Thursday, December 27 2007

The Great Debaters

By Cynthia Fuchs

The Great Debaters is history by way of Oprah: righteously angry and uplifting, willing to pull a punch when it makes the broader point.

Tuesday, October 11 2005

Close to Home

By Cynthia Fuchs

Violence and oppression are everywhere in Close to Home. And that 'everywhere' is specific -- the burbs.

Friday, February 25 2005

Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)

By Cynthia Fuchs

While Helen's story is compelling, it's subsumed by the men's antics.

Wednesday, December 22 2004

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

By Cynthia Fuchs

Demme's movie reasserts that the fabled U.S. political landscape isn't transparent or democratic, but instead, corrupted by the individuals who manage it.

Friday, July 30 2004

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

By Cynthia Fuchs

The Manchurian Candidate draws a line between the corporation and the government, sustaining a hope that the U.S. system might be salvaged by an honestly free election.

Thursday, February 14 2002

John Q (2002)

By Cynthia Fuchs

After 'Collateral Damage', you might imagine that most every aggrieved father cliché has been unturned. But no. Here comes 'John Q'.

Sunday, January 1 1995

Bojangles

By Cynthia Fuchs

So now you know -- this is the couple that will be carrying the bulk of the movie's drama and tension, and you can anticipate what these will entail -- struggles to be recognized, abuses by management, financial difficulties, and on-the-road infidelities.

Bait (2000)

By Cynthia Fuchs

The film's most effective balancing act comes in the form of Foxx's terrific performance: throughout, he's quirky, subtle, and thankfully able to keep up with the movie's lurching tone-and-genre shifts, from comedy to action to almost-arty to melodrama.