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 | Another Coen Brothers Masterpiece Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Less a laugh-inducing absurdist farce than a head-scratching existential black comedy, [b]A Serious Man[/b] belongs in the same category as the Coen Brothers better (or even best) films.More |  | …Real Good (Mostly) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
It’s hard to believe that Drew Barrymore’s career has stretched across three decades. Barrymore started her own production company, Flower Films, almost fifteen years ago, producing ten films in that time period. Directing seemed the next, logical step for Barrymore. Her first film as a director, [b]Whip It[/b], an adaptation of Shauna Cross’ novel, is a coming-of-age, teen romance, and sports comedy mash-up.More |  | The Virtual Life is Not Worth Living Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.
[b]Surrogates[/b] is undermined by genre clichés, shallow characters, and flaccid, unimaginative set pieces. Simply put, it is one graphic novel adaptation that fails on every level.More |  | Engrossing Environmentally Themed Documentary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Few documentaries are as enlightening, educational and engrossing as [b]No Impact Man[/b], a “fly-on-the-wall” documentary nimbly directed by Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein. [b]No Impact Man[/b] follows environmentalist, activist, author, teacher, and blogger Colin Beavan as he takes radical steps to minimize or eliminate his impact on the environment over the course of an entire year. He hopes to “reduce, reuse, and recycle” his way to eliminating (or radically decreasing) his carbon footprint.More |  | A Compelling and Frustrating Film Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
With the summer blockbuster season already a distant memory, the Academy Awards season unofficially kicks off with [b]The Informant![/b], a comedy-drama directed by Steven Soderbergh ([b]Che[/b], [b]Ocean’s 11, 12, and 13[/b], [b]Erin Brockovich[/b]) and starring Matt Damon as the “informant” of the title, Mark Whitacre, an executive-turned-whistleblower instrumental in bringing down Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), an agri-business corporation, for food additive price-fixing in the mid-90s. An occasionally compelling, sometimes frustrating film, [b]The Informant![/b] falls short of Oscar-worthiness.More |  | Engrossing Political-Historical Drama Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Engrossing, fascinating, and compelling, [b]The Baader Meinhof Complex[/b] offers a clear-eyed, unromantic look at the pitfalls of how rigid, dogmatic ideology becomes the justification for political violence and not just political action.More |  | Strictly for the Preteen Set Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.
As a filmmaker, Robert Rodriguez has had two distinct careers. In one career, he writes, directs and produces independently financed and controlled, ultra-stylish, ultra-violent genre films ([b]Grindhouse: Planet Horror[/b], [b]Sin City[/b], [b]Once Upon a Time in Mexico[/b]). In his other career, he writes, directs and produces family-oriented sci-fi or fantasy action comedies (e.g. the [b]Spy Kids[/b] trilogy, [b]Shark Boy & Lava Girl[/b]). His latest film, [b]Shorts[/b], fits unquestionably into the latter category.More |  | A Delirious Genre-Bending Revenge Fantasy Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Far more focused and, despite its two-and-a-half hour running time, far better premised than [b]Kill Bill[/b] (and less self-indulgent), [b]Inglourious Basterds[/b], succeeds narratively, thematically, visually, and emotionally.More |  | Mostly Satisfying Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Directed by Robert Schwentke ([b]Flight Plan[/b], [b]The Family Jewels[/b], [b]Tattoo[/b]) and adapted by Bruce Joel Rubin from Audrey Niffenegger’s 2004 bestselling novel, [b]The Time Traveler’s Wife[/b] blends or borrows elements from [b]Slaughterhouse Five[/b], [b]Somewhere in Time[/b], and [b]The Notebook[/b]. Heavy on romance and light on science fiction, the film offers few narrative surprises and, for some, occasional befuddlement but what it does offer is unobtrusive direction by Schwentke and warm, engaging performances by Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams.More |  | Man-Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Masculinity and its discontents has always been a ripe subject for dissection in film and literature. Writer-director Lynn Shelton ([b]My Effortless Brilliance[/b], [b]We Go Way Back[/b]) does just that in her latest film, [b]Humpday[/b], an indie comedy-drama that asks “What happens if two (presumably) straight guys decided to make gay porn?” To Shelton’s considerable credit, the answer isn’t simple or straightforward, but layered with contradictions, complications, and confrontations.More |
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