AltWeeklies Wire
Very Weird, Mostly Goodnew
Director Ji-Woon Kim has fused Asian action with the spaghetti western in The Good, the Bad, the Weird.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
05-13-2010 |
Reviews
Violence Begets Violence and Terrific Performances in 'Five Minutes of Heaven'new
Oliver Hirschbiegel has created a small movie with an interesting premise, a film that wouldn't stand out at all were it not for the tremendous performances from its two leading actors, Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
10-28-2009 |
Reviews
The Coen Brothers Make Their Most Personal, Most Maddening Film Yetnew
The Coens have never made a movie like A Serious Man before, combining the screwball sensibilities of O Brother with the larger issues of No Country. But this isn’t an existential film -- far from it.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
10-07-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: A Serious Man, The Coen Brothers
Jane Campion Creates Period Poetry With 'Bright Star'new
Sure, this one could be considered a chick flick. It's set in the early 1800s in England, after all. But it's made by Campion, who's best known for The Piano, so it's real label should actually be "art-house." Regardless, you don't need to be a chick or an art-house geek to enjoy Abbie Cornish's performance.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
Giants Diehard Learns About the Painful Side of Sports in 'Big Fan'new
In Big Fan, Robert Siegel takes another long, hard look at the painful side of sports, much as he did in his screenplay for The Wrestler, the movie that gave Mickey Rourke his career back. But Big Fan really isn't a sports film.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
Robin Williams Does His Best Work in Years in 'World's Greatest Dad'new
It'd be somewhat inaccurate to call Bobcat Goldthwait's new movie a more mature effort than his earlier films, because it contains as much nastiness. But in some ways, it's more mature because it tackles some serious subject matter and actually provides Robin Williams with his best role in years.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
Ang Lee's 'Taking Woodstock' is a Bad Tripnew
You'd expect more from Lee, who is unquestionably a talented director. But his direction here, aside from an impressive sequence or two, is lackluster and flabby, like a loose joint of skanky weed.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
08-26-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee
'District 9' is the Summer Sci-Fi Movie You've Been Waiting Fornew
The movie is exactly what you want in a big Hollywood movie: a solid, intricate story that's not too over-plotted to follow, good acting, terrific special effects, solid humor and even a message to digest. Perhaps that's why Hollywood had very little to do with it.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
08-12-2009 |
Reviews
'Paper Heart': The World's First-ever Notumentarynew
Charlyne Yi and director Nick Jasenovec to make a road-trip documentary, interviewing people across the country about love. the nshe met Michael Cera.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
08-05-2009 |
Reviews
Is '(500) Days of Summer' the Ultimate Date Movie, or Exactly the Opposite?new
(500) Days of Summer is funny and charming and painful and truthful. There are movies I like, movies I love and movies I appreciate. But it's rare that I'm genuinely smitten.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
07-15-2009 |
Reviews
'The Hurt Locker' is the First Good Film About the Iraq Warnew
So, yes, someone finally made a decent feature about the Iraq War. Bigelow accomplishes that because she doesn't make it about the war at all, but rather about men whose incredibly stressful jobs put them smack in the war zone.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
07-08-2009 |
Reviews
Sam Mendes Finally Makes a Comedy, But It Just Doesn't Feel Rightnew
What Away We Go gets right is the certainty that when you're about to have a child, there's no one who can really convey what you're in for. The problem is that the film's message—everyone works it out as they go along—is told in such ham-handed fashion.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
06-10-2009 |
Reviews
The Year's Most Inspiring Movie Is About Two Aging Canadian Metal-Headsnew
It doesn't matter if you're not a metal fan. You feel immediate affection for Anvil, and you desperately wish for them to succeed.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
04-29-2009 |
Reviews
'Defiance': Tough Jewsnew
Edward Zwick's Holocaust film lacks subtlety -- and that's exactly why it's likely to be a crowd-pleaser.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
01-14-2009 |
Reviews
'Frost/Nixon' Doesn't Pull its Punchesnew
I'm not a huge fan of Ron Howard's films. They're usually well made, but I often leave them with a feeling of insincerity. In Frost/Nixon, however, Howard is wisely restrained—in the film's climactic moment.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
12-10-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
