AltWeeklies Wire
'Cold Souls' is a Delightfully Coy, if Featherweight, Comedynew
Writer/director Sophie Barthes' debut feature is a philosophical meditation hiding behind a science-fiction premise and all wrapped up in a intelligently nutty comedy of manners.
Baltimore City Paper |
Bret McCabe |
09-08-2009 |
Reviews
Post-Apocalyptic 'Stitchpunk' Goes Limp in '9'
At barely 80 minutes, 9 still feels too long for what it is; an expanded visual experimentation that might allow Shane Acker to finally put an old UCLA student project behind him.
City Pulse |
Cole Smithey |
09-07-2009 |
Reviews
Toil and Trouble: 'Extract' and 'My One and Only'new
Mike Judge has another workplace comedy; My One and Only is simply belabored.
Washington City Paper |
Tricia Olszewski |
09-04-2009 |
Reviews
Gerald Peary's Ode To The Film Criticnew
Rock critics rarely cut gold records. Likewise, few football reporters go on to quarterback Super Bowl winners. But with his eight-years-in-the-making documentary on film criticism, long-time critic and professor Gerald Peary incinerates the barrier between subject and reporter, demonstrating more than mere comprehension of the art he's scrutinized for decades.
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Faraone |
09-03-2009 |
Reviews
'All About Steve': The Nail in Sandra Bullock's Career's Coffin!new
Poor Sandra Bullock: She's an actress that everyone seems to love to hate, but up until now, she didn't deserve half the flak and sarcasm she's suffered in a world full of far-less-likeable Jennifer Anistons and Renee Zellwegers.
The Portland Mercury |
Marjorie Skinner |
09-03-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: All About Steve, Phil Traill
'Cold Souls': Paul Giamatti! Paul Giamatti!new
I'm not exactly sure how to characterize Cold Souls -- maybe as an existential dark comedy that deals with the black market of soul trafficking? -- but I do know it does writer/director Sophie Barthes' film a disservice to compare it to just about anything else.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
09-03-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Sophie Barthes, Cold Souls
'Amreeka' Skillfully Evokes American Post-9/11 Uneasenew
Amreeka hops over every one of its predictable, carefully laid-out hurdles.
New York Press |
Armond White |
09-03-2009 |
Reviews
'Halloween II': Unmasking Crapnew
Rob Zombie's initial Halloween was decent, but the sequel is terrible.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Halloween II, Rob Zombie
'In the Loop': War Machinenew
A fictional exploration hilariously takes aim at chicken-hawk politicians.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Armando Iannucci, In the Loop
'The Baader Meinhof Complex' Exhaustively Explores the Red Army Factionnew
Uli Edel's sober, clear-eyed view of the youthful and sexy yet arrogant and murderous, gun-toting radicals at the center of Baader-Meinhof's mythology -- a complex construct, indeed -- manages to do justice to the core of their sprawling chronology, while never overstating their narrative's obvious post-9/11 relevance.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Kimberly Chun |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
Robin Williams Does His Best Work in Years in 'World's Greatest Dad'new
It'd be somewhat inaccurate to call Bobcat Goldthwait's new movie a more mature effort than his earlier films, because it contains as much nastiness. But in some ways, it's more mature because it tackles some serious subject matter and actually provides Robin Williams with his best role in years.
San Diego CityBeat |
Anders Wright |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
'O'Horten' Examines Life After Retirementnew
A story of lonely, passive people struggling with age, infirmity and boredom might sound like a subtitled snooze-fest, but director Hamer deftly infuses this work with wry humor and a subtle surrealism that arrests the audience's attention.
Boise Weekly |
Jeremiah Wierenga |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
'Still Walking' Observes a Family in Quiet Crisisnew
This is Kore-eda's most truly naturalistic, let alone Ozu-like film since his first -- the comparatively bleak 1995 Maborosi -- as well as a dysfunctional-family seriocomedy uncommonly beautiful inside and out. It's a quietly funny and insightful two hours capable of inducing one pretty ecstatic afterglow.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Still Walking, Hirokazu Kore-eda
'Extract,' Like its Lead Character, is About Averagenew
As a sketch-like trifle built from well observed details, it pretty much splits the temperamental difference between Mike Judge's cartoons: subtler than Beavis and Butt-Head, but broader than King of the Hill.
C-Ville Weekly |
Jonathan Kiefer |
09-02-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Extract, Mike Judge
DIY Documentary 'Handmade Nation' Chronicles the Indie Crafts Movementnew

Several years ago, Faythe Levine set out to document the world of DIY art, craft and design. This deeply personal quest led to the creation of a just-released feature documentary called Handmade Nation and a popular companion book of the same name.
Weekly Alibi |
Devin D. O'Leary |
09-01-2009 |
Reviews