MOVIE REVIEW
Howl (2010)
2010 Sundance Film Festival
The Beat Generation should be fertile ground for cinematic harvest, but David Cronenberg's treatment of William S. Burroughs's "Naked Lunch" remains the only worthy adaptation that comes to mind. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, documentarians behind "The Times of Harvey Milk" and "The Celluloid Closet," now try their hands at fashioning Allen Ginsberg's monumental poem "Howl" for the screen. The two had originally conceived the project as a documentary to commemorate the poem's 50th anniversary, but the dearth of available archival footage forced them to take the fiction approach.
Continue reading “The Beat Goes Off” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Answer Man (2009)
Magnolia Pictures
Jeff Daniels, a tremendously under-appreciated actor, gets one of his best roles as the lead in “The Answer Man,” a quirky romantic comedy from first time writer-director John Hindman. The actor is the primary reason to see the picture, a charming albeit slight piffle of the sort that routinely gets overpraised by the Sundance Film Festival, where it debuted.
Continue reading “Bruised Almighty” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Away We Go (2009)
François Duhamel/Focus Features
“Away We Go,” which Sam Mendes shot while in post-production on “Revolutionary Road,” is the first movie he’s made that openly engages with the vagaries of contemporary life. It’s not a hyper-stylized, heightened museum piece like its predecessor or a whip-smart satire like “American Beauty,” but a film straight from the heart of screenwriters and acclaimed authors Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. The movie palpably evokes the feelings, concerns and challenges confronting parents and homeowners seeking to live out the American dream in the 21st century.
Continue reading “Road to Parturition” »
MOVIE REVIEW
State of Play (2009)
Glen Wilson/Universal Studios
Even though a BBC miniseries serves as its basis, “State of Play” has a scrapbook worth of major American news items from the past decade such that it might as well tout itself as inspired by true events. The death of researcher Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer), the first domino to fall in the film, brings to mind the 2001 murder of Chandra Levy. Standing in for Rep. Gary Condit is Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), a congressman whose extramarital affair with Sonia comes to light as a result of the ensuing investigation. The film has a plethora of these familiar stories about crooked politicians, war-mongering defense contractors and journalists grappling with the quandary of everything from the “fair and balanced” slogan to gossip Web sites like the Drudge Report. When blogging colleague Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) requests some information, our hero journalist Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) responds sarcastically: “I have to read a couple of blogs before I can form an opinion.” Zing.
Continue reading “Off the Record, On the QT and Very Hush-Hush” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Traitor (2008)
Rafy/Overture Films
Two very different movies compete for the soul of “Traitor,”
the new film from writer-director Jeffrey Nachmanoff based on a story idea of
Steve Martin’s. The first and least
interesting of the two follows the general, turgid outline of a thriller. It comes complete with slow intercutting
between a terrorist and his pursuers, repetitious pans over the skylines of
Washington D.C. and too many international locales and “action” scenes that
largely consist of star Don Cheadle walking into and out of various buildings.
Continue reading “Terror Suspect, F.B.I. Caught Up in Infernal Affairs” »
