The book by Dan Brown on which THE DA VINCI CODE is based will never be mistaken for a work of genius. It is not a work for the ages, but rather fills the guilty pleasure niche in the literary food chain. It’s a fast read with an intriguing premise where a great deal happens… Read More »
SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY
The irresistible thing about SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY is how it takes the mystery of original vision and workings of the imagination behind it, effervescent and ineffable qualities, and translates them successfully into the confines of a documentary. That is not the only reason to see Sydney Pollack’s first crack at a documentary, but it… Read More »
X-MEN: THE LAST STAND
Oh how the mighty have fallen. X-MEN: THE LAST STAND is the third installment in what until now has been a sterling franchise and its failings are an affront to what has come before. To be sure, the fine philosophical underpinnings, one of the series’ hallmarks, are still there, but with a new director, Brett… Read More »
THE OMEN
Liev Schreiber co-starred in one of the few remakes that worked, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. It was that remake, in fact, that restored my faith in the concept of re-visting a classic film. Alas, Mr. Schreiber’s latest adventure in remakes, THE OMEN, is much less successful. There are no new insights, no shift in perspective that breathes… Read More »
CARS
CARS isn’t just a great animated flick, it’s a great movie that’s not just a, you’ll pardon the expression, character-driven story, but also an irresistible paean to life in the slow lane. The jaw-droppingly detailed and inventive animation takes second place to the dialogue, which, along with the 116-minute running time, might make this less… Read More »
THE LAKE HOUSE
It’s not that THE LAKE HOUSE, based on the Korean film SIWORE, is an insipid bit of romantic fluff, it’s just that it drags by much like the two-year gulf between our chronologically crossed would-be lovers. And when a film is 108 minutes long, that’s not a good thing. Never mind that its own internal logic starts to… Read More »
NACHO LIBRE
It was when Jack Black, as the titular Nacho in NACHO LIBRE, turns his back to the camera and flexes his polyester-encased buttocks within an inch of their lives that I realized something. Even if I’d had the foresight to bring some with me, there was not enough alcohol or any other conscious-altering substance out… Read More »
CLICK
Having been roundly castigated for MR DEEDS, his attempt to remake a classic film, Frank Capra’s MR DEEDS GOES TO TOWN, Adam Sandler has taken a more oblique, but no more successful, approach to remaking A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Instead of the Yule Season, it’s the Fourth of July. Instead of a miser who shuns humanity,… Read More »
IN THE BEDROOM
Don’t jump to any conclusions in the first 15 minutes or so of IN THE BEDROOM about where it’s heading. Though the acting is all very fine and the direction skillful, you might thing that you have pretty much figured out everything that’s going to happen after the first 10 minutes or so. And then… Read More »
STRANGERS WITH CANDY
Amy Sedaris is completely fearless when it comes to her alter ego, Jerri Blank, of STRANGERS WITH CANDY. First in the too brief television series that garnered a fanatic cult following, and now with the big screen version of same, which, freed from the bonds of basic cable standards and practices, takes flight with the… Read More »
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