AltWeeklies Wire
From Greece With Abba and Streep
Once it gets past its high-pitched squeals of estrogen-fueled excitement in the opening sequences, director Phyllida Lloyd's screen adaptation of the popular Broadway play based on Abba songs, settles into a harmonically pleasing musical comedy set amid the extraordinary beauty of the Greek isle of Skopelos.
'The Wackness': The Coming-of-age Story You've Heard Beforenew
Watching Jonathan Levine's funny, sincere tale of a Manhattan B-boy navigating an inappropriate relationship with his middle-aged shrink while falling hard for the man's stepdaughter, I kept wondering where I'd seen it before. Oh, The Graduate.
Chicago Reader |
J.R. Jones |
07-14-2008 |
Reviews
'Journey to the Center of the Earth': Lava Trampsnew
The new version of this Jules Verne classic provides gentle fun, but without the 3-D visual effects "comin' right at ya," this journey's center will not hold.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
07-11-2008 |
Reviews
The Women of 'Jellyfish' are an Amorphously Defined Lotnew
This prize-winning Israeli film is set in contemporary Tel Aviv and is both a realistic and magical portrait of contemporary women.
Austin Chronicle |
Marjorie Baumgarten |
07-11-2008 |
Reviews
The Comics' Big Red One Provides Superhero Funnew
Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II is the most splendidly imaginative and creatively uncorked piece of fantastic cinema since his Pan's Labyrinth netted an Oscar trifecta in 2007.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
07-11-2008 |
Reviews
'Before the Rains': Tea for Twonew
This story about life and love in southern India during the twilight of British rule is exquisitely photographed but emotionally overwrought.
Austin Chronicle |
Marc Savlov |
07-11-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Before the Rains, Santosh Sivan
'Generation Kill' Author Evan Wright Talks Ass Time, Crack Highs and Why Roadblocks Killnew
Wright, who wrote parts of the script and was involved in other aspects of the production, has invited me over before the series debut for a private screening. But though we started the show more than a half-hour ago, we haven't gotten very far -- five minutes in at best. Despite apologetically promising to let me watch, Wright keeps pausing the DVD to offer behind-the-scenes tidbits that suddenly evolve into fascinating non sequiturs and counterintuitive spiels about the war. I'm not complaining.
L.A. Weekly |
Matthew Fleischer |
07-11-2008 |
TV
Heath Ledger's Final Days Among the Massesnew
Birthed in a big loft in midtown Manhattan by one Los Angeleno, Amato, and one New Yorker, Jon Ramos, in 2002, the collective was transformed in the fall of 2006, when the members set up shop in Hollywood, and Amato's longtime friend, Heath Ledger, started channeling some of his creative energy, and eventually, money, into the company. It was at the Masses that Ledger and his peers converged around a notion; taught each other how to shoot, light and edit; plotted out music and record labels; and sought to develop a little engine of creativity.
L.A. Weekly |
Randall Roberts |
07-11-2008 |
Movies
Looking Back at the First Half of '08 in Filmnew
For this midyear report card, I had a hard time making a list of the best films thus far, because we've only had a few great ones. As for stinkers, the problem I had was figuring out what to cut from an ever-growing list of garbage.
Tucson Weekly |
Bob Grimm |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
'Mongol' is the Best Action Film of the Yearnew
The best thing about Mongol is that it's being marketed as an art-house flick, so you can be all highbrow. But, in fact, what you'll have seen is the best action film of the year, and probably of the last 2.6 years.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Mongol, Sergei Bodrov
The Devil's in the Details for Director Guillermo del Toronew
The Hellboy sequel features plenty of visual dazzle but little heart.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
Dario Argento Film Desecrates Horror Traditionnew
Seldom do you see as much overkill as the first murder in Mother of Tears from Italian gore-maestro Dario Argento.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
The Creators of 'The Wire' Take on Iraq in 'Generation Kill'new
Generation Kill transforms Iraq from a theoretical problem into something you feel in your gut. Plus, an interview with the HBO series creators Dave Simon and Ed Burns.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
07-10-2008 |
TV
Crashing Director Jason Freeland's 'Garden Party'new
Even though for some weird reason Garden Party's being marketed all over MySpace as a teen drama, writer/director Freeland's foray into the dirty underpinnings of Los Angeles, is, in fact, a quirky indie flick about the morally ambiguous reality of chasing the Hollywood dream.
The Portland Mercury |
Kiala Kazebee |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
Batman Gets Animated with 'Gotham Knight'new
The grimy, captivating architectural fantasy of Gotham takes center stage in Batman: Gotham Knight, a series of six animated shorts that serve as a lead-in for The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins, which hits theaters next week.
The Portland Mercury |
Erik Henriksen |
07-10-2008 |
Reviews
