Author: Jules Brenner
Snow Cake
Turning what might have been an "illness of the week" tragedy into an affecting, entertaining entry for arthouse patrons, director Marc Evans, working from Angela Pell's screenplay, pulls it off in a small-scale way but...
Movie Review posted on 26th June 2007
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
This film lives up entirely to its title. The events are as follows: Death of parents by fire, three siblings turned into victims of their closest relative, deception, escapes, disguises, greed, murder attempted and accomplished,...
Movie Review posted on 29th May 2007
Dirty
That's "dirty" as in cops. And that's "cops" as in LAPD. If you wanted to depict this stained organization in the worst possible light, don't bother, it's been done -- to death. And here it...
Movie Review posted on 23rd November 2006
De-Lovely
In a darkened room an elderly man sits at a piano. He's barely outlined by light from a window, his face obscured in shadow. Then, a light fades up, spotlighting him, followed by light everywhere....
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
Manic
When troubled teen Lyle (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) goes postal, gets put in restraints, and is commited by his mother to a juvenile mental facility, we get sent there, as well. Suddenly, we're in institutional surroundings...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
Schultze Gets the Blues
German writer-director Michael Schorr apparently knows a niche genre with financial potential when he sees one. The first hit film that this title is probably patterned on is Jack Nicholson's About Schmidt, a movie about...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
Maria Full of Grace
If I've ever seen a movie that better produced riveting drama on a low budget with no exaggeration of character or CGI effects, I can't remember it. This is a story whose fascination level rises...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
Whale Rider
Just because a female director sets out to make a female empowerment film doesn't mean it can't be charming while rousing the troops. Writer-director Niki Caro presents this story of a Maori girl in New...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
The Cuckoo
The bird to which the title refers is not one of the warbling kind. It applies to a rare individual: a Finnish army sniper in the last days of World War II, considered by...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
A Love Song For Bobby Long
In a year-end blitz of small films about dysfunctional, broken families (e.g., Around the Bend) comes this variation on the theme set in a tacky section of New Orleans. While a confident cast ultimately makes...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
This film lives up entirely to its title. The events are as follows: Death of parents by fire, three siblings turned into victims of their closest relative, deception, escapes, disguises, greed, murder attempted and accomplished,...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
Head in the Clouds
Why anyone thought this title suitable for a complex romantic thriller I can only guess: The central character, the flighty, ravishing Gilda Bessé (Charlize Theron), has no concern for anything that limits her pleasures and,...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
Silver City
What are they using on the moviemaking plantation this election year to have produced such a bumper crop of Democrat-leaning political films? The fertile harvest may have something to do with outright fear of a...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
The Gatekeeper
This film, which seems to have started out as a condemnation of border patrol practices along the California-Mexico line, gets sidetracked and becomes a rather muddled message about how illegals may wind up as slave...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
The Heart of Me
The British love their melodramas. The makers of this one seem to have lost sight of when having too much of it becomes boring and burdensome. Based on a 1953 novel called The...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
Hero (2002)
After political (Raise the Red Lantern), sexy (Ju Dou) and reflective (The Road Home) films, writer-director Zhang Yimou embraces the aerodynamic action of digitally enhanced kung fu swordplay made famous in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon....
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
The Battle of Algiers
In 1965 Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo made this film tracing the efforts of the native population in Algeria, the 2nd largest nation in Africa, to rise up and liberate themselves after their French colonialist masters...
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
World Traveler
On the road with Billy Crudup may be an adventure for some, but this plodding, episodic series of ministories, held together by miles and miles of unending miles and miles won't do it for everyone....
Movie Review posted on 1st November 2005
Suggested
Upcoming Releases: The February albums we're sure you're going to fall for
As the second month of 2021 gets ever nearer we take a look at the new releases that are set to delight our ears over the coming weeks.
Glastonbury 2021 Cancelled: The first of many festivals, or just the biggest casualty?
"With great regret, we must announce that this year's Glastonbury Festival will not take place," came the not altogether unexpected announcement from...
Twitter reacts to unforgivable headlines surrounding the death of convicted murderer Phil Spector
Here's what the public had to say about the death of Phil Spector.
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Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over The Country Club Video
Lana Del Rey takes her 60s vintage aesthetic to the extreme with the video for new single 'Chemtrails Over The Country Club'.
Thom Yorke, Garbage and more react to disastrous visa negotiations
As negotiations continue, it's clear that the UK government doesn't have everyone's best interests at heart.
Racism or white fragility? We need to talk about Lana Del Rey
The singer awkwardly responded to potential backlash regarding her new album cover.
Album of the Week: The 5th anniversary of David Bowie's Blackstar
Five years ago, on the day of his 69th birthday and two days before his death, David Bowie released his 25th, and final studio album, 'Blackstar'.
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