The Reader
Dec25

The Reader

Channeling Werner Fassbinder Starring: Kate Winslet, David Kross By Robert Patrick Director Stephen Daldry’s newest film, The Reader, is impressive in every sense of the word – save for the expressionless title. Stilted on voluminous scenes of eroticism, it somehow skillfully sidesteps pitfalls of mindless perversion, becoming one of the best films of the year. Strange, especially considering that the movie was destined for...

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The Spirit
Dec25

The Spirit

A Pale Ghost of Comic Book Cliches Starring: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson By Tom Bevis Let’s talk about comic books.  They have survived the test of time to become a genuine and distinct artistic medium and narrative form, and the fact that they cater to a sheltered and extremely limited audience only makes this much more impressive.  The medium has developed its own mode of narrative transportation (called sequential story...

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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Dec25

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

  I can imagine that, in a haze of inebriation and jazz music, philanthropist and socialite F. Scott Fitzgerald dipped his pen against a bushel of papers, scribbling what would become a short story of epic proportions. The piece in question, known as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, was published in 1922. That year flappers lounged about, christening their lips with alcohol, and Clara Bow bounced around looking for Hollywood...

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Seven Pounds
Dec20

Seven Pounds

  I agreed to review Seven Pounds because I believe in Will Smith. Sure, we’re talking about the Fresh Prince here, but when I look at Will Smith, I don’t see the adolescent jokeabout from television. I don’t even see the part-time Grammy-winning quasi-rap artist. When I look at Will Smith, I see an incredibly gifted actor with the potential for great range. Will Smith can be brilliant when he wants to be. Unfortunately, I think...

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Doubt
Dec20

Doubt

Veil of Suspicion Starring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams By Colleen Dillon It seems that in life, the vast majority of all regret arises from decisions made without absolute certainty. Actions taken – or not taken – because we didn’t have all the evidence, or couldn’t properly interpret the evidence we did have, can plague us for lifetimes. Doubt, a film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning...

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Interview w/ Paul W.S. Anderson
Dec20

Interview w/ Paul W.S. Anderson

Walls splinter from the rapid drumming of machinegun fire, white hot explosions wash away weathered terrain, and Paul W.S. Anderson, using his camera in place of a conducting baton, orchestrates the strange, cacophonous symphony with the zeal of a great composer. Anderson, known for his high-volume action sequences, has directed such films as Resident Evil, Alien vs. Predator, and this year’s Death Race with Jason Statham. The English...

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The Tale of Despereaux
Dec20

The Tale of Despereaux

What Has Four Legs and is Too Dark for Kids? Voices by: Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson By Tom Bevis The Tale of Despereaux. This is a hard one. I consider myself to be well qualified to judge kid movies. Why? Because I have two young nephews and a niece, all of whom have rather distinct tastes in the movies they take in (surprisingly refined standards for toddlers), all of whom I am on a fair level of understanding with. So, for this...

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Yes Man

Familiarity Brings Contempt Starring: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel   Standing at the crossroads of Jim Carrey’s career, Yes Man attempts to reconcile the actor’s slapstick comedies with more serious fare—and fails miserably at both. The film’s premise borrows heavily from Carrey’s own Liar Liar as he portrays protagonist Carl Allen, a divorced loan officer whose job and personal life consist of declining...

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Frost/Nixon
Dec12

Frost/Nixon

  Richard Milhous Nixon, forever imbued in American minds with his dog-eyed features and syrupy drawl, will be remembered as a presidential charlatan; someone too concerned with his own fears to adequately run the country. Someone who, in the minds of political scholars and average citizens, will have his image washed away by the petulant waves of Watergate. In Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon, we see the former president, so commonly...

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Nothing Like the Holidays
Dec12

Nothing Like the Holidays

  Nothing Like The Holidays, while posing as an innocuous seasonal comedy, is one of the most emotionally violent films of the year. The movie’s poster, in showing what seems like a winsome family gathering, purports to be an inoffensive film. “They’re just a typical American family. Minus the typical” the flippant tagline reads. The trailer of the film also follows suit, making director Alfredo De Villa’s opus look like a...

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