AltWeeklies Wire
A Roost of One's Ownnew
Well-considered, beautifully made, and often gripping in its narrative, this film epitomizes the best the documentary format can offer.
Austin Chronicle |
Marrit Ingman |
05-13-2005 |
Reviews
Both Lopez and Fonda Blow Comebacksnew
This banal and lukewarm slice of romantic comedy is as soft and ephemeral as any colorized Ted Turner outing.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
05-13-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Robert Luketic, Monster-in-Law
Final Grade Is Life or Deathnew
In this stale thriller, young FBI profilers have a hard time figuring out who is picking them off, one by one.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
05-13-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Renny Harlin, Mindhunters
Evidence Lostnew
Korean cop film is based on the country's first real serial-killer case in 1986, a case that flummoxed the police along with everyone else.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
05-13-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Joon-ho Bong, Memories of Murder
Daddy Dearestnew
An acute observation of the ways in which we fail to communicate marks this French film, which won the screenwriting award at last year's Cannes Film Festival.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
05-13-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Agnès Jaoui, Look at Me
Soccer Dads on Coffee Jagnew
Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, and Mike Ditka all appear together in a film that sings the praises of kids' soccer and caffeine addiction.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
05-13-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Jesse Dylan, Kicking & Screaming
Everything Is Illuminatednew
The paths of a seemingly unconnected, multicultural group of Los Angelenos cross in the most compelling American movie to come around in a long while.
Austin Chronicle |
Steve Davis |
05-06-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Crash, Paul Haggis
Lots of Waxy Build-upnew
This remake of the 1953 horror classic is mostly rote but occasionally creepy, with some putatively clever jibes at a certain high-profile hotel heiress.
Austin Chronicle |
Marrit Ingman |
05-06-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: House of Wax, Jaume Collet-Serra
What Goes Around Comes Aroundnew
Nominally the story of a 13-year-old girl who longs for a baby, Todd Solondz's latest is provocative, wicked, even bleakly funny, and ultimately empty.
Austin Chronicle |
Marrit Ingman |
05-06-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Palindromes, Todd Solondz
Once and Future Kingdomsnew
Ridley Scott's Crusades epic is a historical spectacle on the order of Gladiator and a dissection of war, as gritty and illuminating as Black Hawk Down, that takes flight when it becomes a canvas for ideas and ideologies in action.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
05-06-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Ridley Scott, Kingdom of Heaven
European Sonsnew
Director Jan Hrebejk's stylishly interwoven tales of modern-day Prague add up to a melancholy, comedic riff on what it means to be European these days.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
05-06-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Jan Hrebejk, Up and Down
Secret Agent Mannew
A homophobic Israeli assassin insinuates himself into the life of a former SS officer's gay grandson in hopes of learning the Nazi's location in a well-intentioned but ultimately simplistic plea for tolerance all around.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
05-06-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Eytan Fox, Walk on Water
Shoot to Killnew
A nonstop orgy of bullets, bombs and booty aims low and hits the bull's-eye with enough firepower to sink the Bismarck.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
04-30-2005 |
Reviews
The Winters and Our Discontentnew
Neither a change of seasons nor truly wonderful performances can breathe life into this dismally enervated drama.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
04-30-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Josh Sternfeld, Winter Solstice
Seoul Survivornew
This 2003 revenger from Korean upstart Chan-wook Park is a multilayered, intensely performed, shockingly violent, and viscerally visual tour de force.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
04-30-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Chan-wook Park, Oldboy
