AltWeeklies Wire
Atom Egoyan on Psychological Thrillers, the Future of Indie Cinema and 'Chloe'new
In Chloe, Atom Egoyan takes us into the seemingly pristine world of Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson, a doctor and professor respectively, who live in the upscale strata of Toronto, charming son by their side.
Montreal Mirror |
Matthew Hays |
03-30-2010 |
Reviews
'Transit' Aims for High Intrigue on a Low Budget, With Mixed Resultsnew
Shot on video and with minimal lighting, the film has a cheap aesthetic that it struggles to overcome. The plot doesn’t break out of the genre’s clichés. It’s a common case of a filmmaker’s ambition being greater than his means.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
01-30-2009 |
Reviews
'Holidays' is a Tired Collection of Christmas Clichesnew
Despite the flatness of the pic, the cast is a veritable who's-who of prized Latino actors including character-actor-turned-headliner John Leguizamo, leather-faced Luis Guzman and household matriarch Elizabeth Pena.
Montreal Mirror |
Christopher Sykes |
12-15-2008 |
Reviews
'Nobel Son' is Well Cast but Too Fastnew
It's the kind of film that you could praise for being a cut above the usual crap, but it ends up disappointing because it could have been so much better.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
12-05-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Randall Miller, Nobel Son
Teen Phenom Twilight is Tediousnew
Christmas comes early for teens and emos alike with this much-hyped but terrible vampire flick.
Montreal Mirror |
Christopher Sykes |
11-21-2008 |
Reviews
'Soul Men' is an Unintentionally Sad Comedynew
Any fan of Mac's knows the man was capable of making audiences laugh without having to stoop to an endless stream of mindless profanity. Were he and Jackson given sufficient breathing room, I'm certain any ad lib would've been exponentially funnier than what the dreadful script provided.
Montreal Mirror |
Christopher Sykes |
11-07-2008 |
Reviews
Mike Leigh Triumphs with the Uncharacteristically Hopeful Happy-Go-Luckynew
Happy-Go-Lucky seems in tune with what will almost certainly be an Obama presidency: it is a film rife with hope and glory.
Montreal Mirror |
Matthew Hays |
10-24-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
'Pride and Glory' Covers Old Groundnew
This film will evoke a number of sensations, many of them intentional: horror, sorrow, anger. But Pride and Glory will undoubtedly also inspire some unintentional ones. Like déjà vu.
Montreal Mirror |
Matthew Hays |
10-24-2008 |
Reviews
Old-fashioned Western 'Appaloosa' Moves Along in Fits and Startsnew
This film from Ed Harris is not nearly as good as either Open Range or Yuma, but despite the fact that it sometimes moves at a crawl, it's more or less a solidly entertaining throwback.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
10-06-2008 |
Reviews
'Righteous Kill' is a Clichéd Crime Dramanew
It's hard for film buffs not to raise an eyebrow in cautious excitement upon hearing that Robert De Niro and Al Pacino will star in a New York City cop flick. But even these heavyweights can't prop up a pic by themselves.
Montreal Mirror |
Christopher Sykes |
09-12-2008 |
Reviews
'Burn After Reading' Misfiresnew
The Coens' latest is a disappointing follow-up to No Country for Old Men.
Montreal Mirror |
Mark Slutsky |
09-12-2008 |
Reviews
Documentary 'Crazy Sexy Cancer' Confronts the Terrifying Diseasenew
For most of the film, Kris Carr presents an uplifting look at herself and several other cancer patients as they do their best to stare down the disease with dignity and courage. It makes for a documentary that's at once bitter and powerful.
Montreal Mirror |
Matthew Hays |
08-29-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Crazy Sexy Cancer, Kris Carr
Scott Hicks Documents a Composer's Life in 'Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts'new
At 71, composer Philip Glass is a comfortable member of the highbrow mainstream, as well as a renowned film composer with several scores under his belt. It wasn't always thus; his highly repetitive style made him the scourge of the classical establishment in the '70s.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
08-05-2008 |
Reviews
The Otherwise Captivating 'La Graine et le Mulet' is Hampered By Slow Pacingnew
While it may be somewhat of a prolonged exercise in indulgence, Graine is an otherwise engaging and true to life drama about a Maghrebi emigre's attempt to support his nearest and dearest.
Montreal Mirror |
Hillary Brenhouse |
08-05-2008 |
Reviews
'Silent Light' is Long and Slow but Full of Moments of Beautynew
Reaching nearly two and a half hours at an unrelentingly glacial pace, this is most definitely not a film for the ADD set; comparatively, Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers feels like the latest Indiana Jones flick. But the peculiar setting keeps things interesting, the cast is compelling and the cinematography and editing are truly exceptional.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
06-27-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Carlos Reygadas, Silent Light
