AltWeeklies Wire
Biopic 'Notorious' Has Biggie-Sized Moral Lessonsnew
It's not acting that makes Notorious a miss. It's that the plot lines are convoluted, the genre's cliches are in full effect (from audio flashbacks to magazine-cover montages), and the whole thing screams both "Too soon!" and "Too innocent!"
Willamette Week |
Casey Jarman |
01-14-2009 |
Reviews
'Seven Pounds' is Agonizing, Incessant and Impervious to Ironynew
Will Smith continues in the vein of his last three movies by maintaining a clenched, anguished, clotted expression on his face. He has completed his transfiguration into the Fresh Prince of Airlessness.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
12-17-2008 |
Reviews
'The Day The Earth Stood Still' is Remote and Affectlessnew
Something's not right when a movie made in the aughts is cheesier than the 1950s movie it's a remake of, a movie famous for its iconic image of a Jiffy-Pop-style flying saucer settling down on the Mall in D.C. so that an alien named Klaatu can deliver a message to mankind.
Willamette Week |
Andy Davis |
12-10-2008 |
Reviews
'The Auteur' Bridges the Divide Between Porn and Comedynew
The central joke of The Auteur is the same one riffed on in Zack and Miri Make a Porno -- the absurd unsexiness of having sex on camera, made worse by the titles. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that both movies were directly inspired by the college-dorm game of making up the most ridiculous porn titles.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
12-03-2008 |
Reviews
'Ballast': The Weight of Death in the Mississippi Deltanew
Ballast is the first film from director Lance Hammer, and it would be easy to call it one of those movies where "nothing happens," except that a lot happens -- a shooting, a car chase, several beatings. These things just happen very quietly.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
12-03-2008 |
Reviews
Gus Van Sant Delivers the Story of Harvey Milk in His Most Political Film to Datenew
Milk, starring Sean Penn, seems to have transformed Van Sant from an aloof, apolitical outsider into a defender of gay rights.
Willamette Week |
Staff |
11-12-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tween Swedish Vampires Have Tiny Fangs & Big Feelings in 'Let the Right One In'new
Don't be fooled by the film's gruesome premise. While there is a bloodlust, Let the Right One In is a story of love and finding oneself that evokes About a Boy as frequently as it does Anne Rice.
Willamette Week |
Ap Kryza |
11-12-2008 |
Reviews
James Bond is in Mourning ... but He Still Kills Peoplenew
From the catchy theme song by Jack White and Alicia Keys to a suitably vindictive fate for its villain, Quantum is still a very good Bond movie (if not quite a match for Casino, which was a great one).
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
11-12-2008 |
Reviews
Kevin Smith Tests the Gag Reflex of Chick Flicksnew
Smith's former productions were like low-rent precursors to Judd Apatow. In Zack and Miri both comic galaxies collide, with orgasmic results.
Willamette Week |
Ap Kryza |
10-29-2008 |
Reviews
Jolie Teams Up with Eastwood to Make an Insane Melodramanew
Only a director of Clint Eastwood's reputation and confidence could make a movie this brazenly batshit.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-29-2008 |
Reviews
'Trouble the Water' Eyes Katrina from Inside the Stormnew
With three years' worth of outraged hindsight to go on, the Robertses' shaky-handed coverage and Deal and Lessin's focus on storytelling make Trouble the Water a digestible account -- and an indispensable supplement to our understanding of just what the hell happened in New Orleans.
Willamette Week |
Saundra Sorenson |
10-16-2008 |
Reviews
Dakota Fanning is Abused by Racism and Breakfast Foods in 'Bees'new
In case you are pondering whether to take your children -- or, bless your sweet little heart, yourself -- to see The Secret Life of Bees, it seems helpful to clarify up front that this is the Southern-set Dakota Fanning movie in which Dakota Fanning does not get raped. (That would be Hounddog.)
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-16-2008 |
Reviews
'The Life & Times of Tim' is the Only Good New Show on TVnew
This is one of the more quintessentially HBO shows to air on the cable network in a while: Its style is highly specific, and it's designed to appeal not to a common denominator in comedy viewing but to people who are looking for the opposite.
Willamette Week |
Daniel Carlson |
10-08-2008 |
TV
That's Bill Maher in the Spotlight, Losing His Religion.new
The catechism running through the movie is the question of who is more annoying: God or Bill Maher?
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
10-01-2008 |
Reviews
'Choke' is More Like a Group-therapy Sitcom Than a Movienew
Choke may be an adaptation of a Chuck Palahniuk novel, but it actually has a number of influences: It is predictably indebted to Fight Club, it intentionally carries echoes of The Last Temptation of Christ, and—probably less deliberately—it feels a lot like the TV show My Name Is Earl.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-24-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Choke, Clark Gregg
