AltWeeklies Wire
'Ping Pong Playa' Slams Stereotypes About Asian Americans and Sportsnew
Ping Pong Playa is fast-moving and truly funny family fare. Yu's direction packs each scene with action that's both physical and mental -- visual puns, a bit of slapstick, verbal zingers and a lot of humorous moments drawn from real life.
Pasadena Weekly |
Jana J. Monji |
09-08-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Trouble the Water': The Big Uneasynew
This new documentary goes into the eye of the Hurricane Katrina disaster that wiped out a community.
East Bay Express |
Kelly Vance |
09-04-2008 |
Reviews
Jason Statham is Hollywood’s Last Action Hero Because of His B-movie Statusnew
Statham's not just the latest big-screen badass; he's come to stand for quality product.
New York Press |
Armond White |
08-29-2008 |
Reviews
Tanaz Eshaghian's Doc Looks at Iranian Gays Pressured to Endure Sex-Change Operationsnew
Eshaghian says Be Like Others is a film about class as much as it is about gender or sexual orientation. "If you're poor, this is when the conformity is really expected of you."
Montreal Mirror |
Matthew Hays |
08-29-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Darby Crash Biopic Feels Like 'High School Musical' With Heroinnew
What We Do Is Secret, named after a Germs song, begins with one genuine moment--Shane West perfectly imitating Crash's baby-talkish onstage requests for a "beerwa"—but crumbles into cartoonish movie-of-the-week territory from there.
Washington City Paper |
Tricia Olszewski |
08-29-2008 |
Reviews
Manny Farber, 1917-2008new
As a critic, Farber advocated more modest, elemental "termite art" — throwaway B movies, Westerns and, later on, important works of European and experimental cinema that he found sui generis, teeming with life, and more invested in individual moments than grandiose objectives
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
08-29-2008 |
Movies
Fortunately, 'Traitor' Has Don Cheadle's Moral Heftnew
Now that Traitor is done, it seems like puffing this package up with commercial viability also was a way of watering its premise down.
Charleston City Paper |
Jonathan Kiefer |
08-27-2008 |
Reviews
So Long, Summer Movies -- Hello, Fall Filmsnew
Fall is the best time of year for film critics, because the award-oriented prestige films finally get trotted out for judgment. Here's a handy clip 'n' save list of movies I'm personally looking forward to.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
08-27-2008 |
Movies
Connecticut Tax Dollars Subsidize a Film Industry That Doesn't Need the Helpnew
The state is betting a small fortune on Connecticut becoming a viable home to the film industry, offering production companies the most generous tax breaks in the country and paying film union members upwards of half a million dollars to train a hundred or so people to do film jobs they may never get.
New Haven Advocate |
Andy Bromage |
08-26-2008 |
Movies
Patrick Creadon's Chilling Doc Proves the Economy is About to Implodenew
For a topic as inherently boring as economics, Creadon (who accomplished something similar with his doc Wordplay) has managed a creditable job of keeping our attention throughout I.O.U.S.A.
New York Press |
Mark Peikert |
08-25-2008 |
Reviews
What's in a Skin Color? The Perils of Ethnic Impersonation in Moviesnew
Why is it that Robert Downey Jr. is celebrated for his clever meta-performance in Tropic Thunder, while Ben Stiller is attacked for denigrating a whole group of people in the same film? The line between respect and offense in cases like these is razor-thin, and it's not always easy to see where it should be drawn.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
08-22-2008 |
Movies
For All its Flaws, 'Mirrors' Offers Insight into an Intriguing Directornew
Director Alexandre Aja's films have been so mired in controversy that no one seems to notice how personal they are.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Steve Palopoli |
08-21-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Alexandre Aja, Mirrors
Some Things are Rotten in 'Hamlet 2,' but Not Steve Coogannew
Coogan is the master of center-stage asshattery. In place of an arrogant blowhard, Coogan is reduced to the drama teacher who cares a little too much and is painfully oblivious to the way his effeminate enthusiasm alienates his students.
Willamette Week |
Saundra Sorenson |
08-20-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Andrew Fleming, Hamlet 2
Rumer Willis Gets Her Geek on in 'The House Bunny'new
If there's a difference between Willis—the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis—and other second-generation actors, it’s that she could relate to the geeky character she plays in the movie The House Bunny more than the glamorous world from which she hails.
The Georgia Straight |
Ian Caddell |
08-18-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Woody Allen's European Vacation: 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'new
He lived the young man's dream in Spain; next, he directs Larry David in NYC and Puccini for L.A. Opera.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
08-18-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
