AltWeeklies Wire
'Battle for Haditha' is Iraq Fiction Worth Seeingnew
A rare dramatic film from veteran documentarian Nick Broomfield, this film's final outcry of grief, vengeance, and injustice is a terrifying illustration of how badly we've bungled -- by creating new terrorists in attempting to eradicate established ones.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
05-14-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Iraq, Battle for Haditha
'Medicine for Melancholy' Faces the Changing San Francisconew
Jenkins' film is important because it spotlights the most overlooked aspect of the city's changing face: black people, and the lack thereof.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
D. Scot Miller |
04-30-2008 |
Reviews
'The Visitor' Charms but Overstays its Welcomenew
This movie is a respectable follow-up to The Station Agent, but its suit-finds-groove response to globalization and deportation ultimately feels like a formula McCarthy should have already seen beyond.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
04-16-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: The Visitor, Thomas McCarthy
Wong Kar-Wai Takes a Wrong Turnnew
Norah Jones helps derail mystifyingly titled My Blueberry Nights.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Maria Komodore |
04-16-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: My Blueberry Nights, Wong Kar-Wai
Gus Van Sant's Beautiful Losersnew
Soliloquizing the life of a skateboarder in Paranoid Park.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Max Goldberg |
03-12-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Gus Van Sant, Paranoid Park
Giving the U.S. the 'Funny Games' it Deservesnew
It's worth noting that perhaps Haneke's most ingenious (and frequently overlooked) gambit is that there is almost no onscreen violence. As much as Funny Games feels like particularly merciless, graphic torture porn, the actual moments of assault are almost always cut away from or just out of frame.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
03-12-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Funny Games, Michael Haneke
'Tre' Shows a Quietly Devastating Relationship Meltdownnew
This cunning, sardonic psychological study pays off in grim affirmation.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
02-13-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Eric Byler, Tre
Daily Life in Sao Paulo is Anything but Dullnew
Director Chico Teixiera is best known for his documentaries -- his first film was the doc Favelas -- and his first narrative feature speaks to the honest and intimate way he is able to convey the life of an urban, middle-class Brazilian family.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Jennique Mason |
01-23-2008 |
Reviews
'The Violin': Angels With Dirty Facesnew
Folksy lyricism makes Francisco Vargas's film a quiet beauty.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Max Goldberg |
01-09-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Francisco Vargas, The Violin
Barber of Gorenew
Tim Burton's inspired Sweeney Todd is black and red all over.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
12-19-2007 |
Reviews
Todd Haynes Dives Deep into Dylan With 'I'm Not There'new
With this, his most ambitious work to date, Haynes' affection for re-creating the past finds its match in his innovative dissection of a complex artist's soul.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Cheryl Eddy |
11-21-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: I'm Not There, Todd Haynes
'American Gangster' Shows Crime Doesn't Paynew
The film is quite a high-caliber affair, with a star-studded cast and close attention to period details -- but it's overlong, a little too morally precise, and spends too much time on Russell Crowe's character, who is hardly as interesting as Denzel Washington's smooth, sinister schemer.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Cheryl Eddy |
10-31-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: American Gangster, Ridley Scott
'King Corn' Examines What Health is Worthnew
This documentary follows the directors as they arrange to farm an acre of corn in Iowa, then follow the harvest as best they can as it flows into the whitewater river of agrocommerce.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Paul Reidinger |
10-31-2007 |
Reviews
'Terror's Advocate' Creates a Visceral Ethical Disquietnew
Barbet Schroeder adds to his library of alluring evil with this documentary.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Stephen Beachy |
10-31-2007 |
Reviews
'Control' Charts the Angst of Ian Curtisnew
While Control -- beautifully filmed and performed -- can't quite crack his entire enigma, it's almost enough that it hints at answers.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Cheryl Eddy |
10-24-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Control, Anton Corbijn
