AltWeeklies Wire
'Little Ashes' Burns Time Instead of Blazingnew
Little Ashes is as pretty as an illustrated picture book, with wind-blown fields of Andalusian grass and gorgeous cliff-side seascapes, but has only about as much to say.
Boise Weekly |
Jeremiah Wierenga |
06-24-2009 |
Reviews
'Objectified''s Subjects Plot a User-Friendly Universenew
Gary Hustwit's Objectified is more an appreciation than a critique of something utterly ubiquitous -- in this case product design -- and a few stellar personalities behind it.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
06-24-2009 |
Reviews
Michael Bay Pimps His Transformers Ridenew
The sequel to 2007's Transformers is measurably better, simply by virtue of its utter commitment to spectacle.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
06-24-2009 |
Reviews
An Outrage Porn and a Decorously Hammy Frou-Frounew
The Stoning of Soraya M. is cheap and degrading and it stinks from here to Tehran. Meanwhile, Cheri is an insubstantial bit of fluff.
East Bay Express |
Kelly Vance |
06-24-2009 |
Reviews
'My Sister's Keeper' Turns on the Waterworks
Nick Cassavetes' three-hankie weepy lurches during moments of music-video sequences, and gratuitous voice-over narration from members of the Fitzgerald family as they struggle with their terminally ill daughter Kate (well played by Sofia Vassilieva).
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
06-22-2009 |
Reviews
'Enlighten Up!' Documents a Skeptic's Journey into the Big Omnew
Director Kate Churchill, who admits up front that her own yoga discipline has changed her life dramatically, chooses a 29-year-old New York journalist to serve as the control factor in her argument for the benefits of yoga.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
06-19-2009 |
Reviews
'Shall We Kiss?' is a Wonderful, Sexy Romance from Francenew
Director Emmanuel Mouret achieves the kind of total submission to a filmmaker that's usually reserved for edge-of-your-seat thrillers and, in a way, that's what he has made: an expertly suspenseful romance.
Orlando Weekly |
Justin Strout |
06-19-2009 |
Reviews
'Year One' Tries (and Fails) to be a Monty Python Movienew
Harold Ramis has had a hand in some seriously great comedies -- Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day -- but, lest we forget, he was also responsible for Club Paradise and Stuart Saves His Family. Year One might be better than either of those movies, but not by much.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
06-19-2009 |
Reviews
'Food, Inc.' Reveals Hidden Costs on the Menunew
Of all the scary food documentaries, Food, Inc. proves the most powerful and the most neatly packaged. Overall, it serves as a resounding call to action that holds out hope for the future. In the short-term, its perspective on food calls to mind an old quip by Rodney Dangerfield: "At my house, we pray after we eat."
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
06-18-2009 |
Reviews
Eddie Murphy Stinks Yet Again in the Poorly Made 'Imagine That'new
For the last 10 years, Murphy has been appearing in junky films (with the exception of Dreamgirls) in a misguided attempt to be more of a "family man" at the movies. The resultant films have ranged from mildly amusing (Life) to deplorable (Norbit).
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
'Sita Sings the Blues' is a Rare Jewelnew
This adult-oriented animation rarely feels like a gimmick and never appears cheap. It would be a tragedy if this bold retelling of the Ramayana were to disappear into the deep and fragmented history of its innumerable ancestors.
Boise Weekly |
Jeremiah Wierenga |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
'Treeless Mountain' is an Exception to the Sentimental Rulenew
Korean-American director So Yong Kim's semi-autobiographical film has a premise especially ripe for mawkishness. But it evades schmaltz, in no small part because the Korean actresses themselves are so resolutely dry-eyed.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
06-17-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: So Yong Kim, Treeless Mountain
'The Proposal' Shows That a Familiar Recipe Still Works With the Right Ingredients
Director Anne Fletcher's film is funnier and more charming than it seems to have any right to be.
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Scott Renshaw |
06-15-2009 |
Reviews
With 'Whatever Works,' Woody Allen Announces His Demise
Here's a movie that feels thrown together, as if Allen is attempting to purge as many films as he can before he shuffles off his mortal coil. His legacy is going in an emotionally threadbare direction.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
06-15-2009 |
Reviews
'Easy Virtue' Neither Delights nor Disappointsnew
Easy Virtue does a few amusing things with the British manor-house comedy, but mostly it sticks politely to form and, in the manner of a good Englishman, neither excels beyond its station nor falls into disgrace.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
06-11-2009 |
Reviews
