Movies :: Reviews

Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos)

By Eric Calderwood on 11:00 AM on November 19, 2009

Release Date: Nov. 20 (New York) Director/Writer: Pedro Almodóvar Starring: Penélope Cruz, Lluís Homar, Blanca Portillo Run Time: 128 mins. Celebrated director explores life through movies Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film is an anthology of his previous obsessions—its haunting score (courtesy of long-time collaborator Alberto Iglesias) and deep hues evoke the melodramatic aesthetic that has defined his work since 1997’s Live Flesh. This is a movie about seeing and being seen, a fact that is evident from the dazzling opening sequence that begins with a close-up of a woman’s eye, in which you can see the reflection of a newspaper. The... read more

Fantastic Mr. Fox

By Alisa Wilkinson on 2:02 PM on November 17, 2009

Release Date: November 25, 2009 Director: Wes Anderson  Writer: Roald Dahl (novel), Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach (screenplay)  Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Jason Schwartzman, Brian Cox, Michael Gambon, Anjelica Huston  Studio/Run Time: Twentieth Century Fox, 87 min. Wes Anderson’s whimsical animated film features his familiar themes and undeniable fingerprints, but has broader-than-usual appeal.... read more

Fight Club (10th Anniversary Edition)

By Michael Saba on 11:00 AM on November 17, 2009

Release Date: Nov. 17 Director: David Fincher Writers: Jim Uhls, Chuck Palahniuk Cinematographer: Jeff Cronenweth Starring: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter Studio/Run Time: Twentieth Century Fox, 139 mins. A beautiful and unique snowflake David Fincher’s film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club doesn’t tell us anything about consumerism that we don’t already know. That’s exactly why it’s a stunning piece of cinema, and a searing indictment of a society wandering a labyrinth of material comfort and spiritual discontent.... read more

Red Cliff

By Stephen M. Deusner on 5:40 PM on November 13, 2009

Release Date: Oct. 16 Director: John Woo Writers: John Woo, Khan Chan, Cheng Kuo, Heyu Sheng Cinematographers: Yue Lü, Li Zhang Starring: Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang Studio/Run Time: Magnolia Pictures, 148 minutes Woo returns to China for an epic war movie... read more

Pirate Radio

By Sean Edgar on 11:00 AM on November 13, 2009

Release Date: Nov. 13 Director/Writer: Richard Curtis Cinematographer: Danny Cohen Starring: Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Sturridge, Kenneth Branagh Studio/Run Time: Focus Features, 135 mins. Raucous ’60s retrospective adrift in simplistic plot Nobody can accuse Richard Curtis’ sophomore directorial effort of being less than a fun time. The writer/director of Love, Actually immerses his work in a sea of floral-lensed escapism, filled with lusty skirt-chasing and fraternal merry-making—and in Pirate Radio, a loose timepiece about a radio ship that broadcasts primitive rock ’n’ roll in international waters to avoid government regulation, the good vibes keep rolling. It’s worth seeing... read more

The Messenger

By Alissa Wilkinson on 10:30 AM on November 13, 2009

Release Date: Nov. 13 Director: Oren Moverman Writers: Moverman and Alessandro Camon Cinematographer: Bobby Bukowski Starring: Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Jena Malone, Samantha Morton Studio/Run Time: Oscilloscope Laboratories, 105 mins. War film well acted and fittingly bleak It’s unfortunate for this film that we’re experiencing a collective case of war-movie fatigue; when we’re still dealing with these wars on television and in our own communities, it’s hard to drag ourselves to the movies to be reminded of how awful it all is. The Messenger starts with an interesting premise: A war hero (Ben Foster) sent home to recuperate from injuries... read more

Wings of Desire (The Criterion Collection)

By Tim Regan-Porter on 3:00 PM on November 10, 2009

DVD Release Date: Nov. 3 Director: Wim Wenders Writers: Wenders, Peter Handke Cinematographer: Henri Alekan Starring: Bruno Ganz, Otto Sander, Peter Falk, Solveig Dommartin Studio/Run Time: Criterion, 127 mins. Wim Wenders’ masterpiece illuminates the sublime in everyday existence In this 1987 Wim Wenders classic (finally getting the Criterion treatment this month), two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, watch over a divided Berlin. Sometimes they observe from lofty perches, but mostly they move freely through the ordinary lives of the city’s inhabitants, observing and documenting what they see. Occasionally, an angel will put an intangible arm around someone to offer subtle comfort.... read more

Say Anything (20th Anniversary Edition)

