Hugo, Marilyn: Blasts From the Past
This season seems to have brought us a lot of filmmakers reaching into cinema’s distant past for stories. My Week With Marilyn takes its...
Muppets: I Felt It
I feel like I’m nine years old again. The newest adventure of Jim Henson’s creations, simply titled The Muppets, may not always work, but...
Descendants: Mahalo to All That
When Alexander Payne made Sideways seven years ago, George Clooney lobbied hard for the role that was eventually played by Thomas Haden Church. Payne...
Skin I Live In: Hide and Sick
OK, here’s one of the more messed-up things I’ve seen in a while, and I mean that mostly in a good way. Much of...
Happy Feet Two: Heading South
I’m still trying to figure out how the disjointed and heavy-handed Happy Feet got such great reviews five years ago, but there’s no secret...
My Name Is… Martha Marcy May Marlene.
One of the big stories at last winter’s Sundance Film Festival was Martha Marcy May Marlene. This low-budget psychological thriller turned heads even before...
J. Edgar: Hoover Ville
Mark Harris recently wrote that while film critics often slam a movie whose directors and/or actors are better than its weak script, those same...
Margin Call: Sell High
Talk about great timing: Margin Call premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last winter to middling buzz and reviews, but now this drama —...
Elevate: Rêves du Hoop
Any documentary about basketball has to contend with the long shadow cast by Hoop Dreams. The new film Elevate isn’t in that league, yet...
Anonymous: Shakespeare in Lies
The whole idea that Shakespeare didn’t write Shakespeare’s plays is a load of crap. I feel safe saying this, having spent a chunk of...
