Movie Reviews

Carmen

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In the 1934 film One Night of Love, Tullio Carminati tells Grace Moore that he’s going to star her in Carmen, in large part because, “For once I’d like to see a Carmen who weighed less than the bull.” In this same spirit, one suspects that the opera impresario played by Carminati would have approved […]

Saint of 9/11

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For the uninitiated, Father Mychal Judge was the first recorded victim of 9/11. The FDNY chaplain was killed by falling rubble when he followed the firemen into one of the buildings. He was also gay—albeit presumably celibate—a fact that made him instantly controversial, since gay activists seized on this fact, while conservative Catholics wanted to […]

Eréndira

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I honestly don’t quite know what to make of Ruy Guerra’s peculiar film Eréndira (1983). The film itself has an odd history. Gabriel García Márquez wrote the story as a screenplay, then incorporated it into his book One Hundred Years of Solitude, and then recreated the screenplay from memory (the original was lost) for Guerra’s […]

300

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The Story:Spartan King Leonidas and his elite leather boys try to save their kingdom by heading off the huge Persian army at the entrance to their land. The Lowdown:It has an interesting look (for about 30 minutes) and a lot of sound and fury, but what it signifies -- other than racism, homophobia and the…

Darby O’Gill and the Little People

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Fresh from having traumatized an entire generation with the “nasty medicine that’s good for you” classic Old Yeller (note to parents: most small children don’t really enjoy seeing a boy having to shoot his dog), Walt Disney and his recently acquired house director Robert Stevenson decided to go lighter with Darby O’Gill and the Little […]

Red (Trois Couleurs: Rouge)

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Somehow or other, Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Trois Couleurs trilogy—Blue (1993), White (1994) and Red (1994)—never crossed my path until now, though I knew of it. I was a little hesitant about tackling the third film in the trilogy as an introduction, but needn’t have been. Despite the fact that the films interconnect (check the cast lists […]

The Pajama Game

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Despite the presence of Stanley Donen as co-director, The Pajama Game (1957) isn’t a great deal more cinematic than theater legend George Abbott’s solo-directed Damn Yankees of the following year. (Strangely, Abbott’s early talkies for Paramount aren’t nearly so stodgy.) The best Donen can do is keep the camera fairly fluid and play with the […]

The Beauty Academy of Kabul

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There’s something at once ironic and apt about screening Liz Mermin’s documentary at UNCA’s “F-Word Film Festival,” which is billed as “a celebration of images by and about women (but for all audiences).” On the one hand, it’s certainly about women and most definitely by them. (Mermin worked with an all-female crew). On the other, […]

Zodiac

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The Story: A fact-based drama about San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith's obsession with tracking down the infamous Zodiac killer. The Lowdown: Overlong, sprawling and necessarily inconclusive, Zodiac is less a thriller than a character study of the men looking for the titular serial killer.

Wild Hogs

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The Story: Four middle-class, middle-aged family men decide to take a cross-country road trip aboard their motorcycles, but trouble arises when they run into a gang of real bikers. The Lowdown: Pretty much what you might expect from a movie featuring John Travolta, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence: a collection of recycled sitcom humor and…

Venus

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The Story: An aging actor falls in love -- or maybe just in lust -- with his friend's outrageous niece from the provinces. The Lowdown: A thoroughly charming, moving and rewarding character study with witty, insightful dialogue and an unforgettable performance from Peter O'Toole.

Black Snake Moan

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The Story: When an aging blues musician finds a battered young woman with promiscuity issues in the road near his house, he takes her in and attempts to reform her. The Lowdown: A visually striking, thematically daring film from Craig Brewer that works more than it doesn't, but suffers from clunky structure in the last…

Zulu Dawn

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I’m not sure that Zulu Dawn is an especially good movie, though it may be a better one than suggested by the pan-and-scan presentation of its original widescreen compositions. Still, the direction of Douglas Hickox can at best be described as workmanlike. However, it’s a remarkable work for what it set out to do—for what, […]

Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Sydne Rome, Hugh Griffith, Roman Polanski

What? (Diary of Forbidden Dreams)

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What? might almost be called The Missing Roman Polanski Film. It was made between Macbeth (1971) and Chinatown (1974) and was scarcely released in the U.S., though it received a spotty release in the late ‘70s in an attempt to cash in on the notoriety of Polanski fleeing the country. At that time it was […]

The Ultimate Gift

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The Story: A no-good hedonistic grandson (Drew Fuller) of a late billionaire (James Garner) must perform a series of tasks before he can inherit "the ultimate gift" from the old gent. The Lowdown: An unsurprisingly unsurprising movie, but a surprisingly pleasant Hallmark-greeting-card level "find meaning in your life" drama that benefits from seasoned supporting players.

The Astronaut Farmer

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The Story: A former astronaut-in-training, who had to give up his dreams of traveling to outer space after the death of his father, decides to build a rocket of his own in order to follow his vision. The Lowdown: Old-fashioned to a fault, The Astronaut Farmer works more than it doesn’t as a simple little…

Amazing Grace

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The Story: A biographical film about William Wilberforce and his campaign to abolish the slave trade in Great Britain. The Lowdown: Old-fashioned, finely crafted filmmaking combines with a literate script and terrific performances to produce a satisfying, entertaining film.

Reno 911!: Miami

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The Story: Based on the popular Comedy Central TV series, the members of the Reno Sheriff's Department travel to Miami for a police convention, but end up taking over the city's law enforcement responsibilities after a biological attack. The Lowdown: Strictly for fans of the show, though even they might have a difficult time finding…

The Number 23

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The Story: A dogcatcher becomes obsessed with a book about a man hung up on the number 23, causing his life to spiral out of control. The Lowdown: Beautiful production design and inventive (maybe too inventive) direction can't overcome an insane, inane, hole-filled plot and the worst conclusion imaginable.

God Grew Tired of Us

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The Story: The documentary follows the fates of "the Lost Boys of Sudan," a group of refugees given the chance at a new life in the United States. The Lowdown: A gentle, quiet, slyly humorous and touching look into its main characters' lives -- dignified and unusual by virtue of its complete lack of ironic…