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Dull Duo
One is about a sexy assasin, the other is about a boarding school music teacher, and both aren’t worth your time. My reviews of Elektra and The Chorus are now up at Slant magazine and filmcritic.com, respectively. Elektra (Slant magazine) The Chorus (filmcritic.com) And brand new reviews of Tarnation and Scarface are posted below.
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Static Schlock
January is the month in which studios dump their garbage into theaters, and the first new piece of rubbish to wind up on multiplex screens is White Noise, a lame Poltergeist-ish horror story starring Michael Keaton. My take can be found at the newly redesigned Slant magazine. White Noise (Slant magazine) And to kick off…
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The Parent Claptrap
Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro recruited Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand for Meet the Fockers, the sequel to their 2000 hit Meet the Parents, but more starpower doesn’t result in more laughs. My take on this visit to the in-laws is now up at Slant magazine. Meet the Fockers (Slant magazine) Meanwhile, Sean Penn is…
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Hannah and her Father
As most of you know, Cath and I recently had our first child – Hannah Rose Schager, born on November 23rd in Norwalk, CT. Yet while our new, absolutely adorable daughter has kept me quite busy over the past few weeks, I’ve still managed to fit in quite a few films. Three new Slant magazine…
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Pre-Holiday Stuff
Three new reviews for this Monday-before-Thanksgiving. Links to National Treasure and a DVD review of I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead – as well as my Rocky Mountain Bullhorn review of Kinsey – are all up for your reading pleasure. Plus, I just discovered that I never posted a link to my review of Enduring Love.…
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A Very Redundant Engagement
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s latest film, A Very Long Engagement, is a WW1 romance that might as well have been called Amélie Goes to War. I assess the damage at Slant magazine. A Very Long Engagement (Slant magazine) I also have a Rocky Mountain Bullhorn review of the new Pierce Brosnan-Salma Hayek crime caper After the Sunset…
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The Men Have It
The most hotly contested category at this year’s Academy Awards will likely be for Best Actor. And after last week’s Ray, this week I review three more films with Oscar-contending lead male performances – Finding Neverland , Bad Education and Sideways – as well as Alfie, which won’t nab Jude Law anything. As you’ll see,…
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Blind Devotion
Don’t believe the hype – Ray is hardly one of this year’s finest films. I take director Taylor Hackford to task for this sloppy, sappy, insincere biopic over at Slant magazine. Ray (Slant magazine) Below, I’ve also got new reviews of Saw, Primer, The Machinist and George Lucas’ first film, THX 1138.
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Christmas Grudge
For moviegoers interested in seeing a new release this weekend, the question is: are you in the mood for Halloween horror or Christmas cheer? My two latest reviews over at Slant magazine provide the low-down on a surprisingly decent horror movie – actually, a surprisingly decent horror movie remake, which is even rarer – and…
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The Lewd and the Lyrical
The funniest – and shrewdest – politically-minded film of the year has arrived, and its name is Team America: World Police. Profane, offensive, and hilarious, it’s hands-down the best puppet movie ever made. On the other end of the spectrum, Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s latest – the poetic Café Lumière, screening at this year’s New…