By Michael Saba on 2:30 PM on November 10, 2009

DVD Release Date: Nov. 3 Director/Writer: Cameron Crowe Cinematographer: László Kovács Starring: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney Studio/Run Time: Twentieth Century Fox, 100 mins. To know this movie is to love it Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything hearkens to that bygone age of teen movies when depictions of first love didn’t need a veneer of detached self-awareness. Underachiever and all-around nice guy Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) genuinely loves the brainy and beautiful Diane Court (Ione Skye). And, though Diane’s academic ambitions and overprotective father (John Mahoney) threaten to derail the budding romance, Lloyd doggedly pursues his paramour, pitting his pluck... read more

The Box

By Stephen M. Deusner on 3:00 PM on November 9, 2009

Release Date: Nov. 6 Director: Richard Kelly Writer: Richard Kelly (based on a short story by Richard Matheson) Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella Cinematographer: Steven B. Poster Studio/Run Time: Warner Bros., 115 mins. What’s in the Box? A flawed but fascinating film... read more

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

By Robert Davis on 9:07 PM on November 5, 2009

Release Date: Nov. 6 Director: Lee Daniels Writer: Geoffrey Fletcher, (based on a novel by Sapphire) Starring: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd Cinematographer: Andrew Dunn Studio/Run Time: Lionsgate, 110 mins. Precious offers a strong performance in a familiar tale... read more

Monsoon Wedding DVD Review

By Andy Beta on 7:30 PM on November 5, 2009

Famed Indian director Mira Nair returns to her roots and strikes a colorful balance read more

Z DVD Review

By Andy Beta on 6:30 PM on November 3, 2009

DVD Release Date: Oct. 27, 2009 Original Theatrical Release: Dec. 8, 1969 Director: Costa-Gavras Writer: Vasilis Vasilikos, Jorge Semprún Cinematography: Raoul Coutard Starring: Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jean-Louis Trintignant Runtime: 127 minutes Repressed Greek political thriller builds slowly but remains powerful and relevant... read more

The House of the Devil

By Sean Edgar on 12:30 PM on November 3, 2009

Release Date: October 30 Director/Writer: Ti West Cinematographer: Eliot Rockett Starring: Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, Greta Gerwig Studio/Run Time: Magnolia Pictures/93 mins. The devil’s in the details of this modern horror classic The House of the Devil isn’t just a movie: it’s an experience. It joins the league of Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen as one of the most diabolical entries in the modern horror library. And as you can probably guess, it’s also batshit scary.... read more

Gentleman Broncos Review

By Tim Basham on 9:05 AM on October 30, 2009

A blast in another galaxy falters when it returns on Earth. read more

All Tomorrow's Parties

By Matt Fink on 1:00 PM on October 29, 2009

Director: Jonathan Caouette Release Date: October Absorbing fly-on-the-stage collage of legendary rock fest captured with Super 8 footage, cell-phone images and handheld cameras Now 40 years after Woodstock and the iconic concert film that proved that the zeitgeist of an event could be best captured by simply rolling tape and allowing the images to tell its story, experimental music label Warp offers us All Tomorrow’s Parties, an 82-minute examination of the famously independent British festival where one musician or band curates a weekend of music at an out-of-season seaside camp.... read more

We Live in Public Review

By Robert Davis on 4:15 PM on October 28, 2009

Release Date: Fall 2009 Director: Ondi Timoner Starring: Josh Harris, Tanya Corrin Cinematographers: Max Heller, Vasco Nunes Studio/Run Time: Interloper Films, 90 mins. Cautionary documentary looks for social media lessons in the story of a dot-com “visionary” Ondi Timoner has a theory and a metaphor about broadcasting our lives online: it’s gradually driving us insane. All of this Twittering, blogging, using-of-Facebook-without-a-concise-verb-to-describe-our-actions, is leading to madness, and Timoner’s cautionary example is entrepreneur Josh Harris.... read more

New York, I Love You Review

By Sean Edgar on 12:00 PM on October 16, 2009

Like Paris je t’aime, its similarly titled forerunner... read more

Black Dynamite Review

By Robert Davis on 11:30 AM on October 16, 2009

It may seem to be a bit late to spoof the blaxploitation films of the 1970s, but don’t tell the guys who made _Black Dynamite_... read more

Where the Wild Things Are Review

By Andy Beta on 9:00 AM on October 16, 2009

Release Date: Oct. 16 Director: Spike Jonze Writers: Spike Jonze, Dave Eggers Cinematography: Lance Acord Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini Studio/run time: Warner Bros./100 min. A classic paean to childhood imagination fails to turn into an imaginative film... read more