It’s not that I believe every conspiracy theory that comes along, it’s just that I have a serious weakness for the imagination that goes into some of them. And so it is with the theory that while Apollo 11 may or may not have actually landed on the moon in 1969, the footage that we… Read More »
SICARIO
There are many iconic moments in SICARIO, but the one that sticks in my mind is the one where dedicated and upright FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is being given the lowdown from glib and slippery DOJ agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) about what winning the war on drugs will really entail. The camera… Read More »
AMERICAN ULTRA
There is a bold sense of anarchy to AMERICAN ULTRA that is as unrepentant as it is unpredictable.
THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
Having quaffed a drink laced with something that will shortly knock him cold, Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) does the sensible thing. He gathers some throw-pillows and carefully places first them, and then himself, upon the nearest sofa. Once, he explains to the person responsible for slipping him the mickey, he hit his head during the… Read More »
ZERO DARK THIRTY
ZERO DARK THIRTY starts, tellingly, with a dark screen and audio clips from 9/11. Air traffic control chatter, 911 calls, and the anguished, astonished voices of people who have no frame of reference for what is happening to and around them. In doing so, the film compels the viewer to relive that day not with… Read More »
A MOST WANTED MAN
A MOST WANTED MAN evokes the best of the Cold War thrillers of the 1960s. Hardly a surprise, considering its based on a novel by the master of that genre, John le Carre. Directed with that genres same sense of understated, but lethal, suspense borne of uncertainty by Anton Corbijn it updates the action from… Read More »
THE CROCODILE HUNTER: COLLISION COURSE
I am never going to have an aesthetic appreciation of the bird-eating spider. It’s about the size of a Bosc pear, hairy, and packing fangs that spout venom. Steve Irwin, cable television’s Crocodile Hunter, on the other hand, has a starry-eyed, ebullient adoration for it that makes the creature seem a little less loathsome. And… Read More »
CROP CIRCLES: QUEST FOR TRUTH DVD
Last fall, when I saw William Gazeckis intriguing documentary, CROP CIRCLES: QUEST FOR TRUTH, I came away wanting to see more. Now that CIRCLES is out on DVD, I get my wish. Though, to be honest, I still want to see more, but then Gazecki has found a topic that is endlessly fascinating and seemingly… Read More »
William Gazecki Draws Conclusions in CROP CIRCLES: QUEST FOR TRUTH
William Gazecki proved he’s not afraid of controversy with his Oscar(tm)-nominated documentary, WACO: THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. Whatever your opinion about what causes crop circles, Gazecki’s film will certainly give you food for thought. I spoke with him by phone on August 29, 2002, and the first thing I wanted to know was how he got from Waco to crop circles.… Read More »
Steve and Terri Irwin Talk THE CROCODILE HUNTER: COLLISION COURSE
If there is a difference between the personnas that the Irwins project on their television show and film and how they are in person, I can’t fathom what it is. They’re engaging, fun, and passionate about educating kids (and maybe their parents, too) about the beauty and fragility of nature. They’re also fearless, it seems, about dealing… Read More »