GO BULLDOGS!

Written by admin on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

We like to pretend that no such thing as a ruling class has ever darkened an American shore or danced by the light of an American moon,” writer Lewis Lapham says in his on-screen introduction to John Kirby’s 2005 The American Ruling Class, a cleverly contrived non-fiction film that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

DREAMING OF A FRENCH CHRISTMAS

Written by admin on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

“Don’t drown,” says Faunia (Emmanuelle Devos) to Henri (Mathieu Almaric), who is drowning in misery over his unsatisfying relationship with his haughty sister. Faunia assures him: “You have no family.” That’s because girlfriend Faunia is a specter from the haute-soap opera world of Arnaud Desplechin where the usual love sentiments are replaced by distrust, suspicion,
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

ROUGH TRADE

Written by admin on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

First, it’s got a great title. Quantum of Solace is worthy of the best Bond movie labels (From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, Octopussy) because it transfers the series’ familiar sexual innuendo into droll morality. When we last left Daniel Craig’s hostile, spiteful 007 in 2006’s Casino Royale, he was
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

WAVING THEIR WANDS

Written by admin on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

To say that the Harry Potter fans documented in We Are Wizards have piggybacked on J.K. Rowling’s success to create their own careers may not be the most generous observation, but it’s true nonetheless. These are not the rabid fans that would dress in costume before camping out in front of bookstores, waiting for the
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

FINE MALE ROLE MODELS

Written by admin on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

Role Models looks like another of those comedies about boorish males that threaten to turn American cineplexes into frat houses or romper rooms. Critics don’t fight this Judd Apatow contagion because its symptoms (loud laughs and big box-office) suggest a cultural juggernaut. The New Yorker’s attempt to turn Knocked Up into a modern avatar of
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

RHYTHM AND BOOS

Written by admin on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

Samuel L. Jackson’s wearying trash talk and truculence finally meets its match when Bernie Mac, a first-rate comic and a superb actor, out-cusses Jackson like a sailor trading insults with a school kid. This isn’t just low comedy, it’s what Pauline Kael’s review of Altman’s M*A*S*H called “the art of talking dirty” but taken to
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

STRUMMING ALONG

Written by admin on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

There’s a certain masochistic enjoyment to be gleaned from watching The Guitar during our current economic meltdown. An indie version of Queen Latifah’s Last Holiday, Amy Redford’s directorial debut tells the story of the emotionally dead Melody (Saffron Burrows), a woman told she has two months to live just a few hours before being fired
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

TACTICAL RETREAT

Written by admin on . Posted in Arts & Film, Film

There I was: Ten minutes before midnight this past Saturday at a packed downtown multiplex auditorium, right before the coming attractions to Saw V, and not one pair of seats could be found together. Any way you sliced it, it was a lose-lose situation. Anyone else might have sucked it up and sat down, but
[ read more... ]

Be the first to comment on this post

..