Next (review)
There are lots of crimes a movie can commit — being boring, being nonsensical, being implausible, being irrelevant — but it’s the rare movie that can commit all of them in the space of 90 minutes.
Tribeca ’07: Napoleon and Me (review)
The foul, bloodthirsty beast is reigning over the island… You know those wacky European films in which people scream a lot and hit one another with cheeses and dried sausages all in an expression of deep love? This is one of those movies. The disgraced emperor of the title is almost mere background to this … more…
off to Tribeca for a bit…
I’m off to a couple of press screenings this morning at the Tribeca Film Festival, but when I get back early this afternoon, I’m gonna tell ya exactly how awful Nicolas Cage’s new movie Next is. Stay tuned… (Consider this an open thread, if you like, for all the terrible movies opening today.)
‘Condemned’ promotion scares the bejesus out of New Yorkers
Yesterday while I was toodling around between press screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival, I ran across this live promotion for the new flick The Condemned, opening today. At first glance I freaked — Why is there a chain gang on the streets of Manhattan?! — but then I realized that the chains were plastic … more…
Tribeca ’07: Eye of the Dolphin (review)
Are you saying I have a daughter? How’d that happen? / It’s called sex, Dad. Family films tend to suffer from an overabundance of sentimental sap, but this delightful drama about a father and a daughter rediscovering each other avoids that fate without giving up any of its sweet gentleness. The signs don’t look good … more…
The Trials of Darryl Hunt (review)
Imagine this: You spend 20 years in prison for a horrific crime that you did not commit. Worse: It’s the kind of crime that makes you the target of other prisoners’ rough justice. (You’re a scary black man with a past criminal record, though for relatively minor offenses. The victim is a nice white woman … more…
Tribeca kicks off to a relaxing, Downtown kind of start
Wednesday was the first day of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, although calling it the “first day” is a bit of a stretch. It was kinda like the first day of school, when you get your class assignments and teachers hand out books and explain what will be expected of you over the year and … more…
Joss Whedon probably won’t direct ‘X-Men 4,’ but how cool would that be?
This is how it goes. Someone with major geek cred denies a rumor — bonus points if the rumor sounds more like fannish daydreaming than anything even halfway substantiated as an actual rumor. And the denial gets played and replayed so often that it takes on a life of its own and gets everyone dancing … more…
two New Harry Potter trailers, one for us, one for them
The Internet has erased borders for us serious cinephiles who get our movie info online — American fans buy DVDs from Hong Kong of movies that won’t open in the States for a year, or never; European fans get the scoop on movies open in the States that they won’t have a chance to see … more…
Shameless: Complete Season One (review)
Nothing on American TV could possibly prepare viewers for the earthy, frank rawness of this British series about a wild, reckless Manchester family and their sexcapades, antisocial antics, and general distracted anxiety over the just keeping their *bleep* together. But without the bleep. The shockiness of The Sopranos perhaps comes closest, but the unambiguous sense … more…
