AltWeeklies Wire
'The Reader' Glazes Familiar Sexual-Awakening Story with Highbrow Affectationnew
This film should have been a comedy like Paul Verhoeven's Black Book, shaking up the calcified presumptions of quasi-Holocaust dramas. But it's also Oscar season and historically based, award-baiting mawkishness is no laughing matter.
New York Press |
Armond White |
12-11-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Stephen Daldry, The Reader
It's Hard to Take John Patrick Shanley's Devout 'Doubt' Seriouslynew
Problem is, Shanley examines faith (and doubt) while crafting what is essentially Broadway fodder.
New York Press |
Armond White |
12-11-2008 |
Reviews
Steven Soderbergh's Che Opus is Indulgentnew
Out-perversing Gus Van Sant's Milk, Soderbergh makes a four-hour-plus biopic about a historical figure without providing a glimmer of charm or narrative coherence.
New York Press |
Armond White |
12-11-2008 |
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
'Slumdog Millionaire' is Worth the Pricenew
I'm not entirely sure how a film in which a small boy gets permanently blinded by someone deliberately pouring hot liquid onto his eyeballs while he's unconscious ends up being hyped (by critics and audiences alike) as the "feel-good" movie of the year, but that's the strange case with Slumdog Millionaire.
Creative Loafing (Charlotte) |
Matt Brunson |
12-10-2008 |
Reviews
'Milk': Great Film Does a Viewer Goodnew
Although Milk is set in the 1970s, it couldn't possibly be more relevant to today's events.
Creative Loafing (Charlotte) |
Matt Brunson |
12-10-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Gus Van Sant, Milk
'Frost/Nixon' Doesn't Pull its Punchesnew
I'm not a huge fan of Ron Howard's films. They're usually well made, but I often leave them with a feeling of insincerity. In Frost/Nixon, however, Howard is wisely restrained—in the film's climactic moment.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
12-10-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
The Timeless Showbiz of 'Frost/Nixon'new
Frost/Nixon displays bursts of some of Ron Howard's sharpest work in his fifty years in show business, but it functions best as a cartoon that chooses to think of itself as burnished bravura.
Chicago Newcity |
Ray Pride |
12-10-2008 |
Reviews
'Milk' Breathes Life into Counterculture Crusadernew
There is an inevitability to the tragedy of Milk, but the film never wallows in the downbeat. Instead, it gently celebrates the spirit of its indefatigable hero. More than just a martyr to the cause of gay rights, Milk was a leader who stepped up when troubled times demanded.
Weekly Alibi |
Devin D. O'Leary |
12-09-2008 |
Reviews
'Cadillac Records' Gets Nothing Rightnew
Beyonce Knowles sounds nothing like Etta James, and Cadillac Records is nothing like factual.
Dallas Observer |
Robert Wilonsky |
12-08-2008 |
Reviews
'Frost/Nixon': Frosted Dicknew
Like Oliver Stone, Ron Howard paints Nixon a little more sympathetically than many of us who remember the era are likely to warm to. Nixon was an unlovable scoundrel, a villain who would have dismantled the Constitution, had he been able to.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Andy Klein |
12-05-2008 |
Reviews
'Nobel Son' is Well Cast but Too Fastnew
It's the kind of film that you could praise for being a cut above the usual crap, but it ends up disappointing because it could have been so much better.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
12-05-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Randall Miller, Nobel Son
Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman Can't Save 'Australia'new
We're watching a great director working outside of his normal area of expertise, and while the results are not disastrous, they're uncomfortable.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
12-04-2008 |
Reviews
'Let the Right One In': Blood in the Snownew
This Swedish vampire movie has a slow pace, but it amply rewards patient viewers.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
12-04-2008 |
Reviews
'Australia' is Worse Than You Thinknew
They don't make 'em like this anymore. Thank God.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Emiliano Garcia-Sarnoff |
12-04-2008 |
Reviews
