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The summers best movies ran a wide gamut, from the aggressive realism of "The Hurt Locker" (pictured) to the acidic wit of "In the Loop" to the history-as-pop-culture thrill of "Inglourious Basterds."
Movies
'Zombieland': 'Shaun' in the U.S.A
First-time director Ruben Fleischer's horror comedy shows us that the undead are the bloody jolt that we didn't know the indie coming-of-age story needed.
Ode to an unconsummated love affair
Abbie Cornish delivers a sensational performance as John Keats' lover, Fanny Brawne, in "Bright Star."
'Australia,' aspiring for epic status, fails
Baz Luhrmann has amazing theatrical visions. Though he has directed only four films, he garnered quite a cult following with "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet" (1996) and singlehandedly initiated the return of the musical genre in film with "Moulin Rouge!" (2001). His direction reflects a hopelessly romantic mind obsessed with ...
A second take on 'Australia'
For some, as my colleague's review attests, Baz Luhrmann's lushly conceived visuals mask a fundamental emptiness at the heart of his maudlin tales of love. Yet for others, like me, Luhrmann's sumptuous direction makes his movies visceral and deeply moving experiences. Luhrmann is a director to whom you can always ...
A mother's love and heartbreak
Ever since his explosive appearance in the 1960s on silver screens around the world, he has been a force to behold. His towering stature combined with his calm yet overwhelming persona onscreen reflected a man with dreams, ideals and intelligence. Still water runs really deep in Clint Eastwood's case. The ...
N.Y. Film Festival showcases stellar selections
Every movie at this year's 46th annual New York Film Festival was preceded by a short ad that featured the tagline "Indescribable. Unparalleled. Magic." Having sat through some very mediocre flicks at the respected Telluride and Tribeca Film Festivals, I thought the slogan was unbelievably pretentious when I first heard ...
Maher mostly makes himself look ridiculous in 'Religulous'
Within the first five minutes of the documentary "Religulous," audiences will know whether they want to follow comedian Bill Maher on his global odyssey to question the function of religion. In the opening narration, Maher nonchalantly mentions his view that religion is "detrimental to the progress of humanity." If that ...
Engaging 'Choke' exceeds expectations
Author Chuck Palahniuk has such a knack for uncovering the darkest corners of the American psyche that he has been dubbed "the torchbearer of the nihilistic generation." Nearly a decade ago Hollywood recognized his profane talent and brought his cult classic "Fight Club" to the screen. Director David Fincher elevated ...
Colin Farrell makes up for past bombs with 'In Bruges'
"In Bruges" was a surprise. The film's marketing gave us the wrong impression by printing posters with the corny tagline: "Shoot first, sightsee later." As if that wasn't off-putting enough, they then dropped a trailer filled with tacky PowerPoint-like gunshot sounds and swooping Christian imagery clip art. Frankly, the special ...
Tribeca Festival's films not worth the trek
Film festivals usually only feature movies that that wouldn't make it to a local multiplex, but this year's Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, playing until May 3, runs against the grain. It opened with Tina Fey's "Baby Mama" and will close with "Speed Racer," directed by the Wachowski ...
'Leatherheads' fumbles
I entered the theater without high expectations for "Leatherheads." A quick search on sites like metacritic.com before my viewing had already planted the notion that George Clooney's latest directorial (and starring) effort would not make be a great film - it scored an on-the-fence 56 percent. The critics were right. ...
The real-life Dude ties it all together
Princeton alumnus Ethan Coen '79 has certainly made it big in the glitzy world of Hollywood. Along with his brother Joel, he has made many of the most acclaimed American films in recent memory, including this year's Best Picture winner "No Country for Old Men." The Coen brothers are indebted ...
A tightrope and the twin towers
Early on the morning of Aug. 4, 1974, French trapeze artist Philippe Petit traversed a wire connecting the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York City eight times in 45 minutes, repeatedly lying down, kneeling and mocking the guards who attempted to arrest him. It was an ...
Welcome to the family
While "Rachel Getting Married" is, clearly, a film about a wedding, the crux of the film revolves not around a joyous gathering but around the hardships of a dysfunctional family struggling to maintain its stability and cohesion. The film begins with Kym (Anne Hathaway), who has just spent nine months ...
'W.' stumbles under a tamer Stone
Given his resume, director Oliver Stone seems perfect for his latest project, “W.,” a quasi-satire about the life and times of President Bush, played by Josh Brolin. Stone’s best films feature a sense of indignation and fury toward their subjects, a quality that could have made “W.” an incendiary look ...
De Niro and Pacino aren't better together
The moment in Michael Mann's crime epic "heat" when Al Pacino and Robert De Niro share the screen for the first time in their long careers is nothing short of electric. In a film famous for its intense action sequences, their quiet scene together plays like an emotional punch to ...
Latest Coen brothers film goes up in flames
Dark satire has always been the domain of the Coen brothers. So after their turn to the ominous side of murder and sadism in the Oscar-winning "No Country For Old Men" (which, mind you, did not stray too far from the sanguinary, visceral formulas the Coens concoct so well), what ...
'The Band's Visit' a light look at the Middle East
When you find out that Eran Kolirins' debut feature, "The Band's Visit," tells the story of an Egyptian band stranded in Israel, you may be tempted to say you already know what it's about: Oh, this is going to be a social commentary, with a pseudo-allegorical touch, on an Islamic ...
Get a front-row ticket to the Stones
Reviewing Martin Scorsese's latest documentary, "Shine a Light," was a slightly bizarre experience. While I am a great fan of the director's many films, from "Taxi Driver" to "The Aviator," I know next to nothing about the film's subject, the Rolling Stones. In fact, all I know about the band ...
'Superhero' fails to soar to new heights
"Superhero Movie," currently playing at Princeton Market Fair, belongs to one of the most hit-or-miss genres around: the spoof movie. At its finest, this genre has produced such gems as "Airplane!" and the "Naked Gun" series, films that mocked conventions but were classics in their own right. At its worst, ...
'Counterfeiters' examines moral ambiguity in WWII
This year's Oscar winner for best foreign film, "The Counterfeiters," took its prize amid controversy. Many critics said that the Academy chose this movie over more deserving, substantive - though perhaps alienating - fare, like the French animated film "Persepolis" and the Romanian drama "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days." ...
Heart and a handheld camera
Have you ever wondered what a world-class director could do with that old video camera you have gathering dust at home? Michel Gondry's exuberant "Be Kind Rewind" reveals that such a filmmaker could make quite a movie. With his previous films, including the cult classic "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless ...