AltWeeklies Wire
Middle-Aged ABBA Musical Not Quite as Cringetastic as Those Words Implynew
1994's Muriel's Wedding used the title character’s obsession with the '70s Swedish quartet's glittery lady-music to underscore Muriel's disconnected idealization of romance, glamour and marriage-centered happiness, an obsession that leaves her struggling to construct a true sense of self. Mamma Mia!, on the other hand, features ABBA as a way to ... sing along to ABBA songs. And dance.
Weekly Alibi |
Erin Adair-Hodges |
07-29-2008 |
Reviews
Examining CNN's Series on Race Relationsnew
While CNN's ambition must be lauded, somehow you want Black in America to do more, say more.
Metro Times |
Jim McFarlin |
07-29-2008 |
TV
Why Aren't There More Musical TV Shows?new
Like RENT or Carousel or Pippin or Moulin Rouge or whatever, but in televised episodic form.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Caralyn Green |
07-28-2008 |
TV
'Brideshead Revisited' Doesn't Want to Follow Its Sourcenew
Any adaptation ought to be its own thing, but the film's hesitation to follow its source to the end produces a confused, schizophrenic work.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Matt Prigge |
07-28-2008 |
Reviews
Middle-Aged Comeback: Rainn Wilson Fishes for Attention
Rainn Wilson plays “Fish,” a washed-up and bitter heavy metal drummer who gets a second chance in life to rock out in this feel good comedy that’s more than the sum of its parts.
Tags: Peter Cattaneo, The Rocker
'The Dark Knight' is the Best Batman Evernew
In a summer jam-packed with superheroes, Batman has made a couple of smart moves. He's waited until everybody else -- Ironman, The Hulk, Hancock, Hellboy -- exhausted themselves, letting anticipation build. And he's kept things serious, refusing to stoop to comic-book hijinks.
Tags: Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Robert Englund Fesses Upnew
Robert Englund, the man who donned the burn marks, tattered fedora and steel fingers of Freddy Krueger for the Nightmare On Elm Street series, crept into town last week to scare up some publicity for his latest blood-and-guts role in Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer.
NOW Magazine |
Radheyan Simonpillai |
07-28-2008 |
Reviews
'Brideshead Revisited' Gets Refocused for the Big Screennew
It's taken more than 60 years to bring Evelyn Waugh's best-known novel to the big screen. The 133-minute feature isn’t entirely faithful to the book's details and expresses more ambivalence about religion than Waugh might have wished, but it captures the theme of moral responsibility in an evenhanded way that should speak to believers and nonbelievers alike.
Chicago Reader |
Albert Williams |
07-28-2008 |
Reviews
'Brideshead Revisited' Doesn't Seduce Like the Originalnew
The Granada TV Brideshead Revisited may not have had all that much relevance to viewers in 1981, but during 11 lovingly detailed hours spent with the pastoral gentry of England between the wars, they got sucked in.
The Georgia Straight |
Ken Eisner |
07-25-2008 |
Reviews
The New X-Files Movies Sucksnew
There was a lot of secrecy surrounding the new X-Files movie, and know we know why.
The Georgia Straight |
Steve Newton |
07-25-2008 |
Reviews
Miss Mulder and Scully? Watch the Re-runsnew
The truth is still out there, like an unsold lawn chair at a garage sale, in this just plain lousy second big-screen outing for erstwhile FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
07-25-2008 |
Reviews
Young-Adult Fiction: 'American Teen'new
High school heroes and zeros roam the halls of alleged documentary.
L.A. Weekly |
Ella Taylor |
07-25-2008 |
Reviews
'Step Brothers': Blended Family Valuesnew
Director Adam McKay and Will Ferrell relish working on an absurdist high wire, and the whole point of their movies isn't how any one scene relates to another but rather how much they can chip away at the logic that holds most movies together. Baghead also reviews.
L.A. Weekly |
Scott Foundas |
07-25-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Filmmaker Craig Brewer's Latest Project Brings Reality TV (of a Sort) to Memphisnew
It's a Friday night at the New Daisy Theatre on Beale Street, the first night of shooting on $5 Cover, Brewer's new web-based MTV series about Memphis music.
The Memphis Flyer |
Chris Herrington |
07-25-2008 |
Movies
A New Crop of Game Shows Take On-Air Debasement to a New Lownew
Watching a real Japanese game show conjures up mixed feelings of glee at the rampant creativity and sadness for the desperate contestants who'll do anything for money or attention. Watching shows like Wipeout and Hurl! is merely depressing, a reminder that when faced with a choice between originality and exploitation, American reality-TV producers will almost invariably choose the latter.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Josh Bell |
07-25-2008 |
TV
