AltWeeklies Wire
Just Ask John Keats: Love Happensnew
Jane Campion's Bright Star, about the love affair between the tubercular poet John Keats and girl-next-door Fanny Brawne, recasts the old stanza in chaste but voluptuous terms.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
09-26-2009 |
Reviews
'Disgrace' Faces the Facts of Post-Apartheid South Africanew
This film adaptation of J.M. Coetzee's brilliant 1999 novel looks the chaos and hatred of postapartheid South Africa squarely in the face, probing the terrible fallout from white denial and pride without patronizing blacks by caricaturing them as noble victims.
L.A. Weekly |
Ella Taylor |
09-25-2009 |
Reviews
The Tricks in 'The Burning Plain' are as Tired as its Mopey Charactersnew
These people and timelines are all tied together under big themes of utmost gravitas, and a strong cast delivers compelling characters whose lives are interesting enough to maintain reasonable curiosity. But these cards have simply been played far too many times, and to far more powerful effect; Plain can't help but look a bit pale in comparison.
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
09-25-2009 |
Reviews
Tucker Max Wants You to Like Him for Being an Unapologetic Dickheadnew
The film adaptation of Max's notoriously infantile and incredibly popular tell-all memoir about his fratboy sexcapades is not immediately repugnant. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell only becomes truly insipid when it makes a cloying, half-hearted attempt to show that Max and his buddies have learned the error of their ways and now have greater respect for women and themselves.
New York Press |
Simon Abrams |
09-24-2009 |
Reviews
Mumblecore King Henry Jaglom Returns With 'Irene in Time'new
If Jaglom was a trustfunded neophyte, he'd be acclaimed the King of Mumblecore -- a genre that, it turns out, he pioneered several decades ago.
New York Press |
Armond White |
09-24-2009 |
Reviews
Michael Moore Sells the Same Old Shtick in 'Capitalism'new
I wish that more of the contradictions of late capitalism had made it into this scattershot, lazy slice of agitprop, which recycles Moore's usual slice-and-dice job on corporations, while bobbing a curtsey to the current crisis.
L.A. Weekly |
Ella Taylor |
09-24-2009 |
Reviews
'The Informant!' Cleverly Treats Whistleblower Story Like a Comedynew
Leave it to Steven Soderbergh and Matt Damon to find the wicked humor in something that resulted in the largest antitrust fine in U.S. history at the time, and a lot of bilked international consumers.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
Jimmy Page Charms in 'It Might Get Loud'new
While The Edge hates and Jack White poses, Page just revels in music. His face continually lights up as he spins old discs; his 64-year-old body slides into recurring boogie mode; and he shakes and grooves with his guitar like he was still the lean young man in Led Zeppelin.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
Jane Campion Creates Period Poetry With 'Bright Star'new
Sure, this one could be considered a chick flick. It's set in the early 1800s in England, after all. But it's made by Campion, who's best known for The Piano, so it's real label should actually be "art-house." Regardless, you don't need to be a chick or an art-house geek to enjoy Abbie Cornish's performance.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
'Bright Star' is the Tasteful Older Sibling of 'Twilight'new
The film is likely to be fairly admired by English professors and Oscar voters, but mark my words: It is going to become the unequaled favorite movie of homeschoolers in the girls' dormitories of evangelical colleges nationwide.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Bright Star, Jane Campion
'The Burning Plain' is an Interminably Spiritless Ordealnew
Beneath the film's tragic poses and ludicrous melancholy, one can almost hear Arriaga muttering to himself: "Do I have anything here? Let's maybe move this scene here, that one there, yeah, that'll do it, that looks like something. Right? Right?" Wrong.
Willamette Week |
Chris Stamm |
09-23-2009 |
Reviews
Hollywood Product: '9'new
With so many computer-animated cartoon features devoted to pop-savvy kiddie comedies about talking animals, it's refreshing to see a CGI adventure with a unique vision. Acker's makeshift, Rube Goldberg-style inventions and landscapes can be fascinating. That said, 9 is PG-13 for a reason, and may be too intense for little kids and too dark for many adults.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
09-22-2009 |
Reviews
'Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg' Gushes Over First Lady of Televisionnew
Documentary pays tribute to Gertrude Berg, a pioneering Jewish writer and actress at the dawn of television.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
09-22-2009 |
Reviews
'It Might Get Loud' Climbs Stairway to Guitar Heavennew
An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim presents a summit of three generations of rock guitarists.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
09-22-2009 |
Reviews
Hollywood Product: 'Jennifer's Body'new
While most mainstream horror films barely have a single idea, Cody's script for Jennifer's Body goes off in too many thematic directions, including high school spoof, female-phobic shlock and feminist empowerment fantasy.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
09-22-2009 |
Reviews
