AltWeeklies Wire
Depression, destruction, and selfishness play out in Melancholianew
In the first half of Melancholia, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) slowly but surely sabotages her own wedding reception, and you can't really blame her, because there is no one there who doesn't demand something from her or from the occasion.
Charleston City Paper |
Susan Cohen |
12-07-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Melancholia
Anna and Jacob love each other Like Crazy, despite visa issuesnew
Not since Green Card has so much romance been yoked to the ox cart of bureaucracy.
Charleston City Paper |
Felicia Feaster |
11-28-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Like Crazy
Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar is a Sympathetic Portrait of a Closeted Mannew
A fascinating portrait of an influential American, J. Edgar presents Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) as a flawed but prescient figure whose public role building the FBI into an important institution is contrasted with a private life as a closeted gay man devoted to his right-hand man Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer), who became a devoted soulmate.
Charleston City Paper |
Felicia Feaster |
11-10-2011 |
Reviews
Margin Call's Ensemble Cast Exhibits the Perversities of Wall Streetnew
The world documented in the financial thriller Margin Call feels almost like ancient history by now. Set back in the good ole days when many Americans were still living high on the hog, the film takes place in a Manhattan investment bank on the precipice of the 2008 financial meltdown.
Charleston City Paper |
Felicia Feaster |
11-03-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Margin Call, Margin's Call
Tucker and Dale vs. Violent Coincidencesnew
We live in a post-Shaun of the Dead world. Not only can the comedy horror film be done, but it can be done well — and it can make a lot of money. The key is character development. Zombieland worked. Jennifer's Body? Not so much. Written and directed by Eli Craig, Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil sits comfortably somewhere between the two. Set in the utterly terrifying landscape of West Virginia, the hyperbolically named film employs an interesting concept: What if the villains in the typical slasher film weren't really all that bad? What if it was all in the minds of their "victims"?
Charleston City Paper |
Susan Cohen |
11-03-2011 |
Reviews
The Human Centipede II is a Meta-Sequel that Doesn’t Say Anythingnew
Shot in stark black and white, the film starts out on macabre ground: There is a dumpy, bug-eyed parking garage security guard named Martin, who does his job while engaging in his favorite hobby, watching Human Centipede for the 189th time on his computer.
Charleston City Paper |
Kevin Young |
10-20-2011 |
Reviews
Actions speak louder than words in Deaf Jamnew
Deaf Jam is a documentary you can't take your eyes off of. If you do, you're probably missing the point.
Charleston City Paper |
Abigail Darlington |
10-19-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Deaf Jam
The Last Circus' Killer Clowns Represent Something Deepernew
When one of the film's clowns announces, "If I weren't a clown, I'd be a murderer," it becomes clear that we're in for an episode of Clowns Gone Wild with a tinge of political allegory.
Charleston City Paper |
Kevin Young |
09-29-2011 |
Reviews
Cancer Dramedy 50/50 Offers Generational Critique of Millenialsnew
In some sense,it seems like just about time for a Gen Y cancer comedy, and director Jonathan Levine's 50/50 is it.
Charleston City Paper |
Felicia Feaster |
09-28-2011 |
Reviews
The Devil's Double is an over-the-top true storynew
Iraq-Iran war vet Latif is yanked off a battlefield and given a choice that is really no choice at all: reject his former identity as a soldier and beloved son to a wealthy Iraqi businessman and become the doppelganger to a madman.
Charleston City Paper |
Felicia Feaster |
09-27-2011 |
Reviews
The Ryan Gosling-led Drive is in a Class by Itselfnew
This is Drive Calm. This is Drive Cool. This is Ryan Gosling as a soft-spoken, sensitive soul, a guy extremely proficient at driving fast cars but who doesn't seem to get much of a thrill out of it, and neither, it seems, does Drive the movie wish to turn you on.
Charleston City Paper |
MaryAnn Johanson |
09-14-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Drive, Ryan Gosling
John Sayles' Characters Push Amigo Forwardnew
Set in 1900, Amigo's main focus is on the amigo, Rafael (Joel Torre), head man of the San Isidro barrio, deprived of the young men who have gone to fight in the revolution led by Emilio Aguinaldo.
Charleston City Paper |
Susan Cohen |
09-14-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Amigo, Amigo Movie
Senna looks at the life of the late Brazilian Formula 1 superstarnew
Race car drivers, we know, go very, very fast, but rarely with the thoughtfulness and integrity shown by Brazilian Formula 1 superstar Ayrton Senna. In the ultra competitive speed-freak world of car racing, it seems slightly out of the norm for a racer to regularly consult with God mid-race. Then again, very little about the driver, who died from a racing injury in 1994, suggests he was run-of-the-mill. The documentary Senna makes a convincing case for the spirit the three-time Formula 1 world champion brought to the sport.
Charleston City Paper |
Felicia Feaster |
09-08-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Senna
Fred and Vinnie Crack Each Other Upnew
Character actor and "Oh, that guy" extraordinaire Fred Stoller plays Fred Stoller, a lonely character actor in Los Angeles.
Charleston City Paper |
Ryan Finn |
07-27-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Fred and Vinnie
Only a Sadomasochist Would See the New Transformers Movienew
Michael Bay's latest Transformers flick is getting pummelled by the critics. While the negative reviews were to be expected, the glee with which the critics have torn into Dark of the Moon has been completely unexpected.
Charleston City Paper |
Chris Haire |
07-06-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Transformers
