AltWeeklies Wire
Still Hardnew
One of the best sequences of this meditation on war and suffering takes place in the ruined Sarajevo public library, a gutted shell, with fire barrels burning in the corners of a great empty room in which people are sorting through piles of books, trying to catalogue them.
East Bay Express |
Kelly Vance |
01-31-2005 |
Reviews
Color Blandnew
South Korea's first anime feature is a wondrous sight, but it's ponderous to contemplate once you get over the thrill of witnessing its spectacle.
East Bay Express |
Robert Wilonsky |
01-25-2005 |
Reviews
Unreal As It Getsnew
Jessica Yu documents the life and work of Henry Darger, a reclusive artist who created an alternate universe of paintings and fiction that remained unknown until his death.
East Bay Express |
Melissa Levine |
01-14-2005 |
Reviews
Director's Cutsnew
Relying on everything from Jonathan Swift to the tacky sci-fi classic Soylent Green, writer and director Anders Thomas Jensen cooks up an elaborate, sometimes tortured allegory about self-esteem, fame, and striving for success at any cost.
East Bay Express |
Bill Gallo |
01-14-2005 |
Reviews
Splish Splash, It's a Bathnew
The early reviews for Beyond the Sea have been so hateful that a latecomer to the bashing bash is tempted to head straight for the spiked eggnog and let the man pass without further abuse.
East Bay Express |
Robert Wilonsky |
01-03-2005 |
Reviews
Extended Sentencenew
Tackling a touchy subject, Nicole Kassell looks at Walter, a released pedophile, not as a case study but as a single human being under tremendous pressures, internal and external. In the process she stirs us to examine our own fears and prejudices.
East Bay Express |
Bill Gallo |
01-03-2005 |
Reviews
All You Can Eatnew
Adam Sandler is perfect in the role of the put-upon husband in Spanglish. Despite wonderful performances, the film about a crumbling marriage never quite works.
East Bay Express |
Robert Wilonsky |
12-20-2004 |
Reviews
Smells Like Clean Spiritnew
The 85-minute documentary on the spirtual gathering Kumbh Mela espouses enlightenment, but it's sketchy on how to get there.
East Bay Express |
Luke Y. Thompson |
12-13-2004 |
Reviews
Ghost in the Machinistnew
Cadaverous industrial worker Trevor Reznik is prone to temper tantrums, brooding, inhabiting colorless environments, and staying awake all night as
he operates heavy equipment that may, among other things, be used to drive nine-inch nails into solid objects.
East Bay Express |
Luke Y. Thompson |
11-30-2004 |
Reviews
Diva Downnew
The joy of Callas Forever is watching Fanny Ardant and Jeremy Irons bitch at each other as only a prima donna and a full-blown queen could.
East Bay Express |
Gregory Weinkauf |
11-30-2004 |
Reviews
But What About Patty?new
The film used to be known as Neverland: The
Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army. That is the more accurate title because the director doesn't pay enough attention to the group's captive, Patty Hearst.
East Bay Express |
Melissa Levine |
11-30-2004 |
Reviews
Bridget's Betrayed by a Dumb, Dull sequelnew
This inevitable offering has all the charm of a canceled CBS sitcom. With its nutty doings and zany antics, all it lacks are commercial breaks and a laugh track -- the latter being sorely missed, since this is a comedy that doesn't seem interested in being funny.
East Bay Express |
Robert Wilonsky |
11-16-2004 |
Reviews
Hail to the Drama Queennew
Annette Bening brings down the house as an aging star unwilling to fade.
East Bay Express |
Bill Gallo |
10-25-2004 |
Reviews
Opera Litenew
This paranoid, semicomic portrait of a man who has sold his soul to Big Business is pretty weak stuff in light of what Ken Lay and Company have wrought.
East Bay Express |
Bill Gallo |
10-25-2004 |
Reviews
Gender Pretendernew
Beneath its historical leanings and classic veneer, this new film is utterly gaga for girls who love boys who love boys. However, it's also marvelous entertainment: witty, wry, insightful, and universal -- like Shakespeare in Love, with more vogueing and buttocks-clenching.
East Bay Express |
Gregory Weinkauf |
10-20-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: Richard Eyre, Stage Beauty
