AltWeeklies Wire
'Towelhead': Racist Sexploitation Movie is Unspeakable
As its openly racist title implies Towelhead is an exploitation movie that wears its shock value on its guilty sleeve.
Old Spirits--New Decade: Czech New Wave Crests Again
Writer Jiri Menzel's ambitious filmic adaptation of Bohumil Hrabal's picaresque novel about a diminutive Czech waiter with dreams of becoming a millionaire and of owning his own extravagant hotel, is a rich black comedy steeped in wartime experience and sexual exploration in WWII Czechoslovakia.
Superlame: Slow Motion Frat Comedy Hazes its Audience
Compared to last year's "Superbad," sophomore director Deb Hagan's coming-of-age teen sex comedy should be called "Superlame."
In Over Our Heads: Don Cheadle Rocks It Rogue Style
Don Cheadle turns in yet another tour de force performance, this time as Samir Horn a former U.S. Military operative closely connected to a terrorist group committed to executing bombing missions around the globe.
Tags: Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Traitor
Directed by Proxy: Fred Durst Gives Hollywood a Limp
Directed by Fred Durst (of the band “Limp Bizkit”), “The Longshots” is a cookie-cutter feel-good kid’s movie that seems like it was made by some faulty gadget stuck on auto-pilot.
Tags: Fred Durst, The Longshots
Dig the New Breed; The Apatow Comedy Spree Continues
"Pineapple Express" could easily be titled the "Apatow Express" for the way it expands on Judd Apatow's influence as a modern-day Mel Brooks. The title refers to a hybrid kind of marijuana so rare that to smoke it is akin to "killing a unicorn."
Middle-Aged Comeback: Rainn Wilson Fishes for Attention
Rainn Wilson plays “Fish,” a washed-up and bitter heavy metal drummer who gets a second chance in life to rock out in this feel good comedy that’s more than the sum of its parts.
Tags: Peter Cattaneo, The Rocker
From Greece With Abba and Streep
Once it gets past its high-pitched squeals of estrogen-fueled excitement in the opening sequences, director Phyllida Lloyd's screen adaptation of the popular Broadway play based on Abba songs, settles into a harmonically pleasing musical comedy set amid the extraordinary beauty of the Greek isle of Skopelos.
Jules Verne Goes 3-D: Piranhas and Dinosaurs Attend
This maiden feature-length Digital 3D movie is a breathtaking adaptation of Jules Verne's classic sci-fi novel, filled with eye-pleasing gags and sudden shocks of surprise that fall under the spell of strong performances from its terrific three-person cast.
Del Toro's Hollywood Order: Gifted Director Holds Back the Dream
Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy sequel is a simultaneously exhilarating and underwhelming experience due to the idleness of its characters and nebulous sub-plot elements that contrast blankly against del Toro's trademark of baroquely drawn details.
Anti-Superhero; Genre Bending and Plot Surprises Follow
Will Smith plays anti-hero Hancock in director Peter Berg's against-the-grain superhero movie that features a tricky plot revelation to put a fresh spin on its storyline.
Tags: Peter Berg, Hancock
'Get Smart' Never Gels, but Still Earns its Entertainment Value
With so much comic grist to build on, it's a shame that the writers chose to ignore the no-brainer elements that should have shoehorned the comedy as a recognizable poke of infectious laughter.
Kung Fu Fighting: Jack Black Kicks Kid’s Humor from the Hip
Jack Black inhabits the animated panda called Po with so much of his signature whimsy that audiences get a double dose of Black’s comic persona.
'War, Inc.': Savage Satire Compares to Reality
The would-be comic lampoonery, about a time when all wars are outsourced, mirrors the realities of America's corporate-enabled occupation of Iraq.
'Speed Racer': The Wachowskis Make Summer Family Fun
The Wachowski Brothers achieve a divine vision of psychedelic visual ecstasy, while digging deep into a campy comic/dramatic tone that speaks to audiences of all ages.
