3/12/2007
Intense and calculated, Forest Whitaker and James McEvoy's dictator-protege, father-son tour de force is not to be missed.
Now that awards season is officially over, the aftertaste more or less dissolved from the hungry mouths of the stars, studios and the adoring public, it's time to catch up on all the films which, regardless of their Oscar success, deserve to have their stories seen and discussed. First on your...
1/29/2007
A fairy tale with real fairies...getting decapitated.
If all "fairy tales for adults" fall akin to the gruesome torture scenes of Pan's Labyrinth, I think I'll leave fairy tales to the kids from now on. Regardless of whether or not it's a monster or a man biting the heads off of Tinker Bell's fairy cousins, the fact remains that such scenes are still...
12/29/2006
Superb beyond the glitz and glamour.
If the spirit of Diana Ross' glory days forced its way into the body of a modern-day pop star, it would definitely have been Beyonce. They've got so much in common. They both fronted hugely successful girl groups, only to later abandon them to appease their egos (and wallets) with solo careers....
11/26/2006
Intelligence is sexy. Bond is intelligent. Thus, Bond is definitely sexy.
Intelligence is sexy. Toned, muscular bodies are sexy. Real acting can make any role believable. If you agree with one, two, or all three of those statements, then Casino Royale will be worth the $10 ticket and necessary snacks.Director Martin Campbell, who also directed Goldeneye, outgoing Bond...
11/26/2006
Another unpleasant film which jams a cultural message down our throats.
Babel wants you to believe that, despite the circumstance which keeps us all apart, nothing can deny the ties that bind, sometimes forcefully so, our humanity, and the requisite suffering we must endure in order to truly appreciate and understand our purpose. Yet, after sitting for over two hours...
11/23/2006
Much like a dream: vivid and fascinating, yet cryptic and incomplete.
I have to applaud Darren Aronofsky for the 6-year process to make The Fountain. After having his funding cut, actors drop out (Brad Pitt was originally slated to play lead) and almost everybody involved lose faith, Aronofsky persevered and pulled the project through. And like the real-life...
11/7/2006
Helen Mirren deserves her own crown for her smart, composed performance.
Towards the end of "The Queen," Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) receives a brief bit of advice from her majesty (Helen Mirren). As Blair's popularity surges, the disparate Queen, calm yet firm, tells him, "Someday, it'll happen to you too." Fittingly, Stephen Frears' depiction of Queen...
9/3/2006
Brilliantly written, complex in its simplicity, with spirited acting and bold directing.
As the summer season winds down and we venture into awards territory, the quality of films might lag as studios prepare their fall blockbusters. But that isn't the case with this most delightful comedy of the summer, "Little Miss Sunshine." A darling at this year's Sundance, it follows a family...
8/28/2006
A pinnacle of quality storytelling, fairy-tale charm and sincere, universal characters.
Once every few years, a relatively obscure film sneaks into release during the dog days of summer, amazes everybody and morphs into an awards darling. Many of us remember M. Night Shyamalan's 1999 sleeper mega-hit "The Sixth Sense." It enchanted with its clever suspense and mystery, and the...
8/25/2006
Surprisingly good, able to keep our attention and entertain.
Suspend your belief in high-strung heroics, forget that characters have back stories and do not, for one second, think that "Poseidon" is any more than a meager, yet entertaining computerized action spectacle. If you can do that, you'll enjoy the film. No matter how ridiculous the situations our...
