AltWeeklies Wire
Looking Back at the First Half of '08 in Filmnew
For this midyear report card, I had a hard time making a list of the best films thus far, because we've only had a few great ones. As for stinkers, the problem I had was figuring out what to cut from an ever-growing list of garbage.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
Batman Gets Animated with 'Gotham Knight'new
The grimy, captivating architectural fantasy of Gotham takes center stage in Batman: Gotham Knight, a series of six animated shorts that serve as a lead-in for The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins, which hits theaters next week.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
Ready for '90s Nostalgia? 'The Wackness' is Ill to the Corenew
Writer-director Jonathan Levine's ingratiatingly funny comedy does more than just riff on a time and place -- it belongs to that great fraternity of novice-and-mentor films, a la Cinema Paradiso, in which an inexperienced person comes of age with the help of a kindly and more worldly friend.
East Bay Express |
Kelly Vance |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: The Wackness, Jonathan Levine
A New HBO Series Puts the War into Perspectivenew
After HBO snatched up the rights to Evan Wright's best-selling 2004 book about his experiences embedded with a squad of First Recon Marines during the early weeks of the Iraq War, he met with The Wire's David Simon and Ed Burns. The resulting seven-part miniseries, says Wright, is very similar to his own experiences.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
07-09-2008 |
TV
Darned to Heck: 'Hellboy II' Comes to You Streamlined and Franchisednew
Watching Hellboy II is a process. It feels like it's been tamed and corralled and commodified. Hellboy was rowdy and feral and dangerous, and already, in only its second outing, the franchise has been herded into the slaughterhouse and ground up in chuck chop and wrapped in sanitary plastic.
Charleston City Paper |
MaryAnn Johanson |
07-09-2008 |
Reviews
Will Smith's 'Hancock' Brazenly Embraces the Post-racial Strategy of the Obama Campaignnew
Movie star Will Smith is also a political figure. His big screen exploits reflect the way we think about race, masculinity, humor, violence and fantasy.
New York Press |
Armond White |
07-03-2008 |
Reviews
Gone with the 'Gonzo'new
Remember when journalism was cool and everybody wanted to be a reporter?
East Bay Express |
Kelly Vance |
07-02-2008 |
Reviews
Celebrating 'Hancock,' Peter Berg's Latest Genre Mashupnew
Anticipation runs high for further blackening of Batman's soul in The Dark Knight, but the Fourth of July weekend belongs to Hancock, a handsomely haywire comic-tragic concoction that flies high, sideways, off course and straight up in the air.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
07-02-2008 |
Reviews
Tragic Punk Icons The Gits are Recaptured in a Long-awaited Filmnew
Following a series of eBay purchases, a tentative friendship sprung up between Gits drummer Steve Moriarty and aspiring producer Jessica Bender and budding director Kerri O'Kane, who shared an obsession with the Seattle band and their late singer, Mia Zapata.
Seattle Weekly |
Hannah Levin |
06-30-2008 |
Movies
Hollywood's Liberal Elite Builds the Dalton Trumbo Mythnew
The one-word title is suitably mythic since Trumbo himself spent the latter years of his career creating a mythology around his victimization by the post-WWII House Un-American Activities Committee and Hollywood's eventual enforcement of a blacklist.
New York Press |
Armond White |
06-26-2008 |
Reviews
'Wall-E' is Pixar's Crusty Follow-Up to Tasty 'Ratatouille'new
A plush cousin to Idiocracy, the latest humbling eyeful from Pixar says that Americans are going to die for their consumption habits, except for a few fat fumblers shot out into space.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
06-25-2008 |
Reviews
God Bless Adult Swim for 'Fat Guy Stuck in Internet'new
Not only does Cartoon Network's late-night roundup of adult-appealing shows give us endless hours of moronic entertainment, it also provides employment for dozens of men and women whose mothers drank way too much during pregnancy. How else to explain Adult Swim's newest Sunday night offering, Fat Guy Stuck in Internet?
Weekly Alibi |
Devin D. O'Leary |
06-24-2008 |
TV
The Filmmakers of 'Metal: A Headbanger's Journey' Continue on Their Questnew
Globe-trotting from South America to the Middle East and even China to document heavy metal’s impact around the world, Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen learned a thing or two about getting in and out of sticky situations with the footage they needed.
NOW Magazine |
Evan Davies |
06-23-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Steve Carell on Improv and 'Get Smart'new
While improvisation would seem to be more welcome in an indie film or a show like his hit The Office than in a big-budget summer blockbuster like this, Carell says it still has its place. "It was a mix. We stuck to the script, but there were chances to play. We would come up with alternatives because you never know in the final outcome what will or won't work. So we tried to give ourselves some options on various takes."
Artvoice |
M. Faust |
06-23-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Mike Myers Isn't Funny Anymore ... and It Makes Me Sadnew
Buried inside The Love Guru, there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to Wayne's World, and man, is it depressing. I know Wayne's World isn't necessarily a work of cinematic genius, but it was funny when I was 12, and it's funny now -- which is more than I can say for Mike Myers' latest.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
06-19-2008 |
Reviews
