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The genius of *The Constant Gardener* is that its central question of suspense is not ‘What horrifying crimes against humanity are multinational corporations, in cahoots with governments around the world, committing this time?’ That is a small part of the film’s suspense, but only a small part, because, Duh, of course the powerful white men are up to *something* nefarious.
The creator of Freaks and Geeks moves from high school on to dissecting the vagaries of the higher-education experience with this smart and frequently painfully real dramedy about the freshman year of college. Each half-hour episode (actually about 22 minutes without commercials) is a gem of insightful, observant writing and perfectly pitched ensemble performances exploring … more…
If you’ve ever worked in an office, then you’ll recognize the hypocrisy, the petty cruelty, the ass-covering buck-passing, and the daily, soul-sucking corporate hell on display in this American adaptation of the hit British TV series. Thoroughly refitted for this side of the Atlantic — the impulse to add a laugh track was, thankfully, resisted … more…
It’s not on a par with the Muppet movie madness of old, but it’s darn close. The charming Ashanti (Coach Carter) stars as Dorothy is a waitress in her Auntie Em’s (Queen Latifah: Beauty Shop) diner in Kansas, but what she really wants is to be a pop-music star… and she just might get her … more…
The kiddies will be delighted, of course, with Stitch’s continuing “bad” behavior — turns out the little monster’s genetic engineering was never quite completed, and now he’s running a little haywire in ways that today’s Ritalin-dosed children can only fantasize about. Lilo, meanwhile, is forced to learn how to overcome her perfectly natural instinct to … more…
Shades of Moria, Batman! Atrociously mixed pop-culture references are nothing compared to the mishmash of elements from far superior creature features that got dunked into this aggressively mediocre film. A team of cave divers, led by the painfully bland Cole Hauser (2 Fast 2 Furious), descend into the Carpathian Mountains for a spot of exploration … more…
Based on the beloved novel by Francis Hodgson Burnett, this charming adaptation from the BBC has achieved classic status in the thirty years since its production, and it arrives now on DVD for the first time. The precocious Sarah Hollis Andrews stars as young Mary Lennox, newly orphaned and sent to live with her emotionally … more…
Studio Ghibli, the anime studio founded by groundbreaking filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, is famous for producing films that are extraordinarily imaginative and passionately heartfelt, like the recent Spirited Away. And this 1994 film from Ghibli is a stunning example of the depths of emotion and the heights of fancy animated film can achieve. … more…
The jokes are awful: “That’s not the Queen Mother, that’s my mother from Queens!” The clichés are dreadful: Rich people are fake and repressed, blue-collar types are fresh and honest, and kids are precociously mean little buggers. And that voice! Fran Drescher’s Flushing-inflected diction could strip paint, and that seems to be the overarching goal … more…
Comic books started growing up and having serious fun with this enchanting series in which the romantic saga of the Man of Steel and Lois Lane takes center stage and gets a screwball-comedy spin… and it’s pulled off with such elegant, witty panache that you can’t believe this isn’t the way the Superman story has … more…
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