AltWeeklies Wire
James Bond is in Mourning ... but He Still Kills Peoplenew
From the catchy theme song by Jack White and Alicia Keys to a suitably vindictive fate for its villain, Quantum is still a very good Bond movie (if not quite a match for Casino, which was a great one).
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
11-12-2008 |
Reviews
Kevin Smith Tests the Gag Reflex of Chick Flicksnew
Smith's former productions were like low-rent precursors to Judd Apatow. In Zack and Miri both comic galaxies collide, with orgasmic results.
Willamette Week |
Ap Kryza |
10-29-2008 |
Reviews
Jolie Teams Up with Eastwood to Make an Insane Melodramanew
Only a director of Clint Eastwood's reputation and confidence could make a movie this brazenly batshit.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-29-2008 |
Reviews
'Trouble the Water' Eyes Katrina from Inside the Stormnew
With three years' worth of outraged hindsight to go on, the Robertses' shaky-handed coverage and Deal and Lessin's focus on storytelling make Trouble the Water a digestible account -- and an indispensable supplement to our understanding of just what the hell happened in New Orleans.
Willamette Week |
Saundra Sorenson |
10-16-2008 |
Reviews
Dakota Fanning is Abused by Racism and Breakfast Foods in 'Bees'new
In case you are pondering whether to take your children -- or, bless your sweet little heart, yourself -- to see The Secret Life of Bees, it seems helpful to clarify up front that this is the Southern-set Dakota Fanning movie in which Dakota Fanning does not get raped. (That would be Hounddog.)
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-16-2008 |
Reviews
That's Bill Maher in the Spotlight, Losing His Religion.new
The catechism running through the movie is the question of who is more annoying: God or Bill Maher?
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-01-2008 |
Reviews
'Choke' is More Like a Group-therapy Sitcom Than a Movienew
Choke may be an adaptation of a Chuck Palahniuk novel, but it actually has a number of influences: It is predictably indebted to Fight Club, it intentionally carries echoes of The Last Temptation of Christ, and—probably less deliberately—it feels a lot like the TV show My Name Is Earl.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-24-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Choke, Clark Gregg
The Prodigal Critic Returns with a Movie About His Dating Disastersnew
David Walker defined the job of Willamette Week screen editor with his lacerating judgments. When he left the paper in 2006, he turned his critical eye on himself--and emerged with Damaged Goods, his first full-length movie and a bilious examination of singles desperately seeking romantic affirmation.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-17-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Damaged Goods, David Walker
'Blackbird' Resembles 'Rashomon' Except the Victim is a Childnew
A critical success in Edinburgh, London and New York, this Olivier Award-winning drama places characters Ray and Una in the filthy breakroom of Ray's employer for 90 minutes to air their dirty laundry.
Willamette Week |
Ben Waterhouse |
09-10-2008 |
Reviews
Cthulhu Shows You Can Go Home Againnew
But you will be raped by Tori Spelling.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-10-2008 |
Reviews
Some Things are Rotten in 'Hamlet 2,' but Not Steve Coogannew
Coogan is the master of center-stage asshattery. In place of an arrogant blowhard, Coogan is reduced to the drama teacher who cares a little too much and is painfully oblivious to the way his effeminate enthusiasm alienates his students.
Willamette Week |
Saundra Sorenson |
08-20-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Andrew Fleming, Hamlet 2
Woody Allen's European Sex Romp is a Shocking Triumphnew
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a breezy triumph for Allen, not so much a return to form as a discovery of new perspective. It's the delight of an old jester discovering that his best material -- youth, and its illusions -- is inexhaustible.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
08-13-2008 |
Reviews
'Tropic Thunder': When Satire Goes Badnew
Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Tom Cruise all play parodies of recognizable Hollywood types—the lunkhead, the coke fiend and the unscrupulous executive—but who exactly is Tom Cruise in the position to lampoon? This is a satire of movie-industry excess constructed by the very people made fat and happy by that industry.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
08-13-2008 |
Reviews
Guy Maddin, Now With More Hockeynew
With My Winnipeg, Maddin attempts a heroic midlife flight from his mythic Manitoban birthplace.
Willamette Week |
Chris Stamm |
08-06-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Guy Maddin, My Winnipeg
'Tell No One': The Less You Know, the Bigger the Payoffnew
Being blindsided by the film’s clever twists, cold-sweat pursuits, tragic romance and stellar performances is a distinct cinematic pleasure.
Willamette Week |
AP Kryza |
07-30-2008 |
Reviews
