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Articles tagged "james woods" TV ReviewSharkby Cynthia Fuchs[29.Apr.08] :. Shark's return is boosted by the specter of Jimmy Woods and Michael Rooker locked in a stare-down, as they display their weird-and-creepy chops.  Film ReviewSurfs Up (2007)by Daynah Burnett[8.Jun.07] :. Surf's Up offers nuanced and energetic penguins, as well as top-notch CGI.  Film ReviewNorthfork (2003)by Cynthia Fuchs[24.Jul.03] :. Challenges U.S. myths of enduring national identity, corporate good will, and westward-ho expansions.  Film ReviewStuart Little 2 (2002)by Tracy McLoone[18.Jul.02] :. With all the incessant action, 'SL2' feels like it's trying to be bigger than it is.  Film ReviewAny Given Sunday (1999)by Tobias PetersonWhatever you think about Oliver Stone as a director, you can't deny his firm grasp on this country's interests. From Vietnam to JFK to serial killers, Stone's pictures have always depicted major subjects of national fascination. With his latest release, Any Given Sunday, Stone looks to go his previous films one better by focusing on the most popular sport in America. Film ReviewAny Given Sunday (1999)by Cynthia FuchsOliver Stone's movies usually seem more complicated than they are. Partly this comes from his evolving style, from the curiously romantic realism of Platoon, to the assaultive ding-battiness of Natural Born Killers, to the debased lunacy of U-Turn. But mostly it comes from his obsession with a single theme: brutality. Or more precisely, how brutality becomes morality. Another Day in Paradise (1998)by Cynthia FuchsLarry Clark’s Another Day in Paradise is — no surprise — brazen about its interest in young bodies. Whether the filmmaker himself is into them or not is irrelevant (and... Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)by Cynthia FuchsThe invasion is not from without, per se, but from, and, as Ripley noted so insightfully in 'Alien 3', 'It's a metaphor.' And when 'Final Fantasy' pauses to engage this question, most notably in Aki's dreams, it's onto something. The General’s Daughter (1999)by Cynthia FuchsThe title character in The General's Daughter is dead. The image gets your attention. It's grotesque and horrifying. And it's recalled several times in the film, verbally and visually, to impress on you the threat that it supposedly poses for military, moral, sexual, and aesthetic orders. John Q (2002)by Cynthia FuchsAfter 'Collateral Damage', you might imagine that most every aggrieved father cliché has been unturned. But no. Here comes 'John Q'. Recess: School’s Out (2001)by Jon Munn (and Rachel Munn)Perhaps Recess' most culturally savvy element is its skewering of the '60s, in a flashback showing how the ideals of the teachers (particularly Principal Prickly and Dr. Benedict) have fallen by the wayside as they were sucked into The System and traded their ideals for hard-nosed discipline. Riding in Cars With Boys (2001)by Cynthia FuchsIn 'Riding in Cars', Barrymore plays to her strengths -- her ability to seem at once disarmingly open, as well as poised, ironic, and above all, delighted to be living her life. Scary Movie 2 (2001)by Cynthia FuchsTruth be told, it's hard to call out 'Scary Movie 2' for being excessively disgusting and stupid, since that's precisely how the sequel to the most profitable R-rated movie in history is selling itself. True Crime (1999)by Cynthia FuchsSteve Everett is an old-school newspaper reporter, the kind who has improbable hunches that turn out to be right, who gives investigative reporters a good name, who's relegated to fiction these days. He's also more complicated than that, a self-styled macho boozer and womanizer, but recently slipped into another state, feeling confused and a little pathetic. The Virgin Suicides (1999)by Cynthia FuchsIt's hardly a new idea, to read into adolescent girls' suicide something poetic, passionate, and deeply meaningful. Neither is it a secret that countless girls have admired Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman, seeing in their wounded and inviolate art reflections of themselves, their own pain and enchantment. The Virgin Suicides (1999)by Todd R. RamlowAnd yet, for its many pleasures, I find myself conflicted in thinking about The Virgin Suicides. |
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