AltWeeklies Wire
Morgan Spurlock Gets Irrelevantnew

It's a huckster's dream: Spurlock makes his movie, the sponsors promote their brand, and the film distributor pockets a tidy sum. The audience is the one left holding the shopping bag.
An Ignominious Auranew

Portland screenwriter Jonathan Raymond revamps the Western with Meek’s Cutoff.
Eugene Weekly |
Rick Levin |
05-09-2011 |
Reviews
Got a Prom Date? Disney Hopes You Do

What starts out as an all-too-formulaic teen romantic comedy settles into a forgivably recipe-driven think piece on the milestone significance of that unique social gathering known as the prom.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-26-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Joe Nussbaum, PROM
Upchuck and Awaynew

Failed superhero satire crosses the line into psychosis.
Orlando Weekly |
Justin Strout |
04-22-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: James Gunn, Super
'Super' is a Hilarious Superhero Flick, but it's Not for the Faint of Heartnew

Super is kind of like a Kick-Ass that is devoid of any reservations about violent and vulgar content. Or you could call it the deranged cousin of John Ritter's 1980 comedy Hero at Large.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
04-21-2011 |
Reviews
'Rubber' Doesn't Live Up to its Creepy Expectationsnew

On the surface, Rubber seems like an homage to Roger Corman B-movies, but as it progresses, it becomes apparent that it is something else.
Charleston City Paper |
Kevin Young |
04-20-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Rubber, Quentin Dupieux
Would-be Woody Allen-ish Indie 'happythankyoumoreplease'new

Writer-director-star Josh Radnor's film, placed in a superficially recognizable but lifeless version of Manhattan's East Village, is full of distractingly dissonant moments.
'Insidious' Makes the Haunted-House Plot Device Scary Againnew

There were many moments during this movie when I wanted to get the hell out of the theater ... for the right reasons: Yes, Insidious had me freaking out. This is easily the best thing James Wan has put to film.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
04-13-2011 |
Reviews
After a Brutal Beating, Mark Hogancamp Rebuilds with 'Marwencol'new

When Mark Hogancamp could no longer afford the rehabilitative services that he needed, he created his own version of therapy: a Belgian town, populated by Barbie dolls and their male counterparts, set in World War II and starring an inanimate version of himself.
Charleston City Paper |
Susan Cohen |
04-13-2011 |
Reviews
Robert Redford Takes Stock of America in 'The Conspirator'

Robert Redford's first directorial effort since his 2007 anti-war polemic Lions for Lambs is a striking Civil War courtroom drama not far removed from a film like Bruce Beresford's Breaker Morant.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-12-2011 |
Reviews
The Way Things Weren't: Oregon Trail Odyssey 'Meek's Cutoff' is Just Plain Odd

Kelly Reichardt's minimalist cinema-of-the-inane hits a painfully low ebb with an anti-western lacking any sign of a narrative arc.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-11-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Kelly Reichardt, Meek's Cutoff
Grappling with Demons in 'Win Win'new

Win Win is director Tom McCarthy's most accessible yet subtly subversive film to date, one that manages to both celebrate the virtues of middle-class America while laying bare some unpleasant human frailties.
Tags: Tom McCarthy, Win Win
'Desert Flower' Needed a Better Gardenernew

Considering its subject matter and broad scope of characters and landscape, Desert Flower comes across as a bunch of posies pulled from the ground rather than a florist's carefully designed bouquet.
Boise Weekly |
George Prentice |
04-06-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Desert Flower, Sherry Horman
Eva Green Goes Rogue

Jordan Scott's feature film debut as a co-writer/director is so self-assured that it's tempting to take for granted the calculatedly vibrant measure of her work.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
03-21-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Cracks, Jordan Scott
Back to the Drawing Board: Alien Spoof Goes Poof

A disappointment from start to finish, Greg Mottola's alien spoof comedy is dead on arrival.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
03-14-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Greg Mottola, Paul