AltWeeklies Wire
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.
Hilary Swank Talks About Mastering Amelia Earhart's Walk and Talknew
"You may think you know how it ends," Swank says about Amelia, "but you have to see it to see if it ends the way you think it does, because there are a lot of theories about it."
Artvoice |
M. Faust |
10-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Ricky Gervais Tells the Truth About 'The Invention of Lying'new
A mid-life success as the creator of the original British reality spoof The Office and the HBO series Extras, Gervais has always made comic hay out of his short stature and pudgy build. The Invention of Lying is no exception. "I've always done that," Gervais admits. "I think it's funny."
Artvoice |
M. Faust |
10-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'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
A Week Without Movie Stars at the 33rd Montreal World Film Festivalnew
For years Montreal's festival ran neck and neck with the Toronto Film Festival, competing to premiere films from the same pool of foreign and independent releases. But as Toronto secured its position by bringing in more big Hollywood pictures, Montreal continued to rely on foreign films. And with fewer of those picked up for North American distribution every year, the pool of high-profile picks shrank steadily.
'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
The New Wild West: Talking with Guy Ritchienew
Timing, as you may have heard, is everything. While I would never imply that a married couple would get divorced simply to publicize a movie, it can't hurt the box office potential of Guy Ritchie's new RocknRolla to be mentioned in every one of the far too numerous tabloid stories about his recently announced breakup with his unimonikered wife.
Artvoice |
M. Faust |
11-03-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Edward Norton on 'Pride and Glory' and His Obama Documentarynew
From his debut in Primal Fear through roles like American History X, Fight Club, and even The Incredible Hulk, Norton has always been drawn to ambivalent characters. He agrees that it's a large part of what interested him in acting.
Artvoice |
M. Faust |
10-27-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
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.
