AltWeeklies Wire
'9': Puppets With Weaponsnew
The message of the mediocre 9: Evil is bad, but cuteness is awesome!
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
An Impossible Ending Takes 'All About Steve' from Daring to Disasternew
As I watched the movie, which stars Sandra Bullock as an insane stalker, I couldn't understand why it was so hated. It wasn't very good, but it was far from awful, and I was getting some decent -- if uncomfortable -- laughs out of the thing. But by the time the movie ended, I understood.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
'Extract' Has Moments of Excellence, but it's No 'Office Space'new
The movie suffers from its inherent sitcom silliness, as well as from a painfully neat ending that ties everything up in a bow and covers it with sugar sprinkles. But Extract isn't a terrible film; it's just a flawed one.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
'Jennifer's Body' is 'Heathers' as a 'Maxim' Photo Spreadnew
Jennifer's Body begs for outraged reviews condemning it as repellent and vindictive, when in fact it is derivative and incompetent. If it were not written by Diablo Cody, it would be completely ignored. In fact, it can still be ignored.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
The Withdrawn Narration of 'Liverpool' Moves With the Stealth Purpose of a Folk Talenew
Liverpool may belong to the slow club of cinema -- long takes, downcast eyes, and monumental landscapes -- but the friction between its patient formalism and wild terrain is anything but staid.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Max Goldberg |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Lisandro Alonso, Liverpool
Giants Diehard Learns About the Painful Side of Sports in 'Big Fan'new
In Big Fan, Robert Siegel takes another long, hard look at the painful side of sports, much as he did in his screenplay for The Wrestler, the movie that gave Mickey Rourke his career back. But Big Fan really isn't a sports film.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
09-16-2009 |
Reviews
Robin Williams Turns in a Career-Best Performance in 'World's Greatest Dad'new
With Dad, Bobcat Goldthwait accomplishes several remarkable feats. He manages to take a detestable subject -- death by autoerotic asphyxiation -- and still deal with it in a way that won't drive people from the theater. He also pulls a stunning performance from Williams that easily ranks among the Oscar-winner's career best.
Pasadena Weekly |
Carl Kozlowski |
09-15-2009 |
Reviews
Steven Soderbergh's Satire 'The Informant!' Pales
Soderbergh has loads of fun with a perky musical score and jaunty '70s-era visual hat-tips toward a certain Get Smart aura of goofy charm. But the filmmaker is unable to tease out substance from what is essentially an off-key one-note samba.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
09-14-2009 |
Reviews
'The Baader Meinhof Complex' Reveals a Journalist Who Went Over the Edgenew
The most complex character in the movie, the one who provides the viewer with an entry point into this hothouse of violent fanatics, is herself a journalist -- Ulrike Meinhof, a columnist for the left-wing magazine Konkret who stunned her family and colleagues in May 1970 by throwing in with a cadre of self-styled revolutionaries.
Chicago Reader |
J.R. Jones |
09-14-2009 |
Reviews
'The September Issue' Mostly Lobs Softballs at Anna Wintournew
When face time is scored, it's not far from Chris Wallace's recent fawning Dick Cheney interview. Softballs are lobbed, and Wintour gets to look, alas, vaguely human. She remains, basically, unchallenged, her devil boss status unchanged but herself all the more lovable.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Matt Prigge |
09-14-2009 |
Reviews
'In the Loop': War of the Wordsnew
Never before have I seen the word mellifluous used -- quite accurately, no less -- to describe the dialogue of a film rich with such remarkable profanity.
Eugene Weekly |
Molly Templeton |
09-11-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Armando Iannucci, In the Loop
'Inglourious Basterds': Dogs on the Runnew
Inglourious Basterds is vintage Tarantino, and quite possibly the director's masterpiece.
Eugene Weekly |
Jason Blair |
09-11-2009 |
Reviews
'O'Horten': Norwegian Wouldnew
It would be a mistake to overstate or oversell Bent Hamer's sweet, dry, restrained film, which applies an appealing spareness to the story of a 67-year-old man experiencing a transformative few days.
Eugene Weekly |
Molly Templeton |
09-11-2009 |
Reviews
'District 9': Alienatednew
District 9 works as a pure sci-fi thriller as well an allegory for large-scale human rights violations.
Eugene Weekly |
Jason Blair |
09-11-2009 |
Reviews
'Ponyo' Is Almost Perfectnew
Hayao Miyazaki's latest is glorious, and gloriously fun.
Eugene Weekly |
Molly Templeton |
09-11-2009 |
Reviews
