AltWeeklies Wire
Bloody but Unbowed: Clint Eastwood's 'Invictus'new
The two things Invictus has going for it are the use of Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) as its central character and its underdog sports story. Americans like against-all-odds athletic tales. Even so, I think it may be something of a hard sell. Hoosiers this isn’t.
'Seraphine' Seems to Gesture Toward Both Inspiration and Moralismnew
Martin Provost's Seraphine relates an ostensibly true story of remarkable artistic achievement in the face of extraordinary difficulties.
Tags: Martin Provost, Seraphine
'Management' Ends Up Engaging Despite Early Misstepsnew
Steve Zahn is at his most puppyish as the star of Management, but remember that puppies are those creatures that chew up your slippers, pee all over the place, and generally refuse to do what they’re told.
Tags: Stephen Belber, Management
'Valkyrie' is an Impressive Historical Drama with a Strong Ensemble Castnew
Valkyrie tells a story that may better have been served by a television miniseries, but it's an engrossing story nonetheless.
Many Will Find 'The Reader''s Treatment of Bernard Schlink's Novel Distastefulnew
Director Steven Daldry and writer David Hare's extensive depiction of the physical nature of the affair is, in itself, redolent of the old erotic convention of the older woman and the youth craving initiation. There's a soft porn lubricity which may have been intended to convey what it is that Michael feels he has lost.
'A Girl Cut in Two' is Hardly Incisive or Tension-Inducingnew
Chabrol has often been compared to Hitchcock, but this has always been a dubious association. Girl has been worked out with some care, but Chabrol's visual compositions and chromatic palette are more involving than his narrative.
Tags: Claude Chabrol, A Girl Cut in Two
You Won't See a Scarier Movie This Halloween than the Documentary 'Flow'new
The best horror movies are able to make the mundane frightening, and the subject of Flow is a something so common that we take it for granted: water, as abundant as oxygen and just as vital for human life.
'W.' is Not a Political Screed, but Rather an Empathetic Character Studynew
Bush fans, assuming there are any left, are unlikely to be much offended by W. It's the Bush haters -- the only potential audience for this, really -- who are likely to be upset.
'The Secret Life of Bees' is Stinglessnew
The story and social context of Bees probably have substantial potential, but the movie's treatment of them is both superficial and muddled.
'Blindness' Has Limited Visionnew
Blindness certainly has an uncommonly distinguished origin; it's adapted by Don McKellar from the novel of Portuguese Nobel Prize-winning novelist José Saramago. But what might well have been provocative and insightful on the page has been rendered portentously inflated.
'Eagle Eye' Is a Nifty Thriller with an Odd Detailnew
The thriller is considerably slicker and more exciting than the generic trailers make it look.
'Everybody Wants to be Italian': Unlikely to Be a Fave, but Pleasant Enoughnew
The plot is never terribly plausible, and you can see the road bumps in this relationship coming a mile away. But despite the shaky setup, the characters do grow on you after while.
'Wanted' is the Summer's Most Entertaining Movienew
On the basis of the trailer, I put Wanted at the bottom of my summer must-see list. So imagine my surprise when I went to see to anyway (hey, that's my job) and it turned out to be the most gleefully kick-ass action movie I've seen in years.
Tags: Timur Bekmambetov, Wanted
Jack Black Stars in the Animated Film 'Kung Fu Panda'new
Kung Fu Panda star Jack Black talks about finding his inner dragon, super breath power, and his favorite Biblical exclamation.
'Unsettled' Turns to Gazanew
Unsettled has an involving, sometimes engrossing and almost tragic human interest appeal but the movie is, perhaps unavoidably, skewed. No Palestinian appears. And looming just over the historical horizon is the monster problem no Israeli government has had the will or desire to address: the quarter-million Jewish settlers in the contested West Bank.
