The Mercy movie review: a sea of troubles
An unsettling true story smartly told, from a moment in time at once uniquely its own and a harbinger of things to come. Colin Firth is subtle, unflinching, extraordinary.
David Thewlis
Anomalisa movie review: maximal mundanity
An astonishing, even perception-altering experience that represents a startling use of animation to tell a story that no live-action film could tell.
Regression movie review: no thanks for the memories
Amenábar aims for a noirish X-Files vibe, but preposterousness rules this inert trudge that does absolutely no justice to a terrible real-life phenomenon.
The Fifth Estate review: WikiWeak
Might be interesting if it had enough passion and guts to take a stand, but ends up in the mushy middle of the road, which surely sprang from a desire to be “fair” and “balanced.”
Anonymous (review)
A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. It is a fusty nut with no kernel. It speaks an infinite deal of nothing.
female gazing at: David Thewlis
There’s not enough of David Thewlis in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 — there isn’t enough of any of the adult characters — so here’s some more…
Prime Suspect: The Complete Collection (review)
If you’re not sure why it’s so awesome to see Helen Mirren unapologetically kicking ass in Red — and to see her doing so without getting grief for it from the guys — then perhaps you’ve never seen Prime Suspect, the British cop series she starred in through most of the past two decades.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (review)
How’s this for a rude childhood awakening? You discover that your father, whom you adore and worship, is actually an evil Nazi stooge.
best performances of 2004: ready for their closeup…
BEST ACTOR Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda It’s a role that, in the hands of even another very competent actor, could have descended into pathos and sentimentality, but Cheadle’s performance goes way beyond mere competence: As an Oskar Schindler-type figure in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, he approaches incomprehensible horrors in a way that makes us intimate partners … more…
