San Francisco Bay Guardian | Dennis Harvey

'Bigger, Stronger, Faster' Is Smarter Than It Looksnew

In taking a trip down just such a road to self-betterment, this unexpectedly delightful and deep documentary bumps up against cosmetic surgery, steroid usage, and wheatgrass juice. As it questions the points at which an investment in exterior or physical perfection might constitute cheating, it holds up a mirror to the American way of life.

San Francisco Bay Guardian | Dennis Harvey | 06-04-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Chris Bell, bodybuilding, competition, muscles

'Battle for Haditha' is Iraq Fiction Worth Seeingnew

A rare dramatic film from veteran documentarian Nick Broomfield, this film's final outcry of grief, vengeance, and injustice is a terrifying illustration of how badly we've bungled -- by creating new terrorists in attempting to eradicate established ones.

San Francisco Bay Guardian | Dennis Harvey | 05-14-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Iraq, Battle for Haditha

'The Visitor' Charms but Overstays its Welcomenew

This movie is a respectable follow-up to The Station Agent, but its suit-finds-groove response to globalization and deportation ultimately feels like a formula McCarthy should have already seen beyond.

San Francisco Bay Guardian | Dennis Harvey | 04-16-2008 | Reviews

Tags: The Visitor, Thomas McCarthy

Giving the U.S. the 'Funny Games' it Deservesnew

It's worth noting that perhaps Haneke's most ingenious (and frequently overlooked) gambit is that there is almost no onscreen violence. As much as Funny Games feels like particularly merciless, graphic torture porn, the actual moments of assault are almost always cut away from or just out of frame.

San Francisco Bay Guardian | Dennis Harvey | 03-12-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Funny Games, Michael Haneke

'Tre' Shows a Quietly Devastating Relationship Meltdownnew

This cunning, sardonic psychological study pays off in grim affirmation.

San Francisco Bay Guardian | Dennis Harvey | 02-13-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Eric Byler, Tre

Barber of Gorenew

Tim Burton's inspired Sweeney Todd is black and red all over.

San Francisco Bay Guardian | Dennis Harvey | 12-19-2007 | Reviews

Tags: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Tim Burton

Laboring with Childhood in 'My Kid Could Paint That'new

Amir Bar-Lev's excellent documentary starts out as a straight-up chronicle of a way-underage artistic phenomenon, until unforeseen developments suggest some sort of mass-media con job based on dreams of squeaky-clean white suburbia.

San Francisco Bay Guardian | Dennis Harvey | 10-10-2007 | Reviews

Tags: Amir Bar-Lev, My Kid Could Paint That

'The Last Winter' Certifies Fessenden as a Horror Auteurnew

Larry Fessenden's The Last Winter isn't the first global-warming horror film, and it surely won't be the last, but it's unlikely there will be a better one anytime soon -- or a better horror movie this fall.

San Francisco Bay Guardian | Dennis Harvey | 09-26-2007 | Reviews

Tags: Larry Fessenden, The Last Winter