Django Unchained: I’m No Slave 4 U
Last month, Steven Spielberg put out Lincoln, a movie about the evils of slavery. Predictably, he took a serious, high-minded approach to the issue....
Spawn of Knocked Up
On the one hand, Judd Apatow may just be the defining comic genius of our generation. As a producer, he has discovered and nurtured...
Hyde Park: FDR & HRH
Unadventurous and ultimately forgettable, Hyde Park on Hudson played at the Lone Star Film Festival last month to an appreciative reception, and it begins...
Hobbit Forming
You’ve seen the giant JumboTron at Cowboys Stadium, right? Well, watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is like having that JumboTron installed in your...
Playing for Keeps: Blown Dryer
I’m not sure what convinced Gerard Butler and decision-makers in Hollywood that his best move was to start portraying brash Americans. Whatever it was,...
Hitchcock: American Psycho
Nothing in Hitchcock tops its opening sequence. After serial killer Ed Gein (Michael Wincott) murders his brother with a shovel, the camera pans to...
Killing Them Softly: Cogan’s Bluff
Andrew Dominik is at home among thieves and killers. The New Zealander has made three films, and they’ve all been crime thrillers: the terrifying...
Anna Karenina Under the Lights
Wow, this is spooky. When I was in college, I wrote a paper on Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. It was about the novel’s relationship...
Silver Linings: Soaring Eagles
For whatever reason, this is a banner year for movies about mental illness set in Pennsylvania. We still have the excellent Pittsburgh teen flick...
Life of Pi: Cat Away
Remember when I wrote about “unfilmable” novels in my review of Cloud Atlas a few weeks ago? Well, Yann Martell’s Life of Pi was...
