AltWeeklies Wire
Sweet Boy Falls for Inflatable Sex Toy in 'Lars'new
Craig Gillespie and writer Nancy Oliver have reduced the ick factor by desexualizing the setup; Bianca may be anatomically correct, but she and Lars have a chaste relationship.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Andy Klein |
10-12-2007 |
Reviews
'Elizabeth: The Golden Age': Thin Lizzienew
When a director starts marshalling wordless heavenly choirs in the third act, you know his picture's in trouble.
NOW Magazine |
John Harkness |
10-12-2007 |
Reviews
'We Own the Night' Works if You Ignore the Finalenew
The first 90 minutes are very good, though, and they mark a leap forward for a director whose thrillers previously wavered between dour and depressing.
NOW Magazine |
John Harkness |
10-12-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: James Gray, We Own the Night
Book Smartnew
The Jane Austin Book Club and The Heartbreak Kid require no dumbing down.
Creative Loafing (Charlotte) |
Matt Brunson |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Documentary Captures the Katrina Refugee Experience in Utahnew
In his second feature film, director Alex LeMay attempts to answer the question: What do you get when you take a nearly all-white state filled primarily with Mormons and add 600 black Hurricane Katrina refugees?
New York Press |
Nida Najar |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Alex LeMay, Desert Bayou
Hear it From Golda Meirnew
In Golda’s Balcony, the eponymous subject spends the full running time talking to herself. This being filmed theater, it’s clear we’re not dealing with a weirdly nostalgic case of schizophrenia, but I wouldn’t reject the possibility that the entire movie takes place inside Israel’s most iconic prime minister’s head.
New York Press |
Eric Kohn |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Golda's Balcony, Jeremy Kagan
Naturalism Meets Superstition in 'Khadak'new
The filmmakers capitalize on the poetic quality of the nearly wordless movie’s storybook images, but they don’t fetishize the culture; rather, they view it through an honest lens by taking the superstitious elements at face value.
New York Press |
Eric Kohn |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
'We Own the Night' Disappointsnew
The "two brothers on opposite sides of the law" storyline is formulaic and uninspired, but the presence of loveable freaks Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg and Joaquin "It's Not a Harelip!" Phoenix offers faint hope. Alas, mediocrity wins the day.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: James Gray, We Own the Night
Morality 101 with Professor 'Michael Clayton'new
It's nothing that we haven't seen before: A stereotypically villainous corporation hurts the little guy; our conflicted protagonist has to figure out what to do. But an impressive cast and Tony Gilroy's sharp direction allow the smart, intense film to take a John Grisham-y concept and amp it up.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy
Spoiler Alert: Jesse James Diesnew
The much-anticipated revisionist western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, as evidenced by its chewily purple title, has a lot on its plate -- too much, possibly.
The Portland Mercury |
Andrew Wright |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
The Virgin Queen Gives Cinematic Blue Ballsnew
The courtly bravado of 1998's Elizabeth had a purpose: to show Cate Blanchett tearing up the scenery as she dallied about with the Earl of Leicester and spouted feministic jingo. It was sumptuous, kinda sexy, and complex. Elizabeth: The Golden Age is none of that.
The Portland Mercury |
Courtney Ferguson |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Wes Anderson Lets Loose with 'The Darjeeling Limited'new
With a scant wire frame of a plot, writer/director Wes Anderson is content to let the plot's details slip into a blurry haze, focusing on the tone and the spirit of the film more than its specifics.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Don't Shoot Jesse James, Shoot the Narratornew
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford unfolds: impossibly wordy, each spavined sentence intoned by a narrator. It's a Western epic for our times, a depressing Jesse James opera for the end of his career. Even the horses need Prozac.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Ang Lee Rethinks Hitchcock's 'Notorious'new
Lust, Caution is a great romantic movie, with a full Kowloon moon, a cruel antihero and silks, lipstick and knives. At the end, though, it is maddening.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Ang Lee, Lust, Caution
Nothing's As Important as American Angst in 'The Darjeeling Limited'new
The film is a Three Stooges story without humor.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Richard von Busack |
10-11-2007 |
Reviews
