AltWeeklies Wire
Half-Eaten Chocolates: A Sampler You Don't Want to Give
Valentine's Day is yet another date movie that's less than the sum of its parts. The sheer number of A-list actors involved spells trouble. Jessica Biel, Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, and Anne Hathaway provide cast padding for the likes of B-listers Taylor Swift, George Lopez, and Emma Roberts.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
02-08-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Garry Marshall, Valentine's Day
Mel Gibson Crosses the Line in 'Edge of Darkness'new
In the pair of emotionally contradictory images that open Mel Gibson’s Edge of Darkness, swollen corpses surfacing on a moonlit river are followed without pause by grainy home video of a little girl playing in the surf.
Shepherd Express |
David Luhrssen |
01-29-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Edge of Darkness, Martin Campbell
Hal Holbrook Shines in 'That Evening Sun'new
Like the Jeff Bridges vehicle Crazy Heart (scheduled to open locally this Friday), That Evening Sun is one of those films that generates nearly all of its goodwill from a smashing central performance by a long-established veteran.
Creative Loafing (Charlotte) |
Matt Brunson |
01-27-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Scott Teems, The Evening Sun
'Hideous Men' Transcribes Interviews With Jerksnew
John Krasinski’s adaptation comes off awkward and obvious. Krasinski (of "The Office") wrote, directed and co-stars in his adaptation of the book by the late David Foster Wallace, but wastes his cast's manpower on themes that could fit on the average tweet, with letters to spare.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-26-2010 |
Reviews
Swedish Director Takes Us On a Guilt Trip Around the Worldnew
Lukas Moodysson’s Mammoth employs a polyglot cast, a wide-ranging backdrop and assorted convergent storylines to ruminate on the sad state of interpersonal politics — in this case, modern parenthood and the worldwide socioeconomic factors that affect it both positively and negatively.
Weekly Alibi |
Devin D. O’Leary |
01-26-2010 |
Reviews
The Latest 'Bad Lieutenant' Isn't Good or Bad. It Just Isnew
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (why the "Port of Call" part? Who knows! Who cares!) is a conventional detective thriller in basic form, but the procedural elements are sometimes listless.
The Memphis Flyer |
Chris Herrington |
01-22-2010 |
Reviews
André Téchiné Explores Difficult Emotional Territory With Exquisite Detailnew
America may not be ready for André Téchiné’s superb new movie The Girl on the Train. To judge by the audience’s gasp at the film’s Lincoln Center world premiere last year, Téchiné’s signature interest in how race, class and sex intersect remains shocking.
New York Press |
Armond White |
01-21-2010 |
Reviews
'Extraordinary Measures' a Dependable but Unflashy Ridenew
The picture’s most revelatory aspect, for me, was its introduction of the affliction at its crux: Pompe disease. I’d never heard of it, and now probably won’t soon forget it.
San Antonio Current |
Brian Villalobos |
01-20-2010 |
Reviews
A Fire Within: Charles Darwin Biopic Stays Cold
As reworked by screenwriter John Collee, Jon Amiel's adaptation of Randal Keynes's novel "Annie's Box" is too driven by melodrama to work as a biopic. The story moves to the relationship between Darwin and his brilliant daughter Annie (wonderfully played by newcomer Martha West).
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
01-18-2010 |
Reviews
Colin Firth's Presence Elevates Tom Ford’s Directorial Debutnew
A deeply felt and slickly polished adaptation of a novel by Christopher Isherwood, the directorial debut by designer-turned-filmmaker Tom Ford primarily succeeds as a showcase for its star. Indeed, it’s exciting to see what Colin Firth can do when he’s pushed out of his comfort zone.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Jason Anderson |
01-14-2010 |
Reviews
Peter Jackson's 'The Lovely Bones' is Dark and Staticnew
Surprisingly, apart from Stanley Tucci's acclaimed turn as serial killer George Harvey, The Lovely Bones has been shut out of the awards-season accolades. Frankly, some of the catcalls are nitpicky and unjustified.
Pretentiously Played: Peter Jackson's Sickly Sweet Schlocknew
'The Lovely Bones' is a steaming, treacly pile of excrescence, frosted with visuals that look like they were adapted from the pink, lace-covered dream journal of a unicorn-collecting scrapbooker. Essentially, if Walt Disney made a movie about the rape and murder of a teenager, this is the movie he'd make.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
01-13-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: The Lovely Bones, Peter Jackson
'The Messenger' Delivers Stark Lesson About Casualties of Warnew
Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) receives new orders in the first scenes of The Messenger. Will endured injuries to his eye and leg in an Iraqi firefight, and has the wounds and decorations to prove it, but his latest assignment will leave its own kind of scars.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Oren Moverman, The Messenger
With a Bible, Denzel Washington Walks Through the Valley of Death
Falling on the heels of The Road, The Book of Eli is a similarly themed vision of a post-apocalyptic dystopia where cannibals and criminals make up what's left of the human species.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
01-11-2010 |
Reviews
'Strongman': Like 'The Wrestler,' Only Realnew
Ten years in the making, Strongman both anticipates and follows The Wrestler: Stanley Pleskun is no longer young, keeps hoping for his luck to change, and ekes out a living as a scrap-metal dealer. (He inks the design on his costume with a Sharpie.)
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
01-11-2010 |
Reviews
