Year: 2002

Even the constant daylight at the top of the world feels relentless, depressing. Of course, Will is convinced that it’s the sunlight creeping around the window shades that’s keeping him awake through the bright Alaskan nights, and not the secrets that plague him.

So, what’s the verdict, my fellow faithful? ‘Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones’ is not great… but it’s great. Sure, it’s got problems, most of them stemming from the facts that George Lucas is a terrible writer who should never be allowed anywhere near Final Draft ever again, and a mostly terrible director who should never be allowed anywhere near a camera ever again. But these are minor quibbles.

I haven’t read V.S. Naipaul’s novel, but I’m shocked to learn that it clocks in at a slim 224 pages — this film adaptation has the feel of a huge, sprawling novel too greatly condensed. Director Ismail Merchant — one half of Merchant-Ivory — and screenwriter Caryl Phillips cram the tale of Ganesh (Aasif Mandvi) … more…

Ugh. Woody Allen has officially become unbearable with Hollywood Ending. The icky, uncomfortable, skirt-chasing dotage into which he began to sink in last year’s The Curse of the Jade Scorpion continues unabated here, and it’s compounded by a blatant disregard for logic, humor, or character development when such might take the focus off Woody himself.

The question was raised round this time last year: Would Memento have been as interesting run forward? As here’s the answer, kinda, in The Salton Sea, a stylishly brutal tale of revenge, trumpets, and exploding meth labs. Val Kilmer is a burnt-out speed freak who snitches to the cops. No, wait, he’s a grief-stricken musician … more…

I’ve vowed not to review any more gross-out comedies, and now it’s probably time to declare a moratorium on reviewing Aliens thrillers. I mean, if you drop the line “I say we take off and nuke the site from space — it’s the only way to be sure” into your everyday conversations, then you’ve memorized … more…

In 1999, documentarian Chris Smith brought us the triumphantly pathetic American Movie, about one man’s quest to make a low-budget horror film. Now, he gives us Home Movie, in which he uses that same cockeyed but sympathetic lens to introduce us to more true American originals: kooky but engaging people who live in weirdly fascinating … more…

The Scorpion King is like an enormous Rob Tapert production (he of Xena and Hercules fame), a big-budget syndicated series shot in New Zealand set in a make-believe fantasy past where everybody has nice teeth and speaks with modern accents. All that’s missing is Bruce Campbell.