AltWeeklies Wire
Documentaries Don't Get More Compelling Than 'The Cove'new
The Cove is one of the best documentaries of 2009. It deserves an audience for its aesthetic beauty alone. But the film, like almost every issue-driven doc, lacks much-needed nuance, and audiences should remember to approach anything set out to manipulate their heartstrings with a decent level of skepticism.
New York Press |
David Berke |
07-31-2009 |
Reviews
The Dardenne Brothers Deliver More Visual Poetry in 'Lorna's Silence'new
The Belgian film team of Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne do small things profoundly. Their new movie, titled Lorna's Silence, makes its strongest, most persuasive moments when Albanian immigrant Lorna silently weighs her options and her moral choices.
New York Press |
Armond White |
07-31-2009 |
Reviews
'Thirst' is Out to Impress Somebody With its Perverse Outragenew
Bad boy Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook gives himself away in the birthday party orgy of Thirst when Tae-ju, a tantrummy young housewife, gets her wish:The undead priest Sang-hyun punctures Taeju's arteries and makes her one of the unholy. It's a brat's dream come true.
New York Press |
Armond White |
07-31-2009 |
Reviews
Altman Knockoff 'In the Loop' Doesn't Measure Up to the Masternew
Instead of inspiring geniuses, Iraq war backlash has only resulted in snarky self-righteousness that -- from Charlie Wilson's War and now British import In the Loop -- has demonstrated the low ebb of modern comedy.
New York Press |
Armond White |
07-23-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Armando Iannucci, In the Loop
Homo Panic! at the Cinemanew
Quasi-queer movies such as Bruno and Humpday are late to the game, while Nia Vardalos' rom-com, I Hate Valentine's Day, provides better gay imagery.
New York Press |
Armond White |
07-09-2009 |
Movies
'Summer Hours' is Close to a Masterpiecenew
This is not a sentimental catalogue like Arnaud Desplechin's overpraised (and ultimately unpopular) A Christmas Tale. Assayas reconciles change and regret, which gives a spectral sense to material value.
New York Press |
Armond White |
05-14-2009 |
Reviews
With 'Angels & Demons,' Ron Howard Continues His Attempt to Imitate Spielberg -- and Failsnew
This overwrought chase/final-countdown movie is as banal as the genre comes. It's not a well-made action film; it's just expensively made. Howard's incompetence hides behind high-priced collaborators and goofy F/X.
New York Press |
Armond White |
05-14-2009 |
Reviews
'Next Day Air' is More Profound than Most Art-House Farenew
Opening without fanfare or official validation, Benny Bloom's film displays more creativity and relevance to our ways of thinking (about money and relationships) than movies that pose as art.
New York Press |
Armond White |
05-14-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Benny Bloom, Next Day Air
New Doc on 'A Chorus Line' Misses the Marknew
Reality TV has squandered the great impulse toward cultural-political exploration by turning democracy and the documentary into bread and circuses. This tragedy defeats Every Little Step, the first doc to chronicle A Chorus Line's creation.
New York Press |
Armond White |
04-16-2009 |
Reviews
Paul Rudd Proves He Plays Gay Better Than Anyonenew
Hamburg's formulaic contrivance is an accidental metaphor for Hollywood's sit-com dishonesty.
New York Press |
Armond White |
03-19-2009 |
Reviews
Successfully Immigrating to America Is No Match for the Smoldering Edgar Floresnew
Unfortunately, other than some gorgeous scenery, a young girl's stupidity is the only thing that feels truly fresh in Fukunaga's debut feature, which won the directing award at the 2009 Sundance Festival.
New York Press |
Mark Peikert |
03-19-2009 |
Reviews
'Watchmen' Is Both a Test of Zack Snyder's Movie Sense and Pop Culture's Maturitynew
With Hollywood's adaptation of Alan Moore's 1986 graphic novel, the future of pop culture hangs in the balance: Post-literary hipster culture meets post-cinematic movie culture to see who will dominate.
New York Press |
Armond White |
03-05-2009 |
Reviews
Jan Troell's 'Everlasting Moments'new
Jan Troell’s film about 1907 Sweden is the height of filmmaking technology and emotional sophistication.
New York Press |
Armond White |
03-05-2009 |
Reviews
The Directors of 'Tokyo!' Explain What They Were Thinkingnew
One of the strangest anthology films of recent memory, Tokyo! unites the distinctive visions of three individualistic filmmakers: Michel Gondry, Leos Carax and Bong Joon-Ho. Needless to say, it's not your average tourist video.
New York Press |
Eric Kohn |
03-05-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'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
