Any film that declares Krispy Kreme donuts as proof of God’s existence is a film that has much to teach us no matter what our level of metaphysical enlightenment. In this perfect film, writer/director Peter Hedges astutely observes with sardonic wit and aching emotion the two great train wrecks of family life, the car… Read More »
DINNER GAME, THE (DINER DE CONS)
There was in France a game in which a group of friends would meet for dinner. Each would bring an idiot and the competition, waged without the idiots knowing about it, was to determine who had brought the biggest idiot. Writer/director Francis Veber, who also penned LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, has gifted us with his take… Read More »
BIG FISH
BIG FISH may be Tim Burtons most magical film to date. Paradoxically, its also one rooted firmly in reality, a la ED WOOD. Dont let that throw you. This is a landscape of the imagination as potent as anything Burton conjured up with EDWARD SCISSORHANDS or THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. There is a giant named… Read More »
THE BIG BOUNCE
Like a cut-rate package tour that promises much but delivers little, THE BIG BOUNCE, sucks the joy right out of you while offering little glimpses of the paradise that is forever beyond your reach. Based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name, its filled with the robustly eccentric characters that he dreams up… Read More »
A KNIGHT’S TALE
No doubt about it, A KNIGHTS TALE is an odd film. Part adventure tale, part romance, part social commentary and dont forget the one thing that will stick with you long after Heath Ledgers dreamy smile and Rufus Sewells wildly sexy sneer have drifted away. The way these denizens of 14th century Europe break into… Read More »
CATWOMAN
Cheese on the silver screen can be a lot of fun in a kitschy sort of way. CATWOMAN, on the other hand, is cheesy in the cheese that you find in the back of your refrigerator way, the cheese that’s been there a really, really long time. So long, in fact, that it’s developed its… Read More »
ELEKTRA
ELEKTRA’s mission as a film was to be better than DAREDEVIL, the benighted Ben Affleck vehicle in which the character of the knife-wielding super-heroine previously appeared. It succeeds, but then again, it’s not like it had a high bar to clear. Fans of Jennifer Garner will not be disappointed with ELEKTRA, which brings back that… Read More »
HITCH
HITCH is a pleasant enough meringue of a romantic comedy. Light, sweet, and essentially insubstantial. What it has going for it is its attitude, one that champions true love over a roll in the hay, some nice physical comedy by Kevin James, and Will Smith, a leading man in the old school mold. Hes Alex… Read More »
FANSTASTIC FOUR
It’s Ioan Gruffudd for whom I feel the most sorry. He’s a fine British actor who distinguished himself in, among other efforts, the most recent television adaptation of THE FORSYTE SAGA. In FANTASTIC 4, he’s relegated to the role of an earnest, if super smart, beagle. As the first installment of what the studio… Read More »
RED EYE
Most horror films are dedicated to the proposition that females are prey and little else.