AltWeeklies Wire
'I Served the King of England' and 'The Duchess' Look Back to European Historynew
What we have is a mildly amusing comedy in which every female under 30 can be relied upon to disrobe.
Richard Gere and Diane Lane Reprise Old Tricksnew
This is Gere and Lane's third onscreen coupling, following The Cotton Club and Unfaithful, and they exude a palpable chemistry that carries the treacly script through many lulls.
Strangers on a Train in 'Transsiberian'new
As a representative of a badly degraded genre, this tale of treachery and drug trafficking aboard a train traveling from Beijing to Moscow has a certain workmanlike integrity.
Independent Weekly Critic Godfrey Cheshire's 'Moving Midway'new
In his first feature, Cheshire put his great big, highly engaging Southern family (considerably bigger by the close of the show than at its inception) up on the silver screen, with no less serious a literary purpose than the Bard of Oxford, yet with a light touch all his own.
Meet Fatih Akin, the Most Exciting German (and Turkish) Director of His Timenew
Akin is the young director whose breakthrough film Head-On was an international hit three years ago.
INDY Week |
Godfrey Cheshire |
09-11-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Edge of Heaven, Faith Akin
'Burn After Reading': A Country for Ridiculous Mennew
Burn After Reading hearkens back to Coen classics Oh Brother Where Art Thou and The Big Lebowski, films propelled inexorably forward by bizarre characters and slashing humor.
The Gritty Indie 'Frozen River' and a Post-Sept. 11 Thriller, 'Traitor'new
Both films feature formidable performances by their leads, Melissa Leo and Don Cheadle, respectively.
Growing Old, Bitterly, in 'Elegy'new
Isabel Coixet's Elegy is a movie for old men, made by a relatively young Frenchwoman. It's also a rainy afternoon movie, and it's quite likely to annoy women of all ages, no matter what the weather.
Tags: Elegy, Isabel Coixet
The Sly 'Baghead' Spoofs Itselfnew
In Baghead's opening scene, the Duplass Bros. seem to poke fun at the self-importance of their indie universe. However, they go further: This self-deprecation becomes part of the film's goof.
Tags: Baghead, Jay and Mark Duplass
'Mad Men': The Champagne of Showsnew
I want a black Cadillac with fins like a shark. I want a shot of Seagram's in the calm hour after a rough day. I want to take a long drag on a short Camel to soothe my T zone; there'll be no irritation, four out of five doctors agree.
Norwegian Literary Lads Become Men in 'Reprise'new
Something of a Gen X/Y Jules and Jim, this Norwegian production tells the story of Erik and Phillip, close friends and aspiring authors.
Tags: Joachim Trier, Reprise
A Conversation with Errol Morris About the Abu Ghraib Atrocitiesnew
Errol Morris discusses Standard Operating Procedure and the way the Abu Ghraib scandal turned into a misleading and misunderstood episode: a "false narrative: false villains, false heroes, false everything."
INDY Week |
Douglas Vuncannon |
06-06-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Jacques Rivette Adapts a Classic of French Realist Fictionnew
The Duchess of Langeais is a work of extraordinarily subtle beauty and concentrated meaning.
How to Stop Worrying and Love Lucas, Spielberg and 'Raiders'new
When I reviewed Raiders, I wrote not so much about its contents -- which struck me as aggressively inane -- but about the experience of seeing it at the Village Twin. To me, everything that night was of a piece, all of it depressing evidence of a tripartite decline.
'Married Life' is Familiar but Rewardingnew
The pleasures of the film Married Life could be compared to the midpoint of a happy marriage; while some films elicit the ecstatic rush one might feel with a new lover, Ira Sachs' sleek, smart tale comforts us with its familiarity, routine and trust.
Tags: Ira Sachs, Married Life
