AltWeeklies Wire
The Blind Side Fumblesnew
The Blind Side is an insult to the real-life character at its center.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
12-02-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: John Lee Hancock, The Blind Side
In New Moon, It's Abs vs. Eyebrowsnew
New Moon is better than the first Twilight film, but it's still too sullen.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
12-02-2009 |
Reviews
John Cusack and Amazing Special Effects Make '2012' a Guilty Pleasurenew
Even though the ending made me gag, and I considered throwing my remaining sweet tea at the screen, I have to give the movie a slight recommendation.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
11-18-2009 |
Reviews
'Pirate Radio' Sinks Due to Flat Characters and Abundant Movie Clichesnew
On the upside, Pirate Radio is beautifully shot. It's loaded with the kind of cinematic trickery that was popular back in the '60s. So if you were tripping on five hits of acid, and your heightened consciousness was somehow filtering out all the dialogue, it would be a pretty good movie.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
11-18-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Pirate Radio, Richard Curtis
Disregard the Crappy Marketing Campaign; 'A Christmas Carol' is an Enchanting Movienew
This is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, with a little 3-D whiz-bang thrown in for good measure. When the frantic sequences are squished together in a short preview trailer, they are just annoying. Within the film, effectively spread apart, the sequences become exhilarating.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
11-11-2009 |
Reviews
'An Education' is a Coming-of-Age Romance with an Effectively Creepy Feelnew
My biggest problem with horror movies is that I do like scary movies, and I just don't find horror films to be very scary. But An Education is terrifying. It's the most effectively frightening film I've seen since that Larry King/Tom DeLay sex video was accidentally shown on Oprah.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
11-11-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: An Education, Lone Scherfig
'This Is It' Looks at Michael's Sad Endnew
Kenny Ortega's film is a patched-together effort to make money, featuring a man who was not well.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
11-04-2009 |
Reviews
'The Damned United' Tells a 1970s British Soccer Tale in an Engrossing Waynew
Michael Sheen is endlessly fun to watch; his David Frost in Frost/Nixon and his Tony Blair in The Queen are both impeccable, but his turn in The Damned United makes a serious case for not only being his best work, but also some of the best acting of the year.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
11-04-2009 |
Reviews
Other Than the Fact That It's Boring, 'Bright Star' is a Fine Filmnew
Watching Bright Star was like having dinner while sitting across from a couple who are completely in love. "Wow, you guys sure like to touch noses. Umm ... waiter? Can I get some more bread? Waiter? Hello?"
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Bright Star, Jane Campion
Another Year, Another Terrible 'Saw' Sequelnew
It seems like the Saw movies will never end, that they will return every year like an evil plague -- a scaly, slimy demon determined to steal your money. I know this very notion gives me serious nightmares.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Kevin Greutert, Saw VI
The Coen Brothers Follow One Man's Effort to Know More than He Cannew
Stories that go nowhere are generally not good entertainment. But stories about stories that go nowhere, as Joel and Ethan Coen have shown with A Serious Man, can be incredible.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: A Serious Man, The Coen Brothers
'Wild Things' is a Delightful Movie for Adults About Being a Kidnew
After four years of filming and all kinds of delays, Spike Jonze has managed to put something on screen that resembles nothing like I've ever seen before. What he's made here is something wonderful ... just wonderful.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
An Impressive Amount of Top Talent is Wasted in 'Couples Retreat'new
One would think that casting Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Kristen Bell and Kristin Davis would've gotten Peter Billingsley comic gold. However, the film proves that it's ill-advised to send a bunch of swell actors to an island paradise -- especially when you have a shitty script.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
10-15-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Couples Retreat, Peter Billingsley
'Big Fan' Succeeds Because the Loser at its Center Isn't Ridiculed or Reformednew
Right now, Big Fan is easily one of the best, and most creative, films of the year. Its originality comes not from wild ideas or fantastic plot devices, but from exploring from the inside, and with sympathy, a form of life that has in the past only been subjected to ridicule and reform.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
10-15-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Big Fan, Robert Siegel
'Zombieland' May Not Match 'Shaun of the Dead,' but it's Sure Entertainingnew
While the film loses some steam before its lackluster amusement-park ending, there are enough laughs and old-fashioned zombie kills to keep even the most casual fans of the horror-comedy genre happy.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
10-07-2009 |
Reviews
