AltWeeklies Wire
Dazzling Design and Solid Storytelling Propel the Animated 'Azur and Asmar'new
Movie reviewers like to use the word "dazzling" to describe things like Steven Spielberg's scrotum and the Treaty of Westphalia, but here it is indicative of a visual spectacle that so absorbs the eye that one cannot look away.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
02-05-2009 |
Reviews
Is This the Year the Portland International Film Fest Will Matter?new
Despite cramming a ridiculous number of hard-to-find films into a relatively short timeframe, the Portland International Film Festival simply isn't on the radar for most Portlanders. But this year, people are talking about PIFF. Call it the Coraline Effect.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
02-05-2009 |
Movies
Cash Documentary Says Nothing Newnew
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is not especially penetrating; it's more of a puff piece using archival photographs and current-day interviews.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
02-05-2009 |
Reviews
'He's Just Not that Into You': The Longest, Most Unnecessarily Complicated Chick Flick Evernew
He's Just Not That Into You looks like a fun, awesome chick flick, and parts of it live up to that promise —- but unfortunately, this bitch is long, and by the time it finally ended, it felt more grueling than any bad date I've ever had.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
02-05-2009 |
Reviews
The Kult of Al Kaprieliannew
New England weather-caster Al Kaprielian is not at all like the smooth-talking and self-possessed meteorologists on the air in major markets. And his eccentric delivery has won him a cult following to rival -- well, David Bowie.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
02-05-2009 |
Movies
'Memorial Day': Boned and Readynew
Memorial Day displays major cojones with its graphic depiction of human brutality, but its in-your-face didacticism comes with loads of naivete.
New York Press |
Eric Kohn |
02-05-2009 |
Reviews
'Fanboys': Honoring Geek Eruditionnew
Dull social commentators compare Star Wars to religion, but Fanboys commemorates how crazily fans anticipated the opening of Star Wars Episode I:The Phantom Menace. Fanboys is actually about the sweetness of innocuous/inane adolescent passion.
New York Press |
Armond White |
02-05-2009 |
Reviews
Scintillating 'Coraline' Opens a Case of Curious Buttonsnew
Henry Selick, who also directed Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, presents an ingenious fusion of delicate stop-motion animation and splashy 3-D gimmickry.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
02-04-2009 |
Reviews
Neil Gaiman on Whether You Should Take Your Kids to See 'Coraline'new
Coraline is like much of Gaiman’s work—inventive, funny and kinda scary, putting ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
02-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Petite Movies With Hearts Big Enough for Oscarnew
For all their brevity, the short films nominated this year for the Oscar carry as much invention and feeling as any feature-length movie from last year.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
02-04-2009 |
Movies
Laika Launches 'Coraline,' and Its Creators Wonder: What Now?new
There are fewer than 1,000 people in the world who specialize in stop-motion animation. Many of the 30 animators who worked on Coraline, as well as the more than 250 technicians and designers who labored alongside them, came to Portland with the hope that Laika represented something more stable.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
02-04-2009 |
Movies
The Passion of the Ram: 'The Wrestler'new
The Wrestler is a moving character study, featuring an amazing lead performance from Mickey Rourke.
Little Big Man: 'Notorious'new
Biggie Smalls' large life is reduced to a by-the-numbers biopic in Notorious.
Filmmakers Page and Pomerenke Ask the Ultimate Musical Questionnew
There's probably no better way of describing music's regenerative powers and fleshing out its abstract properties than through the equally powerful and abstract medium of film.
Phoenix New Times |
Serene Dominic |
02-03-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Claude Miller Themes the Holocaust With Some Tact and Family Dramanew
Leave it to the French to show Hollywood how to tastefully handle the Holocaust. While far from perfect, Claude Miller's affecting and intimate family drama A Secret captures the complexities and challenges of being a Jew in France in the run-up to World War II.
Metro Times |
Jeff Meyers |
02-03-2009 |
Reviews
