AltWeeklies Wire
The Bourne Trilogy Ends
Even audiences new to the Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) spy thriller franchise will respond with compulsory excitement at the elaborately orchestrated chain of exhilarating chase sequences that lead up to a philosophically satisfying whopper of a climax.
'Mostly Martha' Remake Has the Right Ingredients
Rarely does an adaptation of an existing film add anything new to an original's rhythm or narrative melody -- but that's not the case with Scott Hicks' Americanized calibration of Mostly Martha.
Tags: No Reservations, Scott Hicks
'Joshua' Does a Lot With a Little
There's a definite Bad Seed vibe going on in this sophisticated psychological thriller.
Tags: George Ratliff, Joshua
'Talk to Me': An Undernourished Script with Great Performances
In spite of Cheadle's forceful performance, the watered down script fails to capture the rawness and the logic of a groundbreaking social commentator.
Tags: Kasi Lemmons, Talk to Me
'Broken English': A Mature Romantic Comedy
Zoe Cassavetes successfully debuts a self-written narrative feature after testing directing waters with her impressive documentary Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession.
Tags: Broken English, Zoe Cassavetes
'Interview' is an Actor's Showcase Movie
It's talky, stagy and burdened with a video tape plot device that will make you cringe.
Tags: interview, Steve Buscemi
Danny Boyle Energizes Sci-fi with a Trip to the Sun
In a bold attempt to create a fresh update on the ever-flagging sci-fi movie genre, director Danny Boyle (28 Days Later) achieves a visually stunning cinematic poem that is as bewitching as it is infuriating for its dependence on genre cliches.
Tags: Danny Boyle, Sunshine
'Potter' Franchise Finds Intelligence
Just as Daniel Radcliffe has matured as an actor, the fifth Harry Potter franchise installment has graduated in scope toward a movie capable of entertaining adults and children alike.
Selling Disaster: Michael Bay Fetishizes War for Youth
Transformers is a sickening force-feeding commercial frenzy to sell cars, toys and war in the same breath that it pawns itself off as "cinema."
Tags: Michael Bay, Transformers
Herzog's Vietnam Escape Story Blisters the Screen
The sensational narrative version of the story he told in 1997's documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly is a wartime escape movie to top all others.
Tags: Rescue Dawn, Werner Herzog
'Live Free or Die Hard': Exercise in Super Action
For an action spectacle movie held together by five or six over-the-top sequences, Live Free or Die Hard pays off handsomely albeit with a surplus of downtime in between.
Tags: Len Wiseman, Live Free or Die Hard
'Evil Dead'-Style Horror Works Like a Charm
The lush hills of New Zealand provide an ironic backdrop for this witty little horror show about a farm where genetically altered sheep have been turned into devilish zombies.
Tags: Black Sheep, Jonathan King
'Sicko': Get Well Soon
U.S. health care pales to Canada, England, France and yes ... even Cuba.
Tags: Michael Moore, Sicko
John Cusack Brings Stephen King Story to a Boil
The Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom (Derailed) skillfully helms this twisting one-man showcase in terror.
Tags: 1408, Mikael Hafstrom
Besmirching Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Missing Plot
Hopes get dashed for creating a fresh Nancy Drew movie franchise (there were four such films made in the late ‘30s) with this less-than-perfunctory filmic updatE of the spitfire sleuth from the revered children’s book series.
Tags: Andrew Fleming, Nancy Drew
