes him into a high-powered talent agent in contemporary Hollywood. Not an intuitive leap, but filmmaker Bernard Rose has taken the essence of the original story, and made it work in the most unlikely of… Read More »