AltWeeklies Wire
Will Actor and Country Has-been Jeff Bridges Finally Snag the Elusive Oscar?new
Jeff Bridges is a physical presence who leads with his body in a way that often obscures the intelligence he lends his characters — a gallery of American manhood in all its compromised, destroyed or hopeful ambiguity.
L.A. Weekly |
Ella Taylor |
12-11-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Eastwood on the Pitch: At 79, Clint tackles Mandela in 'Invictus'new
It’s the 24th day of filming on Clint Eastwood’s Invictus, the 30th film he has directed in a career that now spans more than a half-century — and, as usual on an Eastwood set, if you didn’t know they were shooting a major Hollywood movie here, you’d be none the wiser.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
12-11-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Keanu Reeves on Rebecca Miller's Unconvincing 'Private Lives of Pippa Lee'new
How much you may or may not enjoy The Private Lives of Pippa Lee depends on either a) your interest in a crowded genre (stifled housewife wonders if she has wasted her life) or b) your interest in watching good actors do interesting work with material that is less than top shelf.
Artvoice |
Peter Rainer |
12-11-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
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.
'Invictus' Starts Out Strong, But Devolves Into a Mediocre Sports Movienew
The film seems like it's on its way to greatness in the beginning, with Nelson Mandela dealing with the difficulties of being South Africa's first black president. Unfortunately, the film goes off track; by its underwhelming sporting-event finale, it has completely lost focus.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
12-10-2009 |
Reviews
'Bronson' Fails at Melding Violence, Artsy Filmmaking and Naked Penisesnew
Knowing that there's an audience of action-loving young men who'll pay to see violence and bloodshed, director Nicolas Winding Refn loaded his movie up with fighting, Dada-esque mime sequences and full frontal male nudity. Because: Huh?
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
12-10-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Bronson, Nicolas Winding Refn
It's Been a Banner Year For Brooklyn-Based Movies. But Is There a 'Brooklyn Film'?new
The notably thriving social enclaves of Brooklyn—particularly the areas of Williamsburg and Greenpoint—have grown increasingly gentrified in direct proportion to the down-and-dirty mystique. In that conflict lies a distinct two-headed beast ever-present in the movies of the region.
New York Press |
Eric Kohn |
12-10-2009 |
Movies
John Hillcoat's 'The Road': Brutalism on Celluloidnew
"One for The Road," I said to the ticket taker. "Ha ha ha, that's not the first time I've heard that," he said. And that was the last laugh I had at the movies that day.
Dig Boston |
David Day |
12-09-2009 |
Reviews
Mandela's Lessons Come Across Loud and Clear in 'Invictus'
Morgan Freeman's brilliant performance as Nelson Mandela is the kind of transformation that Academy Award members aggressively reward come Oscar season. Whether or not they'll be as impressed with Anthony Peckham's airy adaptation of John Carlin's book Playing the Enemy is questionable.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
12-07-2009 |
Reviews
'Up In The Air' Steers Clear of the Predictable Route, Lands the Emotionnew
Jason Reitman's very loose and awfully affecting adaptation of Walter Kirn's 2001 novel about Ryan Bingham, who, when he's not busy traversing the flyover states delivering pink slips, delivers motivational speeches about emptying out one's metaphoric backpack.
Dallas Observer |
Robert Wilonsky |
12-07-2009 |
Reviews
'The Maid': From Chile, One of the Year’s Best Moviesnew
Not many films, or actresses, would let the central female role of a movie be underestimated for so long. Blank-faced, bone-tired, and implacable, Catalina Saavedra delivers a wonderful, slow-brewing performance as Raquel, a 41-year-old Chilean maid who's served one family her entire working life.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
12-07-2009 |
Reviews
Robert De Niro Settles Down in a Travelogue Family Dramanew
Everybody's Fine is sort of like a square version of the more lauded recent Jack Nicholson vehicle About Schmidt, and its squareness is the main reason I prefer it.
The Memphis Flyer |
Chris Herrington |
12-07-2009 |
Reviews
Up in the Air: A Big-hearted Film about Corporate Downsizingnew
Ryan Bingham spends nearly his entire year traveling, hopping from company to company in his position as a "career-transition counselor," and he likes it that way.
Washington City Paper |
Tricia Olszewski |
12-07-2009 |
Reviews
Brothers Brings the War Homenew
Director Jim Sheridan's adaptation has a contemplative steadiness far more common in European films than American ones.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
12-07-2009 |
Reviews
The Messenger's Bad News Comes in Threesnew
Because life, especially in wartime, can be understatedly described as "messy," it's perhaps feasible to excuse The Messenger's disarray.
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
12-07-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Oren Moverman, The Messenger
