AltWeeklies Wire
Why Can't Oscar Winners Give Better Speeches?new
Let's put it this way: If they're winging it, they're utter fools, and if they're not winging it, they really need to find some better material.
'Boogie Man' Looks at the Man Who Brought You Willie Hortonnew
Bending over backwards to be fair, Boogie Man both gives Atwater too much credit and doesn't give him enough blame. Surely this wasn't the first guy who ever played a dirty trick, but even if he was, is that anything to be impressed by?
'Father' is a Bittersweet Look Backnew
Dear old dad takes another left hook to the chin in When Did You Last See Your Father? -- well, not a hook so much as a series of jabs.
'The Dark Knight' is the Best Batman Evernew
In a summer jam-packed with superheroes, Batman has made a couple of smart moves. He's waited until everybody else -- Ironman, The Hulk, Hancock, Hellboy -- exhausted themselves, letting anticipation build. And he's kept things serious, refusing to stoop to comic-book hijinks.
Tags: Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Steve Carell is an Unlikely Spy in 'Get Smart'new
The movie is being billed as an action comedy, but this is one of those cases where the action works against the comedy, crushes it in its big clumsy fingers.
'The Middleman' Saves the World from Comic-Book Bad Guysnew
The Middleman is the most delightful pop-culture product since Juno.
The New Indy Offers More Thrills and Chills, but Why?new
As everyone knows, Indiana Jones is back at it again, some 19 years after what some of us thought was The Last Crusade. Everyone's older now -- Spielberg, Lucas, Ford, us. But what really seems old, and rather tired, is the idea itself, that a movie can be devoted almost entirely to thrills and chills.
Wisconsin Film Festival Considers Expandingnew
Now in its 10th year, the Wisconsin Film Festival has become the de facto kickoff of Madison's spring arts season, and audiences clearly aren't tiring of it.
'The Violin': Guns and Musicnew
For a movie that clearly sides with the rebel forces, The Violin does an admirable job of extending an olive branch to the occupying army. Not all of them are vicious murderers.
Tags: Francisco Vargas, The Violin
Wisconsin's Film Industry Looks Beyond 'Public Enemies'new
Does the $20 million Michael Mann shoot really indicate, as Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton has said, that Wisconsin is in the running to become the nation's "third coast" as far as Hollywood's concerned?
'The Business of Being Born': Special Deliverynew
In 1900, 95 percent of the births in this country took place at home. Today, it's less than 1 percent. What happened? Epstein rounds up the experts to explain how what was once considered a blessed event came to be seen as a medical event.
'In Bruges' Creates a New Kind of Hit-Man Humornew
Ostensibly a comedy, the film cracks its jokes with a heavy heart. It tries to laugh off what hit men do for a living and fails miserably.
Tags: In Bruges, Martin McDonagh
'Lipstick Jungle' Demeans Women, Pretends to be Feministnew
In actuality, the series is shamelessly anti-feminist. It falls all over itself to show that these powerful women are really scared little girls inside.
Mike McNamara’s Biggest Role Yetnew
In addition to getting steady work as an actor, writing a column and hosting a radio program, on the first Tuesday of every month except January, Mike McNamara hosts the Midwest Independent Film Festival, a monthly screening of regional films.
Isthmus |
Ed M. Koziarski |
02-05-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Why Rambo Fightsnew
Rambo has speed and power, even grace, which is to say it serves up its heapin' helpin' of red meat on a silver platter. But it's not just a splatter-fest. Stallone's picking up on the nihilism that's out there — the idealism, too.
Tags: Rambo, Sylvester Stallone
