AltWeeklies Wire
Sautéed Chicken Breasts Over Fascism, From the Director of 'The White Ribbon'new

Dogmatic ideologies — religious, political and social — are central to Michael Haneke’s latest film, The White Ribbon, which unfolds in a rural German village during the year preceding the start of World War I.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
01-08-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The White Ribbon, Michael Haneke
'Daybreakers' Blends Action with Toothy Social Commentarynew

It turns out that Daybreakers not only excels as a visceral thrill ride, but it addresses issues of human greed and short-sightedness with rare skill and originality. This is definitely a film worth seeing.
Fast Forward Weekly |
John Tebbutt |
01-07-2010 |
Reviews
Emily Blunt Proves She Can Carry a Film With Her Portrayal of Queen Victorianew

Emily Blunt absolutely sparkles in period-drama The Young Victoria, a film that manages to be a good (though embellished) piece of history and strikingly romantic at the same time.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
01-06-2010 |
Reviews
An Autistic Child Gets Aid From Mongolian Shamans in an Effective Documentarynew

The Horse Boy is a documentary about Rowan, a 5-year-old boy with severe autism-related behavioral problems. His father, Rupert Isaacson, is a journalist and human-rights activist who loves horses.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
01-06-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Michel O. Scott, The Horse Boy
Reduce, Reuse, 'Revolt': Michael Cera's New Flicknew

As Sinatra-loving, foreign-film-renting Oakland high-school student Nick Twisp, Michael Cera’s having his usual troubles getting laid, or for that matter even interacting normally with girls or dudes his own age.
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
01-06-2010 |
Reviews
Some Choice Literary Adaptations at This Year's Sundance Film Festivalnew

Though the overwhelming majority of Sundance titles are wholly original creations, there are a few literary adaptations scattered through the programming. Here’s a look at five books-turned-Sundance films to give you a taste of what you might be in for.
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Scott Renshaw |
01-05-2010 |
Movies
Vampire Majority : Blood is the Commodity

Sibling Australian filmmakers Michael and Peter Spierig (Undead, 2003) flip Hollywood's teen-friendly vampire trend on its head with a gory sci-fi world run by a majority population of bloodsuckers.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
01-04-2010 |
Reviews
Filmmakers of the Decade: Steven Soderberghnew
Though Erin Brockovich and Traffic were taken seriously as works of social consciousness upon their release, watching them today, it’s impossible to ignore their tendencies toward Hollywood hallmarks such as subtext-free monologuing and suspiciously convenient justice.
L.A. Weekly |
Karina LongworthLONGWORTH |
01-04-2010 |
Profiles & Interviews
From Industry Turmoil, Great Films Arosenew
And so another year comes to an end, and with it a decade (Gregorian contrarians notwithstanding) in which the answer to the question “What is cinema?” underwent more radical transmutations than in any comparable period since the dawn of moving images.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
01-04-2010 |
Movies
Merry Pranksters 2.0: 'The Yes Men Fix the World'new

The exploits of leading Yes Men-bers as they impersonate the world's power brokers and put words in their mouths — sort of like a Sacha Baron Cohen movie, but with a sincere heart.
Weekly Alibi |
Ari LeVaux |
12-31-2009 |
Reviews
'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Nine': Downey Shines, Day-Lewis is Atrociousnew

Daniel Day-Lewis may normally choose parts in which he can do no wrong, but as the tormented film director in Rob Marshall’s musical, he doesn’t come close to drinking anyone’s milkshake. And since Guido is the essence of the story, that makes Nine a bright, shiny snooze.
Washington City Paper |
Tricia Olszewski |
12-31-2009 |
Reviews
The Year of Staying In: In Lean Times, TV is a Saving Gracenew

You've got to laugh to keep from crying, and in 2009, as bad news streamed constantly on the cable news channels, I valued sitcoms more than ever. Thank God there were comedies worthy of our time.
Sumptuous Period Picture is the Best Romantic Comedy of the Seasonnew

The Young Victoria delivers something woefully few movies have lately: a believable and engrossing love story. It chronicles the early life of Queen Victoria (Emily Blunt) from her sheltered childhood to the early years of her reign, which began when she was 18.
Baltimore City Paper |
Anna Ditkoff |
12-29-2009 |
Reviews
'It's Complicated': Nancy Meyers' New Movie is Really Annoyingnew

Does Nancy Meyers hate women? The thought ran through my head not very long into It’s Complicated, Meyers’ biennial stocking-stuffer about the romantic trials and tribulations of obscenely privileged and narcissistic Southern Californians.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
12-28-2009 |
Reviews
Maas Media: How a Local Filmmaker Rediscovered Seattle’s Soulnew

As co-producer of the breakout indie hit Humpday, Jennifer Maas had the good fortune of attending Sundance and Cannes this year. She also put the finishing touches on a film of her own, Wheedle's Groove, wrapping up five years of documenting Seattle's forgotten soul scene.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J. Barr |
12-28-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews