AltWeeklies Wire
Bad Cop to Good Cop: David Ayers Switches Teams
“End of Watch” is a gritty brief apologia from writer-director David Ayer for his less than complementary Los Angeles copsploitation films “Training Day” and “Harsh Times.”
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
09-18-2012 |
Reviews
Loving Up Wall Street Corruption: Nicholas Jarecki Caters to the One Percent
Some not-so-fancy narrative mechanics set Richard Gere up as a one-percenter antihero in a movie that deplorably attempts to mitigate the evil that wealthy corruption loves to wield at every level of social injustice.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
09-10-2012 |
Reviews
The Pitfalls of Academia: Josh Radnor Shows You Can’t Go Back
Writer-director-actor Josh Radnor follows up his debut feature (“Happythankyoumoreplease”) with a compact romantic comedy that almost works, but not quite.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
09-10-2012 |
Reviews
Moonshine Rebels: Public Enemy Era Splashes with Booze and Blood
Inflected with the same gritty appreciation for brutal violence that director John Hillcoat applied to his Australian-set period Western “The Proposition,” “Lawless” is a Depression era bootleg gangster fantasy baked in booze, blood, and grime.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
08-28-2012 |
Reviews
Almost Human: Frank Langella Accepts His Inner Machine
from an actor’s showcase perspective, the film allows the redoubtable Frank Langella to cast his glowing spell over his audience.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
08-20-2012 |
Reviews
Ghost Story: Rebecca Hall Goes Gothic
“The Awakening” is an old-fashioned haunted house story with a couple of neat twists.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
08-20-2012 |
Reviews
Stop-Motion Spooky: Laika Cuts Pixar Down to Size
Fans of Aardman’s handcrafted style of animation will find much to enjoy in this wonderfully stylized stop-motion comedy-horror-thriller about a little boy named Norman who sees dead people, or at least their ghosts.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
08-13-2012 |
Reviews
What’s Right? Political Process Turns Red With Laughter
Here’s a new twist. Picture a Republican politician with humanitarian ethics. Now imagine said unicorn in the corporeal being of Zach Galifianakis, making the most of every effeminate gesture he can muster as small town family man Marty Huggins.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
08-06-2012 |
Reviews
Reviving Old Love: Kay and Arnold Dance Again
If it weren’t for its outdated music video segues, “Hope Springs” could just be the best romantic comedy about marriage ever made.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
08-06-2012 |
Reviews
Art Truth: China Entertains Dissent More Than America
Alison Klayman’s biopic documentary is deceptive. It’s not so much about what the filmmaker perceives as an iconoclastic artist’s ability and willingness to stand up against a fascist regime.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
07-30-2012 |
Reviews
Freakin’ Friedkin: The Legendary Filmmaker Goes Comically Black
William Friedkin's dark, funny, and sexy black comedy is a triumph. “Killer Joe” makes “Fargo” seem like a rom-com.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
07-23-2012 |
Reviews
Gross Wealth Takes a Hit: Lauren Greenfield Tracks the Demise of a One Percenter
There’s quiet satisfaction in watching the financial collapse of the Florida billionaire self-professedly “personally” responsible for George W. Bush’s “illegal” takeover of the White House in 2000.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
07-16-2012 |
Reviews
The Same Web Twice: Sony Reboots Spidey and Company
How quickly generations come and go. If you’re old enough to remember seeing Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man, and thought Tobey Maguire would carry Spider-Man’s mantle far into the 21st century, Hollywood is here to tell you your time has passed.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
07-02-2012 |
Reviews
Stars Like These: Banks and Pine Go Hepburn and Tracy
Smart dialogue intersperses a by-committee soap opera plot in a movie made much better than the sum of its vulnerable narrative by three terrific actors.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
06-25-2012 |
Reviews
Sad Vacation: Woody’s European Tour Jumps the Track
It would be an insincere compliment to call “To Rome With Love” a piecemeal comic reverie.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
06-18-2012 |
Reviews
