God works in mysterious ways, or so goes the premise in the piquant comedy, THE LIZARD, a film that makes me seriously wonder if Frank Capra is alive and well and working in Iran. Our hero is Reza (Parviz Parastui in a wonderfully deadpan performance), a petty thief known as The Lizard. It’s a nickname… Read More »
MR 3000
There is something undeniably heartening about being pleasantly surprised by a film, especially when was feeling particularly dubious going in. Thus it is with MR 3000, a sweet and funny film that avoids being saccharine, stupid, or over-burdened with schtick. This isnt to say that what we have here is a classic, but its far… Read More »
LAST SHOT, THE
THE LAST SHOT, a movie about making movies, cries out for the acerbic tone of THE PLAYER, or the finely observed lunacy of DAY FOR NIGHT, or even the distilled vitriol of ALL ABOUT EVE (yes, I know that film is about the stage, not the screen, but there are so few GOOD films about… Read More »
SHARK TALE
Its not fair that the comparisons between SHARK TALE and FINDING NEMO are inevitable. Few films could weather being held to that high standard and not found wanting in some respects, and so it is with Dreamworks latest foray into the world of animation. Its not that SHARK TALE is a bad film, its not.… Read More »
SHALL WE DANCE?
The word that most comes to mind when thinking about the Hollywood remake of the thoroughly delightful Japanese film, SHALL WE DANCE, is irksome, followed by tedious, pallid, and pointless. The cultural nuances of the original have been, of course, lost entirely, and in their stead is the sort of deep insight into the human… Read More »
TEAM AMERICA — WORLD POLICE
TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE is a scatter shot film that forces one to ponder who, exactly, the target audience is. Ten-year-olds whose potty training went badly? Others whose emotional and intellectual development was arrested for that or any of a multitude of other reasons? Ultimately the only certainty is that this flick is yet another… Read More »
THE INCREDIBLES
Ive been looking forward to THE INCREDIBLES ever since I saw the superbly antic trailer for it that accompanied FINDING NEMO. Thats what makes the experience of having seen it last all the more deflating. Despite first-rate CGI animation and some clever atomic 50s-style art direction, THE INCREDIBLES commits the worst cinematic sin of all,… Read More »
BARTLEBY
Brought to the screen in a manner as stylized as its chartreuse and orange color scheme, BARTLEBY updates Herman Melvilles tale of non-conformity in a dead-end 19th-century office job, Bartleby the Scrivener, to the oppressive world of the 20th-century dead-end office job. That would be a public records office run by newly appointed Boss, David… Read More »
THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE
Theres a reason that the animated television series Spongebob Squarepants has such a rabid following not just among the pre-teen set, but also among college kids and adults. Its funny with pitch-perfect timing and a self-conscious sense of its own absurdity. Those in the single-digits age-wise can enjoy the general goofiness of Spongebob and his… Read More »
CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS
CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS, based on the novel by John Grisham, is a singularly mirthless experience that could easily drain the last drop of holiday cheer from old St. Nick himself. Billing itself as a comedy, it lacks any of the requisite components to actually be one. There is no satirical edge, there is no… Read More »
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