AltWeeklies Wire
Bird Brainednew
San Francisco's alternate-universe vibe pervades this documentary about Mark Bittner, a resident of the city's North Beach neighborhood who cares for some 45 conures that congregate in and around his cottage.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
The Children's Hournew
In Kore-eda's Nobody Knows (inspired by true events, it's said), the twilight zone of choice is modern-day Tokyo, where a quartet of siblings, none older than 12, putters around a small apartment, waiting for a mother who may never return.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Hirokazu Kore-eda, Nobody Knows
Wings Over Americanew
In nearly its every frame, Batman Begins is modern-day mythmaking of the grandest scale. And its only substantial failing is that it doesn't mind telling you so itself.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Christopher Nolan, Batman Begins
Waving Your Rightsnew
U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter recently brought meal plates to a televised press conference to show that Guantanamo Bay prisoners enjoy dinnertime amenities like orange-glazed and lemon chicken (each served with two types of fruit).
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Comedy
Tags: humor & satire
The Devil's Work Is Good Worknew
Imagine working three days a week. Now imagine only working three of those weeks a month for, say, nine months a year. In Tom Hodgekinson's new book How to Be Idle, he says that's the way it should be.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
07-14-2005 |
Nonfiction
Tags: How to be Idle, Tom Hodgekinson
Desert of Despairnew
Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi's film captures the life of a cursed band of war orphans in a culture fraught with political, religious and ethnic clashes.
Orlando Weekly |
Lindy T. Shepherd |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Bahman Ghobadi, Turtles Can Fly
Clowns Go All Outnew
In this urban documentary, South Central L.A. rival groups of "clowns," dressed in whiteface, take to the streets to perform furious dances that are the utmost in personal and cultural expression.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: David LaChapelle, Rize
Bewitchednew
This letdown film chronicles the featherweight sparring/foreplay of two characters any sensible adult would be hard-pressed to care about.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Nora Ephron, Bewitched
Flying High Againnew
It would be both inaccurate and unfair to describe the sensation engendered by this new Hawke record as "nostalgia," but one can't help but be overwhelmed by past glories.
Orlando Weekly |
Jason Ferguson |
07-14-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Hawke, Love Won Another
Oompa-Loompas With Extra Oomph
Inevitably, Burton’s work will be put up against the film that came before it, and this one can stand the comparison well. While not a great film, it’s smart, enjoyable and, most important, respectful of both its audience and its author’s legacy.
Columbus Alive |
Melissa Starker |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Apocalyptic Terrainnew
Zombie godfather Romero peels off yet another worthy amalgam of the two essential elements in his oeuvre: an obvious yet spot-on central metaphor and a creative approach to bodies going splat.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
War of the Worldsnew
Hollywood can officially flush its hopes for a summer recovery down the toilet with the release of this shockingly unimaginative remake.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Saving Facenew
The 2005 Florida Film Festival introduced audiences to this cross-cultural dramedy, in which a Chinese-American surgeon has to open her home to her middle-aged, newly pregnant mother.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Alice Wu, Saving Face
Tough Lovenew
The typical boy-meets-girl romantic comedy is given an upgrade when it's suicide attempts that bring two people together. They marry each other to get away, and -- surprise, surprise -- fall in love.
Orlando Weekly |
Jessica Bryce Young |
07-14-2005 |
Reviews
Tags: Fatih Akin, Head-On
Pitching Wunew
Director Alice Wu talks about opening the doors that were shut in her face while making Saving Face
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-14-2005 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Alice Wu, Saving Face
