AltWeeklies Wire
Event Horizon: Terrence Malick Believes
"The Tree of Life" is a bold but flailing attempt to create an epic transgressive experimental cinema of cosmic proportions.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-23-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Mermaids, Pirates, and Swords
Having dropped the dead-weight of Orlando Bloom and his guilty-by-association co-star Keira Knightley, the fourth installment of the "Pirates" franchise has finally discovered a way to be coherent.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-16-2011 |
Reviews
Pretty People Doing Bad Things: Cheaters Never Win
Attractive people do bad things in this foolhardy romantic comedy based on Emily Giffin's novel.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-02-2011 |
Reviews
Got a Prom Date? Disney Hopes You Do
What starts out as an all-too-formulaic teen romantic comedy settles into a forgivably recipe-driven think piece on the milestone significance of that unique social gathering known as the prom.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-26-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Joe Nussbaum, PROM
Robert Redford Takes Stock of America in 'The Conspirator'
Robert Redford's first directorial effort since his 2007 anti-war polemic Lions for Lambs is a striking Civil War courtroom drama not far removed from a film like Bruce Beresford's Breaker Morant.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-12-2011 |
Reviews
The Way Things Weren't: Oregon Trail Odyssey 'Meek's Cutoff' is Just Plain Odd
Kelly Reichardt's minimalist cinema-of-the-inane hits a painfully low ebb with an anti-western lacking any sign of a narrative arc.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-11-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Kelly Reichardt, Meek's Cutoff
21st Century Boy: Duncan Jones's Sci-Fi Potboiler
Director Duncan Jones follows up his impressive debut feature "Moon" with this suspenseful sci-fi potboiler.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
03-28-2011 |
Reviews
Eva Green Goes Rogue
Jordan Scott's feature film debut as a co-writer/director is so self-assured that it's tempting to take for granted the calculatedly vibrant measure of her work.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
03-21-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Cracks, Jordan Scott
Back to the Drawing Board: Alien Spoof Goes Poof
A disappointment from start to finish, Greg Mottola's alien spoof comedy is dead on arrival.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
03-14-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Greg Mottola, Paul
The Uncanny Valley: Third World Mars in 3D Motion-Capture
Based on a children's book by cartoonist Berkeley Breathed (known for his "Bloom County" comic strip), "Mars Needs Moms" is a tone-deaf animated disaster.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
03-07-2011 |
Reviews
Simplicity Works
Writer/director George Nolfi makes a smooth transition from screenwriter to filmmaker with his feature film debut.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
02-28-2011 |
Reviews
The Movie That Wasn't
We've all heard somebody say that so-and-so's life story should be made into a movie. But just because a producer thinks Mordecai Richler's faux autobiography is worthy of cinematic interpretation doesn't make it so.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
02-21-2011 |
Reviews
Tags: Richard Lewis, Barney's Version
Action Man: Identity Spy Thriller Stays Afloat
"Unknown" is a fish-out-of-water mystery thriller.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
02-14-2011 |
Reviews
Dissing the Bard: Shakespeare Plays Fodder for Elton John Promo Reel
Sharing only a measly resemblance to the legendary storyline for William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," this animated children's movie is an abomination by any standard.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
02-07-2011 |
Reviews
Grindhouse Glory: Simon West Juices the January Doldrums
Simon West (director of "Con Air" and "The General's Daughter") has been off the big screen radar long enough to properly contemplate the slick little cinematic take-over that is "The Mechanic."
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
01-25-2011 |
Reviews
