MOVIE REVIEW
Adventureland (2009)
Abbot Genser/Miramax Films
The 1980s, though steadily receding into history, still remain the most fertile setting for angst-ridden coming-of-age stories on the big screen. The semi-autobiographical “Adventureland,” from writer-director Greg Mottola, brings forth many of the traits commonly associated with John Hughes and the Brat Pack in a period piece that makes up for its lack of dramatic heft with small moments filled with nostalgia and warmth. This isn’t the broad comedy seemingly promised by the trailers and “Superbad,” Mr. Mottola’s previous film, but a distilled dramatization of one of those youthful summers one remembers forever.
Continue reading “The Vacation Not Taken” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Gigantic (2009)
First Independent Pictures
"Gigantic" takes up the particularly quirky strain of family dysfunction that flowed through offbeat indie flicks "Igby Goes Down" and "The Squid and the Whale." Maladjustment foments against the backdrop of New York City, where extreme meets extreme, and eccentricity seems to be the norm. Mismatched personalities mix in every relationship, in a manner that is just far enough over-the-top to feel slightly believable. In this case, the resulting brew is heady at times but frequently misses its mark.
Continue reading “Mattress Professional Dreams a Little Dream” »
MOVIE REVIEW
In the Loop (2009)
IFC Films
Armando Iannucci is one of the most successful satirists in contemporary British television, a revered writer-director whose influential news spoofs "On the Hour" and "The Day Today" launched the careers of Steve Coogan, Chris Morris and playwright Patrick Marber in the 1990s. Because of Britain’s lamentable record of translating its TV heroes into cinematic damaged-goods, the arrival of "In the Loop" has been greeted with some understandable trepidation in Britain, borne out of the fear that only the curse of the "British comedy film" can bring down a reputation as unblemished as Mr. Iannucci’s.
Continue reading “Rematch for American Independence” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Alien Trespass (2009)
Roadside Attractions
There have been frequent cinematic tributes to the sci-fi classics of the 1950s, the golden age of B moviemaking. “Mars Attacks,” “Tremors" and a lot of other films have replicated the look and feel of movies like “It Came from Outer Space" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still." None, however, have done so with quite the painstaking affection director R. W. Goodwin bestows on the genre in “Alien Trespass.”
Continue reading “The Decade Science Fiction Stood Still” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Tulpan (2008)
Zeitgeist Films
There are no cross-cultural faux pas involving a clueless newsman who aims to benefit his glorious nation, but the new Kazakh film “Tulpan” is every bit as amusing as “Borat.” Come to think of it, the two films make for a truly fascinating study in contrasts. “Borat,” a faux-Kazakh mockumentary made by Hollywood, was bodacious because of its Candid Camera-esque pranks. “Tulpan,” an authentic import from Kazakhstan, seems miraculous for all the impromptu appearances by Mother Nature herself that constantly upstage an otherwise droll tale about the romantic misadventures of recently discharged Navy serviceman and aspiring herder, Asa (Askhat Kuchinchirekov).
Continue reading “Dispatches From the Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Fast & Furious (2009)
Jaimie Trueblood/Universal Pictures
“Fast & Furious,” the fourth picture in the car-fetishizing quadrilogy begun with 2001's “The Fast and the Furious,” inspires some interesting questions. For example: What changes in the audience’s response to a movie, and what does it signify, when all that separates a film from its predecessor is the absence of “the” in the title? What are we to make of the implication that Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), reunited at last, are now simply fast and furious instead of “the fast” and “the furious?”
Continue reading “With Careers Stalled, Restarting a Franchise’s Engine” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Country Teacher (2008)
Film Movement
Bohdan Sláma’s “The Country Teacher” begins deceptively as a story about a natural science teacher, Petr (Pavel Liška), who has given up his job at a prep school in Prague for a post in the idyllic Czech countryside. His decision makes no sense to a new colleague, although it seems apparent to moviegoers that his affinity for nature has something to do with it. But half an hour in, the film proves that we are just as clueless as his fellow teacher. Petr has been leading a double life, and the past he left behind is gradually catching up to him.
Continue reading “A Simple Country Life Turns Upside Down” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Bronson (2009)
Vertigo Films
Deep inside Wakefield prison sits Britain's most violent prisoner. Born Michael Peterson but enthusiastically embracing the alias of Charles Bronson, he has served 34 years in Britain's penal and psychiatric systems, thanks to such a history of violence and non-lethal brutality that the authorities don't know what else to do with him. Allegedly, he once took three hostages and demanded a cheese sandwich and a flight to Cuba.
Continue reading “Hit ’em Baby One More Time” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Shall We Kiss? (2007)
Pascal Chantier/Music Box Films
“Shall We Kiss?” examines sex as a social contract and not an act between those in love, at least for awhile. Can two people have a meaningless kiss? Depending on how neurotic the two people, yes and no. With a plot that involves characters’ neuroses and their romantic inklings, “Shall We Kiss?” has all the markings of a Woody Allen film.
Continue reading “Tell and Kiss” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
DreamWorks Animation
The DreamWorks Animation product “Monsters vs. Aliens” occasionally flirts with Pixar levels of brilliance before resigning itself to more tempered goals. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The unquestioned brand leader’s knack for melding technical excellence with complex, literate storytelling cannot be easily replicated. A movie like this one, which ably disguises its conventional kids’ fare premise in a clever satiric shell, deserves admiration even if it never reaches comparably artful heights.
Continue reading “Close Encounters in the Third Dimension” »