AltWeeklies Wire
Almodóvar Gets Duplicitous With 'Broken Embraces'new
Broken Embraces is a strange little suspense film. It contains only a few strategic betrayals and outright deceptions, but a great many unspoken secrets and many lies of omission. Maybe it's too mature for the good old double-cross, but it is certainly not too subtle to include a few revelations and theatrical set pieces.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Sean Stewart |
01-14-2010 |
Reviews
Peter Jackson's 'The Lovely Bones' is Dark and Staticnew
Surprisingly, apart from Stanley Tucci's acclaimed turn as serial killer George Harvey, The Lovely Bones has been shut out of the awards-season accolades. Frankly, some of the catcalls are nitpicky and unjustified.
More Magic Needed: 'Parnassus' Doesn't Worknew
Heath Ledger is solid in his final film, but the movie itself doesn't work. Ledger had already filmed a bunch of scenes when he passed away in January 2008. Rather than scrap the film, Terry Gilliam and friends came up with an idea to keep the project moving forward.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
01-13-2010 |
Reviews
Pretentiously Played: Peter Jackson's Sickly Sweet Schlocknew
'The Lovely Bones' is a steaming, treacly pile of excrescence, frosted with visuals that look like they were adapted from the pink, lace-covered dream journal of a unicorn-collecting scrapbooker. Essentially, if Walt Disney made a movie about the rape and murder of a teenager, this is the movie he'd make.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
01-13-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: The Lovely Bones, Peter Jackson
Heath Ledger’s Death the Least of Dr. Parnassus’ Problemsnew
The most impressive thing about The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is its very existence. About a third of the way through filming the mind-bending fantasy, leading man Heath Ledger died of a tragic drug overdose. Director Terry Gilliam ingeniously cast three of Ledger's A-list friends to play Ledger's character.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Robert Downey Jr. Summons a Fightin’ Good Sherlock Holmesnew
Robert Downey Jr.'s scruffy, comedically nimble turn goes a long way to redeem the half-coherent storytelling and occasionally elephantine production. The game's afoot, even though it's not so fresh.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Sherlock Holmes, Guy Ritchie
Despite Forceful Colin Firth, 'A Single Man' Oversimplifies Grieving Processnew
Most actors build their careers on expressing emotions. Colin Firth has become a star based on the artful suppression of feelings, wittily conveying that stiff-upper-lip struggle to contain impulses that eventually escape against his roles' better judgment.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: A Single Man, Tom Ford
'Broken Embraces' Turns Cameras on Visionary Filmmakersnew
Two new films about filmmaking put plenty of talent on display – and share Penélope Cruz at her most attractive – without fully engaging their audiences. Pedro Almodóvar's melodrama Broken Embraces turns out to be a little too personal, while Rob Marshall's musical head-trip Nine may not be personal enough.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Broken Embraces, Pedro Almodóvar
'Nine' Turns Camera on Visionary Filmmakersnew
New films about filmmaking put plenty of talent on display without fully engaging their audiences.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Nine, Rob Marshall
'The Maid' Movingly Explores Domestic Disturbancesnew
In the Chilean drama The Maid, an upper-middle class family treats the title character like part of the family, but comparable to the way that the appendix is part of the body. Like a vestigial organ, a servant can be removed if she starts causing trouble.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Sebastian Silva, The Maid
'Avatar' Immerses Audiences in an Alien Ecosystemnew
Director James Cameron's long-awaited Avatar depicts an alien race with a fondness for bows and arrows, but keeps the 3-D jutting clichés under control. Even when bloody arrowheads stick out at your face, Cameron ensures the stunts don't distract from his otherworldly story.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Avatar, James Cameron
Robert De Niro is OK in 'Everybody’s Fine'new
Director Kirk Jones' remake of the 1990 Marcello Mastroianni vehicle of the same name casts Robert De Niro as a widower preparing for the annual visit of his four grown children. Despite his lonely efforts to clean house, buy meat and build a new grill, the kids all find excuses not to come.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Everybody's Fine, Kirk Jones
'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Brings Out the Animal in Wes Andersonnew
Rather than break out of Andersonville and into the real world, the filmmaker burrows further into the fantasy realm with 'Fantastic Mr. Fox.' Ironically, Anderson’s latest turns out to be his most heartfelt, human movie since 'Rushmore,' despite its cast of woodland beasts.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson
Sandra Bullock Blind Sides Atlantanew
'The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game' fumbles a potentially intriguing story of a nouveau riche family who adopts Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a future NFL star.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: John Lee Hancock, The Blind Side
'The Messenger' Delivers Stark Lesson About Casualties of Warnew
Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) receives new orders in the first scenes of The Messenger. Will endured injuries to his eye and leg in an Iraqi firefight, and has the wounds and decorations to prove it, but his latest assignment will leave its own kind of scars.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-12-2010 |
Reviews
Tags: Oren Moverman, The Messenger
