AltWeeklies Wire
Yolande Moreau Unleashes an Artist's Heart
In writer/director Martin Provost's patiently restrained biopic about the self-trained French painter Seraphine Louis, the audience is brought increasingly closer into the heart and mind of a genius whose turbulent inner life eventually envelops her conscious being.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
06-08-2009 |
Reviews
'The Hangover' Is Low Art
To its credit, The Hangover transfers to the audience the smelly, still inebriated state that the title promises.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
06-01-2009 |
Reviews
3-D Animation Takes Flight in 'Up'
You can tell that this film was a labor of love, and that the cast and crew were sufficiently inspired by the material to craft a children's movie that is destined to be a classic. Warm and fuzzy? You bet.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-22-2009 |
Reviews
Spectacle Trumps Satire in 'Terminator Salvation'
More of a 21st century Mad Max than a continuation of the Terminator franchise that seasoned audiences are familiar with, director McG's post apocalyptic man versus industrial-robot-military-complex lurches through fits and starts of spectacle that almost add up to a story.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-18-2009 |
Reviews
'Outrage' Looks at Closeted Pols
Documentarian Kirby Dick brings the same methodical approach he applied to This Film is Not Yet Rated, about Hollywood's shadowy ratings board, to examine the practice of closeted gay, largely Republican, politicians to systematically vote against gay rights issues as a way of deflecting attention from their own sexuality.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-13-2009 |
Reviews
'Da Vinci Code' Sequel Goes Through the Roof
For all of the Catholic Church hullabaloo over Dan Brown's novels, Ron Howard's Da Vinci Code sequel is an exuberant cinematic adaptation that combines elements of horror, religious tradition, and high-tech suspense to give audiences a non-stop thrill ride.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-11-2009 |
Reviews
'O'Horten' Is a Potent and Unpretentious Movie Full of Simple Joy
Odd Horten is a retiring 67-year-old Oslo train conductor whose consciousness expands over a couple of days in Brent Hamer's fascinating seriocomic character study.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-11-2009 |
Reviews
'Adoration' Is a Forward-Thinking Exploratory Work of Cinema
Talented Canadian auteur Atom Egoyan errs on the side of shattered melodrama in a thought-provoking dissection of post-9/11 sensibilities.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-11-2009 |
Reviews
Sci-Fi Classic Spins Off Better Than Ever
Fusing a carefully chosen cast with stunning sci-fi spectacle, and a storyline that retains the workmanlike elements of Gene Roddenberry's original television series, director J.J. Abrams successfully forms a new beginning for the Star Trek franchise.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
05-04-2009 |
Reviews
'Terra' is a Thematically Tone-Deaf Sci-Fi Travesty
Too thematically dim to hold the interest of adults, and too alienating and violent for young children, Battle for Terra is an off-putting animated sci-fi flick for no one.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-27-2009 |
Reviews
Bare-Knuckles: Dito Montiel Hits His Sophomore Slump
Writer/director Dito Montiel drops down a few rungs after his promising debut film A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, with an undernourished drama about small-town fighter Shawn MacArthur (played by Channing Tatum) who comes to Manhattan where he meets two-bit hustler Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard).
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-20-2009 |
Reviews
'The Soloist': Mispronounced Orchestration
Heartfelt performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx can't counteract a lack of narrative focus that prevents the film from taking hold, although they are entrancing in and of themselves.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-20-2009 |
Reviews
'State of Play' is a Pedantic Thriller Caught in its Own Obvious Clockwork
Nothing is organic and no situation believable in a movie that plays like a collection of isolated sub plots.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-13-2009 |
Reviews
Seth Rogen Takes Charge, and We Get to Laugh
Writer/director Jody Hill makes a quantum leap from his low-budget 2006 debut feature The Foot Fist Way with a hilarious subversive black comedy about America's post-9/11 culture of authority-abusing misfits, commonly referred to as security guards.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
04-06-2009 |
Reviews
Slow and Hesitant: Car Porn Franchise Stalls Out
For such a simple action/adventure template, the filmmakers behind Fast & Furious fall down on the job at every turn.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
03-30-2009 |
Reviews
