AltWeeklies Wire
Generational Bubble: Searching for an Anti-hero in a 70s Mold
Luke Wilsons written, acted and debut-co-directed homage to offbeat 70s era satires, ala Rancho Deluxe, is a study in movie-by-committee entropy.
Sequel Dud: The Plague is the Movie Itself
It's a cut-and-paste example of how movie sequels are predictably inferior to their ancestors.
Spider-Man Franchise Loses Steam
After bucking the pitfalls of creating a sassy big screen superhero based on a popular comic book, and following it up with an even better sequel, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film series has fizzled into a flagging mix of confused passion and diluted villainy.
Tags: Sam Raimi, Spider-Man 3
Exploitation Bologna: Steve Austin Goes Rambo -- Snuff Style
The Condemned might just be the first in a new line of exploitation movies to revive the genre.
Tags: Scott Wiper, The Condemned
Motel Matches: Faulty Horror Burns Out
Even for a trashy little hide-and-seek movie, Vacancy is a disappointing excursion.
Tags: Nimród Antal, Vacancy
Probing Both Sides of the Dutch WWII Resistance
Black Book is Paul Verhoeven's first film made in his native Netherlands since 1985, and he brings to it valuable lessons learned from working for 20 years in Hollywood to forge an unprecedented World War II-era masterpiece.
Tags: Black Book, Paul Verhoeven
Tarantino & Rodriguez Wang It Up Old-School
In their overzealous double bill homage to the cheap grungy urban cinemas of yore, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have created an unparalleled irreverent concoction of dueling films.
Pass Over -- Lightweight Horror Plagues All Concerned
The Reaping is a would-be horror movie that defies its own anemic logic.
Tags: Stephen Hopkins, The Reaping
Ghetto Theme Park: Terrence Howard Goes Off Track
Based on the true story of inspirational swim coach Jim Ellis, a black beacon of community renewal in 70s Philadelphia, Pride blends that era's racial and economic realities into a Hollywood smoothie of formulaic pablum.
Tags: Pride, Sunu Gonera
Bullock Jumble - Domestic Troubles Arrive In a Puzzle of Fate
Ageless beauty Sandra Bullock gives her typical automated performance in a superficial cross between the recent Deja Vu and Bullock's own excruciating movie The Lake House.
Tags: Mennan Yapo, Premonition
David Fincher Triumphs With Unsolved Murder Mystery
David Fincher has said that with Zodiac he wanted "to make the last serial killer movie."
Tags: David Fincher, Zodiac
Blues Roots Take Hold In Craig Brewer's Gothic Tale of Redemption
The title Black Snake Moan comes from Texas bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson's song about going blind, and the swampy imagery serves as a beacon of primal anguish for writer/director Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow).
Tags: Black Snake Moan, Craig Brewer
Unpleasant Junk
Schumacher pulls the plug on Jim Carrey's career.
Tags: Joel Schumacher, The Number 23
Fudging Factory
Sienna Miller and Guy Pierce soar above piecemeal Edie Sedgwick biopic.
Tags: Factory Girl, George Hickenlooper
Too Much Information Hobbles Horror
With over 150 films to his credit, producer Dino De Laurentiis valiantly attempts to compensate for the material's manifest shortcomings by stacking the cinematic deck with an ardently talented cast and crew.
Tags: Hannibal Rising, Peter Webber
