AltWeeklies Wire
'Amreeka' is Too Predictable to be Great, Too Broad to be Profoundnew
By keeping the tone impish, the characters humane and the issues personal, Amreeka explores post-9/11 Arab anxieties and injustices without condemnation or proselytizing. In fact, Dabis smartly puts the focus on sisterhood and family while tackling the obstacles to assimilation and acceptance.
Metro Times |
Jeff Meyers |
09-22-2009 |
Reviews
'Whiteout' is a Standard-Issue Thrillernew
Despite a raging winter storm, plenty of claustrophobic locations and a hearty handful of suspects, the mystery and characters are surprisingly conventional, barely rising to the level of a good CSI episode. Credited to four different screenwriters, the script smacks of written-by-committee dialogue and plot developments.
Metro Times |
Jeff Meyers |
09-22-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Dominic Sena, Whiteout
Remaking Theo van Gogh: Stanley Tucci Goes Dutch With 'Blind Date'
As a theatrical filmic exercise, Blind Date is a fair experiment. Just don't go expecting to see a traditional movie.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
09-21-2009 |
Reviews
'Throw Down Your Heart' Would Make a Better Soundtrack than a Movienew
The premise here is simple: Despite its toothless-white-guy connotations, the banjo comes from Africa -- and Grammy-winning banjo genius Bela Fleck is bringing it home. But really, that mission is mostly just an excuse for Fleck to jam with musicians across the continent.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Chris Potter |
09-21-2009 |
Reviews
'The Informant!' Feels like Michael Mann's 'The Insider' Remade as a Blake Edwards Farcenew
One could conceivably see this story being played straight in other hands -- or even in Soderbergh's hands, for that matter. But the insanely prolific filmmaker is on his fourth movie in the past 10 months, and he obviously just felt like goofing around this week.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Sean Burns |
09-21-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: The Informant!, Steven Soderbergh
'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
'Jennifer's Body': Your Average Sensitive Teen Slasher Picnew
While screenwriter Diablo Cody has been accused of being overly precious, here her cleverly worded script is streamlined to fit into the slash 'n' sex genre of horror. While the quips come fast, funny, and furious, it never slows down the plot or Kusama's thoughtful direction, which often reveals the underlying truths behind Cody's deceptively glib teen-speak.
The Portland Mercury |
Wm. Steven Humphrey |
09-18-2009 |
Reviews
'Bored to Death' is Full of Listless Ironynew
Since HBO's genuinely funny Flight of the Conchords is likely gone for good, the network could really use some original programming with a goofy sense of humor. Unfortunately Bored is far too smug and weak-willed to actually be funny, but at least it's sometimes light on its feet and has few pretensions to profundity.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
09-18-2009 |
TV
'Crude' Dives into the Toxic Battle Between Big Oil and Dying Natives in Ecuadornew
Joe Berlinger's remarkable documentary recounts an infuriating litany of South American exploitation, backroom glad-handing and bureaucratic dead ends that has, among other collateral damages, created a Rhode Island-sized "death zone" of toxic pollution in the middle of the Ecuadorian Amazon.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
09-18-2009 |
Reviews
'Cloudy' Opts for Offbeat Humor and Smart Characterizationnew
At the very least, parents can depend on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs to convey vital lessons, like large portions of food can squash you, and monkeys only think about mustaches and Gummi bears.
San Antonio Current |
Cynthia Hawkins |
09-17-2009 |
Reviews
'The Informant!' Takes Soft Approach to Satirenew
Matt Damon packing on layers of doughy flab to play a biochemical whistleblower isn't exactly a formula for comedy gold, but the film is funnier than it has any right to be.
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
09-17-2009 |
Reviews
Video Vulture: The Scariest Prisoner (and the Scariest Scary Prisoner Movies)new
A good way to introduce a villain is to show the elaborate safety precautions needed to keep him safely behind bars. A regular old jail cell just isn't secure enough for these maniacs.
Fast Forward Weekly |
John Tebbutt |
09-17-2009 |
Movies
Other Than a Tacked-On Skin Scene, There's Nothing Worth Seeing in 'Whiteout'new
Kate Beckinsale's career has officially hit a pothole. Before the boring Antarctica mystery Whiteout, she was in two straight-to-DVD ventures: Nothing but the Truth and the deplorable Fragments. Whiteout should've probably suffered the same fate.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
'9': Puppets With Weaponsnew
The message of the mediocre 9: Evil is bad, but cuteness is awesome!
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
An Impossible Ending Takes 'All About Steve' from Daring to Disasternew
As I watched the movie, which stars Sandra Bullock as an insane stalker, I couldn't understand why it was so hated. It wasn't very good, but it was far from awful, and I was getting some decent -- if uncomfortable -- laughs out of the thing. But by the time the movie ended, I understood.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
