Thursday, July 7 2011
‘Red Riding Hood:’ Overheated and Half-Baked
Red Riding Hood doesn’t have the teeth to bite into the thrumming subterranean eroticism lurking just beneath its overripe surface; but neither does it have the self-awareness (or self-confidence) to cross over the line into full blown kitsch.
Monday, March 23 2009
Twilight
While Meyers’ books tend toward formulaic characterizations, Hardwicke takes the material and successfully transforms it into a subtle, layered atmospheric film.
Wednesday, January 7 2009
Twilight Takeover
The film is a successful adaptation of the book not only because Pattinson is so talented and dreamy, but also because Hardwicke knows a thing or two about filming adolescents.
Friday, November 21 2008
Twilight
Fantasy rules in Twilight, fantasy simultaneously delicate and ravishing, chaste and utterly bloody.
Wednesday, June 13 2007
Z-Boys, Cool Losers
The underlying motivation to save Horizons West was about Sticking It to The Man. Us versus Them. Punk culture versus conformist culture. Poor against rich. All, interestingly enough, attitudes heavy in the subtext of the Z-Boys movies.
Monday, April 9 2007
The Nativity Story (2006)
Unlike the story from which it derives, there is no "oomph". There is no sense of danger. There is no excitement.
Friday, December 1 2006
The Nativity Story (2006)
When word of Catherine Hardwicke's attachment to The Nativity Story first surfaced, the possibilities swirled: what if the film reimagined the about-14-year-old Mary as a recognizable teenager?
Friday, June 3 2005
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
The most thrilling moments in Lords of Dogtown involve skateboard wheels.
