Friday, May 2 2008
The Final Season
This is a well-intentioned little film with its heart in the right place, and everything else out of whack.
Friday, June 22 2007
Part 5: The Return of the Auteur
That noise you heard near the start of the new millennium was the creative din of a brash new breed of filmmakers tearing down the traditions of mainstream moviemaking. Their motion picture mission statements -- including the ones featured on this list -- remain the rulebook for new generations of anxious film artists.
Monday, January 30 2006
24
Nothing is ever quite what it looks like in 24, whose writers famously revise and rethink as each season barrels along.
Friday, September 2 2005
Bigger than the Sky (2005)
Bigger than the Sky starts off with its heart in the right place and ends up with almost none at all.
Monday, October 25 2004
There and Back Again: An Actor’s Tale by Sean Astin with Joe Layden
Astin's list of gripes is a Mordor-mile long, and his new book gives him the ideal opportunity to repeatedly voice each and every one of them.
Monday, June 14 2004
50 First Dates: Special Edition (2004)
Always in the present, Drew Barrymore's Lucy is changed in an instant. And she's irresistible.
Thursday, February 12 2004
50 First Dates (2004)
Henry sets his sights on doing the right thing for Lucy, who will always be a childish girl, never have agency, never be able to make an informed decision that she can count on lasting.
Thursday, December 18 2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
No in-betweeners in this reductive view of the world: characters and choices are good or evil.
Tuesday, October 21 2003
Rudy (Deluxe Edition) (1993)
The racialized ideology that informs Rudy is made more pronounced by the racial discourses of today's sports.
Thursday, December 19 2002
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
It's useful to remember that, offscreen, both good and bad tend to be tricksy.
