AltWeeklies Wire
'The Least of These' Looks at the Incarceration of Immigrant Familiesnew
To the list of bizarre, wasteful and cruel failures of the Department of Homeland Security under the Bush Administration, add this program to imprison children.
'Cadillac Records': Rhythm & Beyoncenew
Beyonce Knowles excels as Etta James in Cadillac Records, a movie that has flaws but is notable the detail of its development -- and the music.
'Elegy' Looks at Agingnew
A professor (Ben Kingsley) falls for a younger woman (Penelope Cruz) and discovers his insecurities with aging in Elegy.
Tags: Elegy, Isabel Coixet
'Iron' Deficiencynew
The plot is thoroughly stupid, but fun enough here and there, and Gwyneth Paltrow has never looked lovelier.
Tags: Jon Favreau, Iron Man
Stayin' Alivenew
Stephen Walker's documentary about the Massachusetts chorus of retired people can be uncomfortable, because the participants (average age 80) don't seem to be in on the joke that is central to their act, which is elderly singers performing rock and punk rock more associated with rebellious youth.
Tags: Stephen Walker, Young@Heart
Well Made As It Is, 'Leatherheads' Doesn't Have Anything to Say About Anythingnew
Coming from a guy like Clooney, who has recently starred in Michael Clayton and Syriana and directed Good Night, and Good Luck, that lack of substance is a little unexpected and disappointing.
Tags: George Clooney, Leatherheads
Cash to Live Onnew
The Nazis offer prisoners a chance to survive concentration camps if they help replicate western currencies.
Guest Appearancesnew
An Arab orchestra finds itself stranded in a small Israeli town, whose warm-hearted residents take in the musicians for the night.
Tags: Eran Kolirin, The Band's Visit
Behind the Veilnew
Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's animated memoir about growing up in Iran before and after the Islamic revolution.
Several Good Reasons to See The Savagesnew
Most of the picture succeeds handsomely, but if there is a reason to see this film, it's Laura Linney's performance.
Tags: Tamara Jenkins, The Savages
Blood Moneynew
Emotionally dissatisfying as it ultimately is, There Will Be Blood is nonetheless a defensible work of art. It is long (two hours and 38 minutes), but it's not tedious. Anderson keeps us watching, our hope, perhaps, sustaining us through the hopelessness on screen
Family Treenew
One wonders if Noah Baumbach didn't come to Margot at the Wedding with inadequate material to flesh out an entire feature. Some parts just don't hold together.
No Exitnew
No Country for Old Men is a showcase of brilliant, minimalist acting, a visual masterpiece and an uncomfortable philosophical challenge.
Abstract Reasoningnew
A film's exploration into the authenticity of 4-year-old Marla Olmstead's paintings raises the thorny question of how we judge abstract art.
