film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
If you despair of the lack of smart, mature movies for adults now, just wait till The King’s Speech, reedited for knee-jerk prudes afraid of their own shadows and unable to competently parent their children to explain how words work, makes $100 million at the box office.
Plus: Katie Holmes smeared by mean ol’ gossip rags; Syfy picks up Web series The Mercury Men; the Internet stole Obama’s State of the Union address; more…
Guy directors totally don’t know how to react to Kathryn Bigelow winning the Directors Guild of America award for The Hurt Locker except with figurative pulling of pigtails, as a roundup of facepalm reactions at Jezebel shows. See also: Tom O’Neil of Gold Derby calling Bigelow’s DGA win “shocking.” Is this because, as he goes … more…
Sometimes it takes a movie like *Lullaby* to highlight what kind of treasure a really, really good actor is. Take Melissa Leo, for instance.
More illustrated than animated, more *Maus* than Mouse…
A damned intriguing thriller that asks more questions than it answers and leaves you dazed and upset and also a little inspired.
It comes as a bit of a shock to be reminded that, after so many years of movies the likes of Daylight and Oscar, that our man Sly got his start not only as the star of this superb movie but also as its screenwriter. This tender movie, on the surface about the most violent of sports, is really a Marty-esque romance about two lonely people reaching out to each other.
