AltWeeklies Wire
'Frog' of the South: Disney's Song and Dance About a Black Princess Croaksnew
Six decades after unleashing persistent NAACP bugaboo Song of the South, and two after firmly suppressing it, that peculiar cultural institution known as the Walt Disney Company has made a symbolic reparation by creating its first African-American princess -- and plunking her down in the middle of Jim Crow–era Louisiana!
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
11-30-2009 |
Reviews
Despite Rich Source Material, 'The Road' is Lacking One Thing: Ideas
The Road is a one-note road version of Waiting for Godot, minus Samuel Beckett's brilliant sense of existentialist humor.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
11-23-2009 |
Reviews
'Planet 51' Mainly Succeeds at Reminding You of All the Better Movies That Inspired Itnew
Handsome doofus Chuck is a chip off the Buzz Lightyear block, and Planet 51 lacks Pixar polish (particularly in its writing). Still, it's not a bad knockoff.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian Miller |
11-23-2009 |
Reviews
The Bad Lieutenant Gone Wildnew
When I first read about Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, it was described as a sequel to Abel Ferrara's 1992 cult favorite about a drug- and gambling-addicted police detective in New York City. When I next read about it, it was described as a remake. Now that I've seen it, I can report that it's neither.
Chicago Reader |
J.R. Jones |
11-23-2009 |
Reviews
The Latest in the 'Twilight' Saga is Gooey Tedium for Fans Onlynew
New Moon is a terrible movie, worse in some ways than Twilight, better in others, and no doubt baffling to the many who don't spend their time fantasizing about being swept off their feet by Robert Pattinson's controlling vampire Edward Cullen or Taylor Lautner's petulant werewolf Jacob Black.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
11-20-2009 |
Reviews
'Precious': Who Wants Some Oprah-Approved Ghetto Tourism?new
Sexual abuse and incest are realities, and there's no reason why art shouldn't confront them. But when pop culture addresses them (and Precious, with its against-all-odds cheerleading and music-video casting, is very much a pop-culture commodity), the results deserve scrutiny.
The Portland Mercury |
Alison Hallett |
11-19-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Precious, Lee Daniels
John Cusack and Amazing Special Effects Make '2012' a Guilty Pleasurenew
Even though the ending made me gag, and I considered throwing my remaining sweet tea at the screen, I have to give the movie a slight recommendation.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
11-18-2009 |
Reviews
'Pirate Radio' Sinks Due to Flat Characters and Abundant Movie Clichesnew
On the upside, Pirate Radio is beautifully shot. It's loaded with the kind of cinematic trickery that was popular back in the '60s. So if you were tripping on five hits of acid, and your heightened consciousness was somehow filtering out all the dialogue, it would be a pretty good movie.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
11-18-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Pirate Radio, Richard Curtis
'The Blind Side' May be 'Feel-Good,' but That's Not the Same as Feeling Real
The enemy isn't emotion; it's empty-headed uplift. And that's where Hollywood dramatizations have their own blind side.
Salt Lake City Weekly |
Scott Renshaw |
11-17-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: John Lee Hancock, The Blind Side
John Woo's 'Red Cliff' is a Must-See Chinese War Epic
Compared to typical big spectacle Hollywood blockbusters like 2012, Red Cliff contrasts its visually stunning epic-scale compositions with a far greater sense of historic purpose.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
11-16-2009 |
Reviews
Sundance Sensation 'Precious' Brings Hope to a Girl Utterly Lacking Anynew
The book and its attendant film are drawing extensive comparisons to the classic novel and movie of The Color Purple; besides sharing the subject matter of African-American women learning to stand up for their dignity and self-worth, they both feature what should be career-making performances from heretofore unknown or disregarded actresses.
Pasadena Weekly |
Carl Kozlowski |
11-16-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Precious, Lee Daniels
'Pirate Radio': Good Music. Terrible Movie.new
Rock 'n' roll is great. But no matter how powerful, majestic, or even life changing three chords and the truth can be, rock 'n' roll cannot save Pirate Radio.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
11-13-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Pirate Radio, Richard Curtis
'2012': BOOM! CRASH! JOHN CUSACK!new
2012 is pure pandemonium, and it's like two and a half hours of it, and if you're not in the mood for an inane summer blockbuster in the middle of November, then move along, killjoy -- no one wants you here.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
11-13-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Roland Emmerich, 2012
Disregard the Crappy Marketing Campaign; 'A Christmas Carol' is an Enchanting Movienew
This is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, with a little 3-D whiz-bang thrown in for good measure. When the frantic sequences are squished together in a short preview trailer, they are just annoying. Within the film, effectively spread apart, the sequences become exhilarating.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
11-11-2009 |
Reviews
'An Education' is a Coming-of-Age Romance with an Effectively Creepy Feelnew
My biggest problem with horror movies is that I do like scary movies, and I just don't find horror films to be very scary. But An Education is terrifying. It's the most effectively frightening film I've seen since that Larry King/Tom DeLay sex video was accidentally shown on Oprah.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
11-11-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: An Education, Lone Scherfig
