AltWeeklies Wire
Tail-Chasing MacGuffins Hobble Owen and Roberts in 'Duplicity'
Writer/director Tony Gilroy -- the director of Michael Clayton and The Bourne Ultimatum -- runs his ship aground with a smarty-pants crime romance set amid the world of corporate espionage.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
03-16-2009 |
Reviews
Kiyoshi Kurosawa Shines a Light
Winner of the 2008 Jury Prize at Cannes, Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata is a lyrical family drama about a father emerging from a fog of denial after losing his administrative job when his department is outsourced to China.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
03-09-2009 |
Reviews
Tyler Perry's 'Madea Goes to Jail'
Tyler Perry continues to preach to the choir with his entertaining albeit stereotype-laced blend of melodrama and comedy.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
02-20-2009 |
Reviews
Girls! Girls! Girls!: 'Fired Up' Offers Snacks on Snacks
A shameless celebration of female nubility, Fired Up! is a peppy teen sex comedy that draws on a perfectly pitched pop music score, a bevy of scantily clad cheerleaders, and the quick-fire camaraderie of its skirt-chasing buddies.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
02-16-2009 |
Reviews
Mafia Rules: Neapolitan Crime Syndicate Comes Up for Inspection
Roberto Saviano’s tell-all mafia expose provides rich narrative soil for director Matteo Garrone (The Embalmer - 2002) to weave together five stories of mob-related corruption sucking dry the Italian industrial province of Naples and its squalid suburbs and infecting the entire financial landscape of the European economy.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
02-09-2009 |
Reviews
Insulting Sellers: Steve Martin and Company Cash In Again
The second installment in the "Pink Panther" do-over franchise is enough to make you wish that the ghost of Peter Sellers would come back to haunt every human and animal that contributed to what amounts to cinematic sacrilege.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
02-02-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Harald Zwart, The Pink Panther 2
'Inkheart' Makes a False Cinematic Start
Based on Cornelia Funke's 2003 fantasy kid's novel, director Ian Softley makes a half-hearted adaptation that's further diminished by Brendon Fraser's signature boy scout performance as Mo Flochart.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
01-19-2009 |
Reviews
Enviros Urge Michigan to Stop New Coal Plantsnew
A coalition of citizens and environmental groups urged Gov. Jennifer Granholm at a press conference this morning to "Stop the Coal Rush" and place a moratorium on the construction of new coal-fired power plants.
City Pulse |
Angela Vasquez-Giroux |
01-07-2009 |
Environment
Rod Lurie Makes a Political Thriller for Our Times
Clearly inspired by Judith Miller's role in the Valerie Plame case, writer/director Rod Lurie takes dramatic liberties to allow for a provocative treatment of an ongoing battle for civil liberties exacted in the name of national security.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
01-05-2009 |
Reviews
'Doubt' Stumbles In Transition to Film
Playwright John Patrick Shanley adapts his award-winning '60s era drama for the silver screen with mixed success.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
12-01-2008 |
Reviews
Baz Luhrmann's 'Australia' Disappoints
Its grandiose title might encourage visions of a sweeping epic romance but Baz Luhrmann's bloated and boisterous movie is little more than a computer-graphic assisted western that takes place over the period of a few months.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
11-24-2008 |
Reviews
Should We Rescue Detroit's Sinking Ship?new
Any bailout for the Big Three must be seriously questioned and come with conditions, because we can't let these companies hold us hostage anymore.
City Pulse |
Lawrence Cosentno, Neal McNamara and Angela Vasquez-Giroux |
11-20-2008 |
Economy
Damien Harris Examines Stolen Innocence in 'Gardens of the Night'
Writer/director Damian Harris spent ten years researching this delicately handled study of two children's life-trajectory through prostitution after being kidnapped by a couple of molesters/pimps.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
11-12-2008 |
Reviews
Bernie Mac Seals His Career With a Laugh in 'Soul Men'
Bernie Mac's last film before his untimely death is a let-it-rip irreverent comedy invested with Bernie's trademark brand of earthy humor.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
11-03-2008 |
Reviews
Kevin Smith Borrows From Judd Apatow in 'Zack and Miri'
Kevin Smith hasn't matured enough to actually make a good comedy, but he has accrued enough casting wisdom to elevate his latest homegrown material with the effervescent Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogan.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
10-27-2008 |
Reviews
