AltWeeklies Wire
Other Than the Fact That It's Boring, 'Bright Star' is a Fine Filmnew
Watching Bright Star was like having dinner while sitting across from a couple who are completely in love. "Wow, you guys sure like to touch noses. Umm ... waiter? Can I get some more bread? Waiter? Hello?"
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Bright Star, Jane Campion
Another Year, Another Terrible 'Saw' Sequelnew
It seems like the Saw movies will never end, that they will return every year like an evil plague -- a scaly, slimy demon determined to steal your money. I know this very notion gives me serious nightmares.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Kevin Greutert, Saw VI
The Coen Brothers Follow One Man's Effort to Know More than He Cannew
Stories that go nowhere are generally not good entertainment. But stories about stories that go nowhere, as Joel and Ethan Coen have shown with A Serious Man, can be incredible.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: A Serious Man, The Coen Brothers
'Wild Things' is a Delightful Movie for Adults About Being a Kidnew
After four years of filming and all kinds of delays, Spike Jonze has managed to put something on screen that resembles nothing like I've ever seen before. What he's made here is something wonderful ... just wonderful.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
The Absurd Comedy of 'Fix The World' Goes Hand-in-Hand with the Yes Men's Aestheticnew

There's a surprising amount of both intellectual and comic rigor on display here, and belly laughs are plentiful. At the very least, the Yes Men, for a moment, steal anti-capitalist activism from unappealing anarcho-crusaders and make it seem like something we could all get behind.
Portland Phoenix |
Christopher Gray |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
'Antichrist' is Kinda Like Taking a Pair of Rusty Scissors to Your Lady Placenew
I've been thinking about this film for weeks, slowly turning it over in my head, and while I still haven't fully sussed it out, I do know that Antichrist is visually arresting, relentlessly cruel, and intensely, genuinely interesting.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Antichrist, Lars von Trier
'Gentlemen Broncos' is a Personal, Daring Film That Captures Eccentric Americananew

Treading that thin line between empathy and pity that also distinguished Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, Hess deals with the oddball aspirations frequently felt by teenage loners who escape into the fantasy worlds of sci-fi.
New York Press |
Armond White |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Gentlemen Broncos, Jared Hess
Michael Jackson's Genius is Brought Closer and Clarified in 'This Is It'new
Behind the tabloid image, Jackson's seen thinking, devising, improvising -- and performing masterfully. At age 50, Jackson was still a prodigy; possessed of protean talent and when in the company of collaborators he is inspired.
New York Press |
Armond White |
10-29-2009 |
Reviews
Killer-Nature Flick 'The Canyon' Inadvertently Advocates Staycationsnew
A first feature for director Richard Harrah and writer Steve Allrich, The Canyon falls firmly within that vacation-from-hell subgenre recently capped by the very clever, funny, and fairly freaky A Perfect Getaway. (None of which adjectives apply here, alas.)
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
10-28-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Richard Harrah, The Canyon
Violence Begets Violence and Terrific Performances in 'Five Minutes of Heaven'new

Oliver Hirschbiegel has created a small movie with an interesting premise, a film that wouldn't stand out at all were it not for the tremendous performances from its two leading actors, Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
10-28-2009 |
Reviews
Is 'Amelia' Ready for Takeoff?new
Sticking to the period of the middle 1930s during which she became a celebrity, Mira Nair's film doesn't have much to add to the Earhart lore, but by necessity of movie convention does have much to subtract from the actual life.
C-Ville Weekly |
Jonathan Kiefer |
10-28-2009 |
Reviews
'Amelia' is a Handsome, Dull and Utterly Banal Earhart Biographynew
Mira Nair's film is old-school Hollywood in that musty, detached way that impresses no one and ultimately does a disservice to the person it so dutifully strains to deify.
Metro Times |
Jeff Meyers |
10-27-2009 |
Reviews
'Earth Days' Offers an Intriguing Look at the Green Movement's Originsnew

Along with the eye-opening archival footage and alarming facts, Earth Days is an honest appraisal of the U.S. environmental movement -- warts and all.
Metro Times |
Jeff Meyers |
10-27-2009 |
Reviews
'Antichrist' is the Best Horror Film of the Last 30 Years
Von Trier is a master filmmaker, and his exploration into the genre of horror has given us a film far more frightening than anything Hollywood would ever allow.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
10-26-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Antichrist, Lars von Trier
Ultra-Low-Budget Horror Flick 'Paranormal Activity' Hits the Marknew
How does a film from a first-time director, with a budget that matches what some studios would spend on a single ad in a trade magazine, manage to connect with so many people? Simple: It's scary.