AltWeeklies Wire
Team America Cuts Loose on Warmongers and Peaceniksnew
Team America's testosterone-fueled puppet show swings into cinemas in the nick of time. In a bitter election year marked by blood-sport campaigning and politically scalding motion pictures,Team America arrives as the ideal joke to defuse the tension.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
10-21-2004 |
Reviews
Filmmaker's Latest Doc Examines Bitter Hometown Harvestnew
The navel-gazing detective story finds McElwee traveling home again to sort fact from fiction in the family drama of a great-grandfather who created Bull Durham tobacco but lost his entire fortune to business rival James Duke, thus reducing the McElwee family name to a butt in history's ashtray.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Felicia Feaster |
10-21-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: Bright Leaves, Ross McElwee
Hollywood Product: Buddy Comedy Deserves Traffic Ticketnew
As both a big-screen funnyman and a police officer, Jimmy Fallon comes across like a Gen Z Jerry Lewis. Queen Latifah emerges with her sexy confidence intact, but Taxi runs down so many buddy-flick cliches that it deserves a traffic ticket for a movie violation.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
10-14-2004 |
Reviews
Now You Can See the Last Two Episodes of 'Greg the Bunny'new
Despite some freakishly loyal viewers, the Fox sitcom "Greg the Bunny" was canceled before its last two episodes aired in 2002. Not a network to lose out on merchandising opportunities, Fox Home Entertainment releases the complete series on DVD ($26.98) Oct. 19.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Heather Kuldell |
10-14-2004 |
TV
Tags: TV
The Yes Men Explore the Art of the Pranknew
The whole Yes Men concept is like some brilliant slacker notion hatched between tokes on a mega-bong. But in this case, the idea moves beyond the couch, into the very bosom of the media -- Harpers, Fortune, The New York Times -- that documents their WTO prankery.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Felicia Feaster |
10-14-2004 |
Reviews
Rock 'n' Roll Dreams Die Hard in Ramones Documentarynew
End of the Century is a rightfully grim, fan's-eye view of the Ramones. The film's first half suffers, kinetically speaking, from a lack of footage of early gigs. By the second half, the band has gained enough notoriety to merit film footage.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Felicia Feaster |
10-14-2004 |
Reviews
For All the Ideas Crowding its Head, Huckabees Still Has Heartnew
Huckabees doesn't just keep its head in the clouds; the "real-world" plot finds modern relevance. Unlike most current attempts at classic screwball comedy, Huckabees talks fast because it has a lot to say.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
10-14-2004 |
Reviews
Woman, Thou Art Loosed Preached to Audience, Literallynew
Bishop T.D. Jakes plays himself in the film version and frequently shows off his rolling oratory. Woman features a strong spiritual message and a genuine concern for the social problems that lead women to crime, but its script seldom integrates the two.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
10-07-2004 |
Reviews
Dude, Where's My Patch?new
Cold Turkey producers duped 10 chain-smokers by promising each a chance at their dream reality show. But the premiere show Oct. 3 revealed the contestants' real challenge: They must quit smoking using only willpower.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Heather Kuldell |
10-07-2004 |
TV
Tags: TV
Documentary Examines Gay Marriage Debatenew
Largely traditional in form, this documentary is at its most persuasive when director Jim de Seve focuses on real people whose lives are dramatically affected by the gay marriage debate.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Felicia Feaster |
10-07-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: Jim de Sève, Tying the Knot
Joaquin Phoenix Shows Versatility With Rolesnew
Even a firefighting action drama represents another unpredictable change-of-pace for Joaquin Phoenix, 29. Wait until next spring's Walk the Line, in which he portrays the one-and-only Johnny Cash (opposite Reese Witherspoon, no less, as June Carter).
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Bert Osborne |
10-07-2004 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Jay Russell, Ladder 49
Portrait of a Revolutionary as a Young Mannew
The journey as metaphor is a familiar one, charted in legends from the Odyssey to Easy Rider. Along the way, we know the youths will have their eyes opened, their hearts broken or, in the more cynical road movies, wind up dead.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Felicia Feaster |
09-30-2004 |
Reviews
Peppy Pieces of Propaganda Viable at Box Officenew
As Election Day draws near, going to the movies feels increasingly like switching on infomercials, and they're all selling the same thing: regime change in the White House.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
09-30-2004 |
Reviews
Film's Resemblance to Video Game is Uncannynew
Nicotina is a heist film so bland and uninspired, the filmmakers give up almost immediately on the details of its conventional deal-gone-haywire plot, focusing instead on tangential storylines and characters.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Felicia Feaster |
09-23-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: Hugo Rodriguez, Nicotina
Director Needs to Grow Up Alreadynew
Some milestone has surely been marked when the latest John Waters film doesn't shock so much as make you wish the director would grow up already. At 58, Waters is still fixated on the kind of bathroom humor and sexual material that seems puerile.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Felicia Feaster |
09-23-2004 |
Reviews
Tags: John Waters, A Dirty Shame
