AltWeeklies Wire
'Extract' Makes it Clear That Mike Judge Needs to Make More Features
Extract can't help but pale to Judd Apatow's work that has set the bar high for this kind of comedy. Nonetheless, you get the sense that if Mike Judge made more pictures, he'd hit his stride alongside the likes of Apatow pretty quick.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
08-31-2009 |
Reviews
Ang Lee's Behind-the-Scenes Woodstock Dramedy is a Charmernew
Woodstock happened 40 years ago this month, and we still can't quit it. In Taking Woodstock, director Ang Lee and screenwriter James Schamus do their lovin' best to flash us back to a time when sex wasn't fatal (although some abortions were) and people still had the audacity to keep hope alive.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Harry Kloman |
08-31-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee
With 'Inglourious Basterds,' Tarantino Has Made Another Masterpiecenew
Whether or not you like the guy, there is no denying that his films and his style are his, and his alone. While many have tried to copy him, nobody does Tarantino like Tarantino, and Basterds is one of his best.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
'Humpday' is Conceptually Funnynew
A comedy about two buddies who decide to make a gay porno is shockingly both hilarious and thoughtful.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
'Taking Woodstock': A Garden of Earthly Delightsnew
The director of Brokeback Mountain looks for peace and love in another decade and finds it at the legendary festival with the story of one key participant.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee
'The Time Traveler's Wife' is Rather Stupid -- but It's the Good Kind of Stupidnew
I never thought a movie about a guy trying to maintain a marriage while involuntarily time-traveling could possibly be worth squat.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
Sleuth Goof 'Mystery Team' is a Chuckler With the Occasional Full-Throated Laughnew
The twentysomething talents behind Mystery Team are still in the comedy minors, but this nerdy, nutty, perfectly pitched first swing suggests there are major things to come.
Austin Chronicle |
Kimberley Jones |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
'Departures': Between Life and Deathnew
This Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Film is a gentle and comedically nuanced exercise in mourning from Japan.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
'District 9' is Absolutely Grippingnew
The fact that Neill Blomkamp pulled off a successful, effects-laden action film for $30 million is praiseworthy. But that he succeeds in simultaneously making a film that will stick with you for longer than it takes to digest your grease-covered popcorn is far more impressive.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
Ang Lee's 'Taking Woodstock' is a Marvelous, Unabashedly Nostalgic Trip Backnew
Lee (born in 1954) is just barely old enough to claim membership in the Woodstock generation, even if he was living in his native Taiwan at the time. Still, the Oscar-winning director nails the groovy vibe as effortlessly as he conjured up 1970s suburbia in The Ice Storm.
Tags: Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee
A Ho-Hum Predictability in 'Adam'new
"I'm not Forrest Gump, you know," deadpans Adam when Beth gifts him a box of chocolates. Unfortunately, Adam is a pedestrian film in which, protagonist's eccentricities aside, you pretty much know what you're going to get.
Ang Lee and James Schamus Take a Dry Look at Free-Love in 'Taking Woodstock'new
The same year as Woodstock, Arthur Penn's anti-bucolic Alice's Restaurant memorably said farewell to hippiedom's illusions. Penn's insights seemed ahead of his time; It's depressing that he was also ahead of Lee and Schamus 40 years later.
New York Press |
Armond White |
08-28-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee
'Taking Woodstock' is Ang Lee's Lamest Movie Evernew
If this film winds up being all that remains after a nuclear holocaust, it’ll be a valuable document. Otherwise, zzz.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Mike D'Angelo |
08-27-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee
'Rudo y Cursi': Fraternal Futbolnew
Beto (Diego Luna) and Tato (Gael Garcia Bernal) are half-brother plantation workers in a rural Mexican village where they play on a local soccer team. After talent scout Batuta (Guillermo Francella) catches a weekend scrimmage and offers them representation on rival teams, the two yokels head for Mexico City and sport stardom.
Boise Weekly |
Jeremiah Wierenga |
08-26-2009 |
Reviews
Ang Lee's 'Taking Woodstock' is a Bad Tripnew
You'd expect more from Lee, who is unquestionably a talented director. But his direction here, aside from an impressive sequence or two, is lackluster and flabby, like a loose joint of skanky weed.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
08-26-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee
