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Movies
An Invitation to a Celebration, Best Refused
Julie Taymor’s latest would be better suited to the stage than screen, where its lavishly choreographed song-and-dance numbers and elaborate sets would easily overshadow its unexceptional story and needless indulgences. We’ve all heard the one about the wild children of the 60s who rejected the stodgy conservatism of their parents’ generation and embraced revolution -- at least for a time. Re-imagining that story as a musical set entirely to the music of the Beatles (and performed by the likes of Bono and Joe Cocker) is ambitious but, in the end, a noble failure. More
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Movies
A Romance About Growing Up
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
Adam, despite its flaws, is a charming romantic film about a man with Asperger’s Syndrome and a woman with family troubles, both at a crossroads. Seemingly normal, Adam (Hugh Dancy) appears to be just a tad off, especially when he rattles on about space to anyone who will listen. But, there aren’t many who will listen and following his father’s death, he’s left alone in a large New York City apartment. The feeling of such a large apartment in such a dense city feeds the feeling of isolation and anxiety as Adam, nearly 30, attempts for the first time to cope with life on his own. More
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Movies
What the hell is going on?
The assignment sounded easy enough. See the new Charlie Kaufman-Spike Jonze joint, Adaptation, mull it over, and write a review on the film, due the next day. More
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Movies
Moody Blues and Midsummer’s Romance
Those expecting another hormonally charged, cheerfully outlandish sex comedy from Superbad director Greg Mottola may be surprised to discover that Adventureland, despite a deliberately misleading ad campaign, is nothing of the sort. It is a far more grounded, even somber affair, populated by thoughtful, unaffected characters whose misadventures ring invariably true. It is also one of the year’s best films. More
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Movies
An Assassin with an Attitude
If you've stayed up late watching Liquid Television on MTV, then you've already been acquainted with Aeon Flux. I guess it's taken ten years for someone to finally step up and get the animated series, full of dark undertones, surreal elements and experimental notions, out of the cult archives. Karyn Kusama (whose first film was the outstanding Girlfight) has tackled this potentially disastrous task with flare. More
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Movies
Cinema Paradiso
Set in the innovative and architecturally fascinating Museum of Cinema in Turin, Italy, Davide Ferrario's About 'Midnight ('Dopo mezzanotte') is a simple, age-old romance for people who love old films. One evening Martino (Giorgio Pasotti) rescues Amanda (Francesca Inaudi) from the police and keeps her safe within the palatial confines of the museum where he works as a night watchman. He loves to project random movie reels from the museum's vault onto the large screen in the cinema, and now he has a visitor to convert to the appeal of cinema's magical possibilities. More
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Movies
Not Worthy of Clever Title
Originally slated for an April 2003 premiere, Against the Ropes gets its long awaited (insert sarcasm here) opening this weekend after two more abandoned release dates and a host of criticism regarding the facts presented by the film. Inspired by the life of Jackie Kallen (Meg Ryan), Ropes follows the career of one of the first and most famous (or perhaps notorious) female managers in boxing history. As the story goes, Kallen traded in her secretarial shoes to manage no-name street hustler Luther Shaw. More
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Movies
Another Movie Centered on a "Dramatic" Spelling Bee
After Spellbound and Bee Season, do theatergoers need another film where a spelling bee plays a key part in turning around the lives of the central characters? Probably not, but Akeelah and the Bee, an "underdog" story centered on an eleven-year old, inner-city African-American girl who competes in the national spelling bee, was written more than half a decade ago by writer/director Doug Atchison. Atchison's film is badly timed, since Akeelah and the Bee will be criticized for being derivative, but Atchison's film still manages to work on an emotional level, while touching on thought- provoking issues. More
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Movies
Not that Great Afterall
Epics are in. The works of Homer and J.R.R. Tolkien and Shakepeare have been mined. Musicals have been whipped into celluloid extravaganzas. Even the Bible has been exploited. The annals of history are now being combed through for figures worthy of biopics. Who better of inspiring a grand production other than military leader Alexander the Great? More
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Movies
What's It All About?
There is nothing more endearing than a self-centered, hedonistic man whore. Or at least, that's what director Charles Shyer was hoping in remaking the 1966 Michael Caine film, Alfie. More
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