AltWeeklies Wire
Kevin Spacey as Casino Jack Abramoffnew
George Hickenlooper's film takes a novel, comic approach, but it isn't compelling enough to interest those who got their fill from Alex Gibney's documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money.
Tags: Casino Jack, Kevin Spacey
A Trip Through a Montreal Man's Messy Life in Barney's Versionnew
Barney Panofsky is a boozy, sweaty, ostensible fuckup who—despite being played by Paul Giamatti—is nonetheless strikingly successful in business and even more so with women.
Tags: Barney's Version
The Illusionist, the Magnificent New Film From Sylvain Chometnew
Deeply felt and painfully melancholy, The Illusionist wallows in the visual and aural furniture of a vanishing popular culture.
Tags: The Illusionist
Rabbit Hole Explores the Grieving Processnew
A simple scene on a park bench walloped me emotionally like no film in recent memory.
A Docudrama of a Notorious Unsolved Murder in Americanew
All Good Things is the only slightly fictionalized story of real-life millionaire Robert A. Durst, who is suspected of murdering his wife, who disappeared in 1982.
The Fighter Is Pat And Derivativenew
The only explanation for the existence of The Fighter is the Ben Affleck-ian belief that the world can always use another blue-collar tale set among the Boston-area Irish.
A Thematic Feast In Black Swannew
Director Darren Aronofsky juxtaposes sexual maturation, particularly in a male-dominated culture, with ballet's concurrent idealization and objectification of femininity.
Tags: Black Swan
Monsters Is An Ambitious Indie Sci-Fi Road Trip Filmnew
Monsters is in the apocalyptic vein of so many films of recent years—District 9 and The Road are obvious corollaries.
Tags: Monsters
A Life-Changing Friend In My Dog Tulipnew
By placing himself in the service of his animal, an old man is better able to serve his own needs.
Tags: My Dog Tulip
Last Train Home is a Stellar Doc About Chinese Internal Migrationnew
Chinese-Canadian director Lixin Fan's documentary is an intimate treatment of the lives of ordinary people in a fast-changing China.
Tamara Drewe is a Lively, If Flawed, Thomas Hardy Updatenew
This bustling country comedy achieves the goal of both invoking a certain English literary tradition and lightly satirizing our nostalgia for it.
Due Date Doesn't Delivernew
Robert Downey Jr. notwithstanding, the most conspicuous part of Due Date ends up being the "Welcome To" state border signs, since each one brings the film that much closer to ending.
The Latest of Woody Allen's Light, Somewhat Entertaining, Late-Period Comedies!new
Yes, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is yet another Woody Allen movie. And that's precisely the reason to celebrate it.
Damaged Goods in Philip Seymour Hoffman's Jack Goes Boatingnew
Jack Goes Boating attempts to offer a satisfying portrait of two people falling in love. Given its talented two leads, it falls surprisingly short of this modest ambition.
Tags: Jack Goes Boating
