AltWeeklies Wire
'The Bourne Ultimatum': Dirty Secretsnew
It is gratifying that the zenith of a summer movie season otherwise headlined by shape-shifting robots and an aging '80s action icon comes in the form of throwback to the espionage thrillers of the 1970s updated as compelling, exhilarating zeitgeist.
King of Salsanew
There's a lot riding on El Cantante, the first mainstream Hollywood movie to be made about Hector Lavoe, a natural talent and beloved performer known as "The Voice" whose notorious heroin addiction led to his death of AIDS in 1993.
Tags: El Cantante, Leon Ichaso
Killing Me Softlynew
Few directors accentuate the real-life subtleties of hard-edged suspense like John Dahl.
Mild About Harrynew
My reaction to the Potter mythos is not a feeling of love or hate but utter ambivalence over the fantastical universe of pubescent sorcerers, wizened minders and nefarious spirits, all with Tolkienian names and wands full of spells and whistles.
The Extravagantly Staged 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'new
So far, it's the best of 2007's mainstream Hindi films.
Tags: Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Shaad Ali
'A Mighty Heart': Where's the Viewpoint?new
Is Winterbottom suggesting a xeno-divide that dare not be crossed except at your own peril?
Regretting Nothing: 'La Vie en Rose' and 'Crazy Love'new
Suffering and amour fou in two new films.
Alone With the Alonenew
Into Great Silence heralds the possibility of cinema as a sacramental art.
Tags: Into Great Silence, Philip Groning
'Away from Her': Twilight of the Goddessnew
If many arthouse films nowadays seem destined to divide audiences into generational camps, this absorbing Canadian drama has the welcome effect of bridging the age divide in several senses at once.
Tags: Away from Her, Sarah Polley
'28 Weeks Later' & 'The Page Turner'new
Zombies return to Britain; plus, a civilized French thriller.
Car Racing: An Unusual Subject for Bollywoodnew
NASCAR's bid for global product placement is puzzling here, as racing is not a popular sport in India -- and the American love of a cool car, incomprehensible.
Tags: Siddarth Anand, Ta Ra Rum Pum
Lion in Winternew
Venus works in large part because O'Toole's mere presence helps you relate to Maurice's history and battles with old age -- it's not just a random old man getting a prostate exam, it's Lawrence of Arabia being jellyfingered.
Bright Spot in Dismal Oscar Seasonnew
"Worst. Oscars. Ever." The admirably concise e-mail from a critic friend handily summed up my own reaction to last week's announcement of the Academy Award nominations.
Queens and Kingsnew
Ten minutes in to Blossoming, you've not only entered a story but a world of indelible images, rituals, textures, eccentricities.
Female Troublenew
Penelope Cruz's magnificent, Oscar-nominated performance also marks a welcome return to Spain from the wife-and-girlfriend ghetto of her disappointing Hollywood sojourn.
