AltWeeklies Wire
Pronounced Dead
Like The Last Samurai, Memoirs of a Geisha is a well-researched, if misguided, tribute to Japan's bad old days of patriarchy and strict social hierarchy.
Washington City Paper |
Mark Jenkins |
12-19-2005 |
Reviews
Where the Queer and the Antelope Play
A love story in which you can't feel the love might sound like a dismal failure, but in Brokeback Mountain's case, it ain't.
Washington City Paper |
Tricia Olszewski |
12-19-2005 |
Reviews
Cheeky Monkey
How did Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace's relatively simple story get stretched to such epic proportions? Well, the movie is first a smaller-scale Titanic, then a ballsier Jurassic Park -- and that's before the monkey business even gets going.
Washington City Paper |
Tricia Olszewski |
12-19-2005 |
Reviews
Spurning Japanese
Memoirs of a Geisha finds general beauty, but loses the cultural specifics.
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Scott Renshaw |
12-16-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Memoirs of a Geisha, Rob Marshall
'Pokes Peeknew
Figuring, no doubt correctly, that more people will identify with loss than with gay lust, Lee gets the icky parts over quickly. Not only is it the love that dare not speak its name, it doesn’t speak at all.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
12-16-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Gorilla Filmmakingnew
Peter Jackson’s King Kong sports a pot belly, and it’s not a good look. His film carries extra baggage, too, nearly an hour and half’s worth.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Keough |
12-16-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: King Kong, Peter Jackson
Western Weepienew
The beautifully wrought film is a tragic love story (not a "gay cowboy movie") that’s defined by its staggering heartbreak.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
12-15-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
The Eighth Wonder of the Worldnew
Peter Jackson's remake is a corker of an action/monster movie: part RKO serial; part square-jawed, manly romp; and part classic journey into the unknown that recalls and references Heart of Darkness.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
12-15-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: King Kong, Peter Jackson
Shelter From the Stormnew
There's a sweet bent to this simple South African film about a multicultural group of employees at a Cape Town animal shelter who find both goodness and hope in their troubled lives.
Austin Chronicle |
Steve Davis |
12-15-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Cape of Good Hope, Mark Bamford
All in the Familynew
This likable romantic comedy runs the gamut of emotions -- hitting tenderness, rage, remorse, and everything in between -- but there are too many characters with too little chemistry to be a real keeper.
Austin Chronicle |
Kimberley Jones |
12-15-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: The Family Stone, Thomas Bezucha
King of Heartsnew
Love conquers CGI in Peter Jackson's retelling of the great ape story.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
12-15-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: King Kong, Peter Jackson
Groans For The Holidays
The hardly sly "Family Stone" squanders a great cast on a manipulative dramedy of slapstick highs and maudlin lows.
Columbus Alive |
Melissa Starker |
12-15-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: The Family Stone, Thomas Bezucha
Return of the King
After "Lord of the Rings" made him the 800 pound gorilla of the film world, Peter Jackson finally tackles his dream project, and for film fans, it's a dream come true.
Columbus Alive |
Melissa Starker |
12-15-2005 |
Reviews
Film Sets Your Pulse Racingnew
The film initially proves slow and familiar, but the final section strays from Japanese horror convention to generate a genuinely apocalyptic atmosphere.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
12-15-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Pulse, Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Film Apes Originalnew
The film contains moments that truly astonish, while still feeling faithful to a fault.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
12-15-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: King Kong, Peter Jackson
