AltWeeklies Wire
The Clinician and the Poet in Kay Redfield Jamison Harmonize in 'Nothing Was the Same'new
This is a slim yet profound book, unadorned by fatuous spirituality, by a writer eager neither to conceal nor exaggerate her feelings. It gives grieving its complete due, and at the same time there's nothing at all depressing about it.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
10-15-2009 |
Nonfiction
Quentin Tarantino Upends War Movies with 'Inglourious Basterds'new
Here in cinema form is an essay about Tarantino's mutual fascination with and distaste for the war film. And even if he's a voracious film watcher, he can tell the difference between the passionate but low-budget Samuel Fuller dramas of universal dehumanization and the boring-ass patriotic gore-opera represented by Zoller's film Nation's Pride.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
08-21-2009 |
Reviews
New Version of 'Easy Virtue' Does no Good for Noel Coward's Reputationnew
It's hard to understand why Stephan Elliott directed Easy Virtue; he is trying to refurbish Noel Coward like a man trying to refurbish an antique with Day-Glo paint.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
05-29-2009 |
Reviews
The Sparks Fail to Fly in 'Nights in Rodanthe'new
The plot of Nights in Rodanthe is sheer prefab, a retread of 1940s weepers.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
09-26-2008 |
Reviews
'Towelhead': American Uglynew
In Alan Ball's woeful expose of racism and underage sexuality, 13 will get you 20.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
09-18-2008 |
Reviews
'Lakeview Terrace' Gives Us Straw Men in a 'Straw Dogs' Situationnew
Trying to play Iago and Othello at the same time is a stretch for any actor, even Samuel L. Jackson, and Lakeview Terrace shows one fine urban thespian at his limits.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
09-18-2008 |
Reviews
Oddly, the Supporting Cast of 'The Rocker' Steals the Movienew
As the guy for whom time has stopped, Rainn Wilson is too often like the lead in a bad sitcom: not just foreshadowing some comedic business but practically outlining how the gag is going to play out.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
08-21-2008 |
Reviews
A Big Fat Greek Wedding Features the Songs of ABBAnew
Whatever else you think of ABBA, you have to respect great cross-programming. Mamma Mia! opens just as the world's boyfriends and husbands are going off to see their secret boyfriend Batman.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
07-17-2008 |
Reviews
As 'The Dark Knight' Approaches, Some Clues on the Origins of the Jokernew
Me, I always figured that the Joker came from New Orleans.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
07-17-2008 |
Movies
Good Intentions Can't Save 'The Children of Huang Shi' from a Bad Scriptnew
One gets the sense of the Chinese government looking over the script with a magnifying lens. The commissars are less likely to be embarrassed by the way this film scrubs up the murderous politics of the war era than they ought to be embarrassed by the script.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
05-29-2008 |
Reviews
Your Home is Your Castle? Tell it to 'The Strangers'new
If The Strangers is merely a home invasion movie, it is a home-invasion movie in the sense that The Birds is -- what happens is punishment for humans who have lost faith in each other.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
05-29-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Bryan Bentino, The Strangers
Morgan Spurlock's Average-Guy Shtick Makes Michael Moore Look Like Noam Chomskynew
There comes a time in every humorist's life when he has to ask himself: is my facetiousness actually contributing to global ignorance? In Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?, the matter of whether Spurlock's ignorance is comically assumed or genuine begins not to matter.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
04-17-2008 |
Reviews
'Holly' is Never Quite Sure of Itselfnew
This earnest film is shocked, shocked that there are child prostitutes in Cambodia.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
04-17-2008 |
Reviews
'Making the River' Looks at How One Man Survived a Prison Ordealnew
Like Dead Man Walking, Making the River is less about the matter of guilt than the matter of punishment.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
03-20-2008 |
Reviews
'The Band's Visit': Perfect V-Day Weekend Movienew
This Israeli comedy of estrangement and loneliness isn't a bit depressing.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
02-14-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Eran Kolirin, The Band's Visit
