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Mel Valentin
Mel Valentin's Articles: 61 to 70 of 314 | Previous Page   1... 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ...  Next Page
Flawed, But Promising Debut
By Mel Valentin (May 27, 2008)
Directed by Sarah Gavron, making her feature-length debut, and adapted by Laura Jones and Abi Morgan from the controversial novel by Monica Ali, [b]Brick Lane[/b] explores the experiences of a Bangladeshi woman living in London’s Brick Lane community before and after the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Gavron crafts an often poignant, if borderline predictable and occasionally unfocused, character study that benefits from a warm, sympathetic turn by the lead actress, Tannishtha Chatterjee, and a willingness to ask questions about ethnic, religious, cultural, and gender identity in a post-9-11 world.More
Pixar Perfect (Again)
By Mel Valentin (May 27, 2008)
In a summer movie season dominated by superheroes redefining the blockbuster, Pixar Animation Studios’ joins the blockbuster fray with [b]WALL•E[/b], the long-in-development, eagerly anticipated computer animated family film. Co-written and directed by Andrew Stanton ([b]Finding Nemo[/b]), [b]WALL•E[/b] is a Pixar film through and through: engaging characters, a meticulously crafted world, a universally appealing storyline, a strong underlying message (in this case, an environmental one), and enough humor, heart, wonder, and awe to fill an entire summer’s worth of blockbusters.More
Pandariffic Fun for the Whole Family
By Mel Valentin (May 23, 2008)
First, there was kung fu, then there was wire-fu (e.g. [b]Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon[/b], the [b]Matrix[/b] trilogy), and now there's “panda fu”. While DreamWorks Animation’s [b]Kung Fu Panda[/b] doesn’t quite reach the mountaintop, it comes surprisingly close, thanks to a joke-and-gag filled script, inspired direction by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson, and impressively detailed computer animation.More
Genghis Khan: The Family Man
By Mel Valentin (May 20, 2008)
Directed and co-written by prolific Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov ([b]Nomad[/b], [b]Bear’s Kiss[/b], [b]Prisoner in the Mountains[/b]), [b]Mongol[/b] is the first film in a planned trilogy that focuses on Genghis Khan, the Mongolian conqueror who, at one point, controlled more than a fifth of the Eurasian landmass. Nominated for Best Foreign Film at this year’s Academy Awards, [b]Mongol[/b] explores Genghis Khan’s early life, from his early childhood through his triumph over his Mongolian rivals, focusing primarily on Genghis Khan’s personal relationships over military tactics.More
It’s Austin Powers… In a Beard
By Mel Valentin (May 20, 2008)
Directed by Marco Schnabel and written by Mike Myers (the [b]Austin Powers[/b] franchise, [b]Shrek[/b], [b]Wayne’s World I and II[/b]) and Graham Gordy, [b]The Love Guru[/b], Myers’ latest comedy/parody, this time centered on an American-born, Indian-raised self-help guru hoping to become the next Deepak Chopra is, contrary to expectations, sporadically amusing, often gross, and an occasionally entertaining effort by Meyers and his collaborators. [b]The Love Guru[/b] also skirts uncomfortably close to using one too many stereotypes about Indian culture.More
A Documentary for Surfers and Non-Surfers Alike
By Mel Valentin (May 14, 2008)
[b]Surfwise[/b], a documentary directed by Doug Pray, explores the life and times of the Paskowitz clan, the “first family of surfing". Combining talking head interviews with 85-year old Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, his wife, Janelle, and his nine children, archival footage, and photographs of Paskowitz and his family shot over the last fifty years, [b]Surfwise[/b] is nothing less than compelling filmmaking. It also doesn’t matter whether you’re a surfer or even if have a passing interest in surfing.More
Overbroad Satire Misses More than it Hits
By Mel Valentin (May 13, 2008)
A personal project for writer-producer-actor John Cusack ([b]High Fidelity[/b], [b]Gross Pointe Blank[/b], [b]Say Anything[/b]), [b]War, Inc.[/b] is a political satire that’s acerbic, caustic, mordant, but hampered by a seen-that, know-that-already feeling and hit-or-miss gags that undercut its anti-war, anti-corporate, anti-corruption themes. [b]War, Inc.[/b] isn’t going to convince anyone who isn’t already on the center-left of the political divide to switch political allegiances and vote differently in the upcoming presidential election, but what the film does have is John Cusack's engaging, sympathetic performance.More
A Cinematic Treat for Fans of the Nouvelle Vague
By Mel Valentin (May 06, 2008)
[b]Love Songs[/b] (“Les Chansons d'amour”), a romance/musical written by French filmmaker Christophe Honoré ([b]Dans Paris[/b], [b]Ma mere[/b]) as an homage to the [i]Nouvelle Vague[/i] (French New Wave) films of the early 60s (e.g. Truffaut, early Godard, Jacques Demy’s [b]The Umbrellas of Cherbourg[/b]) with, of course, a very contemporary, very French twist is, despite uneven pacing, a loose, meandering structure, and the usual arty pretensions found among serious, auteur-minded European filmmakers, a surprisingly engaging, convention defying, and emotionally resonant exploration of love lost and love found.More
Strictly for Adam Sandler Fans
By Mel Valentin (May 06, 2008)
The ubiquitous Adam Sandler (almost twenty lead roles in just over ten years) is back with [b]You Don’t Mess with the Zohan[/b], a broad comedy about a disco-loving, Israeli Mossad agent who really just wants to be a hairdresser (and he’s straight). Tackling thorny representation issues with all the subtlety of well…an Adam Sandler comedy, [b]You Don’t Mess with the Zohan[/b] contains enough vulgar, crude jokes to keep Sandler’s fanbase engaged for its overlong 110-minute running time. And if you’re not a Sandler fan, you’ll end up thinking up ways to get your money back.More
Visually Impressive, but Dramatically Inert
By Mel Valentin (Apr 30, 2008)
[b]The Fall[/b], music video and TV commercial director Tarsem Singh’s self-financed follow-up to his first feature-length film, [b]The Cell[/b], is both a strikingly beautiful film crammed with singularly arresting images and, sadly, a dramatically inert film that exposes Tarsem’s weaknesses as a narrative storyteller.More
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