AltWeeklies Wire
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
'Half-Blood Prince' Follows a Harry Potter Who's No Innocent Kid Anymore
Half-Blood Prince is far less dense with magical action than its predecessors, and perhaps that makes it feel mostly like a stage-setter for the finale that will be Deathly Hallows. Yet it's so rich with characterization that it scarcely matters.
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Scott Renshaw |
07-14-2009 |
Reviews
'Humpday': Would-Be Pornographers Talk About Transgressive Artnew
Let's save the snickering bromance jokes for another day, another movie. Seattle director Lynn Shelton is no Judd Apatow, nor does she mean Humpday to be a raunch-com.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
07-13-2009 |
Reviews
Harry Potter Franchise Hits its Stride in 'Half-Blood Prince'
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the most balanced Harry Potter film to come along, perhaps because the right combination of screenwriter and director has been firmly established, along with an appropriate team of special effects wizards and talented production crew.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
07-13-2009 |
Reviews
Norwegian Death Metal Doc 'Until the Light Takes Us' Aims High(brow)new
Norwegian death metal is a fascinatingly dark corner of the musician-as-fanatic landscape. Until the Light Takes Us is an attempt to create the definitive film on the subject, but directors Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell instead offer a passive, jumpy synopsis that's more artsy than insightful.
'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
'Moon' Hits Your Eye Like Old-School Sci-Finew
In a season of silly sci-fi films like Transformers, Moon's thoughtful approach proves inspiring. If we're not going back to the real moon anytime soon, how about launching a space program for serious films?
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
07-07-2009 |
Reviews
'Public Enemies': Gangster Prosodynew
The title's pluralization aside, this is Dillinger's show, and Depp's, and the actor does some cheeky, exhilarating work when he is all cockiness and resolve.
Austin Chronicle |
Kimberley Jones |
07-03-2009 |
Reviews
Sacha Baron Cohen Makes Funny, But Can't Get His Story Straight in 'Bruno'
Sacha Baron Cohen's follow-up to the hilarious Borat provokes half as many laughs in a seemingly less improvised comedy that goes twice again as far as Borat in goosing sexual sight gags designed to make even the most numb audience members blanch.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
07-02-2009 |
Reviews
'Public Enemies' is Less a Biopic Than a Glossy, Stylish Elegynew
What keeps Public Enemies from being a masterpiece is a peculiar lack of emotional accessibility to the key characters.
The Latest 'Transformers' Ups the Ante on Big and Dumbnew
Revenge of the Fallen might not be louder than its predecessor, but it's assuredly "noisier" in the sense that the film is a clanging, full-metal racket from start to finish, with only the rare narrative pause for dramatic scenes devoted to exclusively human interactions.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
06-26-2009 |
Reviews
'Burma VJ' is a Journalistic Masterpiecenew
This gripping doc makes an airtight argument for the absolute necessity of a free press, and it should be required viewing for anyone thinking of becoming any kind of journalist.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
06-26-2009 |
Reviews
'Every Little Step' Is a Life-Affirming Look at Performancenew
Every Little Step, the absorbing documentary about the 2006 revival of the Broadway hit A Chorus Line — in other words, a movie about the casting of a musical that's about actors auditioning for a musical — is a rabbit hole well worth tumbling down.
The Memphis Flyer |
Addison Engelking |
06-26-2009 |
Reviews
'Sin Nombre' Gets an Under-Told Story Rightnew
Its utter lack of romanticism about riding the rails doesn't preclude Sin Nombre from finding heart in the land it traverses or between its characters.
Arkansas Times |
Sam Eifling |
06-25-2009 |
Reviews
Bullock and Reynolds Have Great Chemistry, But the Movie Around Them Falls Apartnew
Hopefully, The Proposal won't be the only time Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds share the screen—because the movie isn't half as good as the stars occupying it.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
06-25-2009 |
Reviews
