Grella says: Is good!
Movies
Posted inMovies
“Shortbus”
Sex sells, but does it make for a good movie? Plus, Paul Mazursky at the Dryden
Posted inMovies
“Flags of Our Fathers”
The war in the Pacific, and at home Movies Whether because of public dubiety about all the conflicts since World War II, a willingness to exploit any trend, or perhaps the inexorable progress of history itself, Hollywood continues to produce movies about the last truly global conflict, “the Good War.” Despite its soppy weepiness, The […]
Posted inMovies
The “Pusher” trilogy
Are you collecting scars or what? Movies It’s pretty much Quentin Tarantino’s fault. He didn’t invent the heist movie or the drug film, but 1992’s Reservoir Dogs and 1994’s Pulp Fiction arguably put the breathlessness back into two of cinema’s more played-out clichés and set the stage for countless imitators. Luckily, though, for every overrated […]
Posted inMovies
“Man of the Year”
Another clown for president Movies With the broad, bright media spotlight focused on the upcoming election, a picture about contemporary politics should supply the sort of relevance that in the past characterized a number of classic Hollywood pictures. Most viewers probably also expect the combination of Barry Levinson, the writer-director of Man of the Year, […]
Posted inMovies
“The Motel”
Life’s not fair Movies Maybe you’re surveying your complicated life right now and longing for a simpler age of less responsibility, more fun, and quality time with the Count and the Captain (that would be Messrs. Chocula and Crunch). Unfortunately, this isn’t possible, as any time-travel technology enabling a do-over is at least three years […]
Posted inMovies
“The Departed”
Cops and crooks Movies Although his works deal with an impressive variety of subjects, characters, and settings, including high-society in 19th century Manhattan and the theocracy of 20th century Tibet, Martin Scorsese always seems most at home in the darker corners of contemporary urban America. His signature appears most legibly on films like Mean Streets, […]
Posted inMovies
“Al Franken: God Spoke”
Celebrity trumps ideology Movie It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that the publication you’re now perusing leans ever-so-slightly to the left. So if you read this paper solely for the pleasure of yelling at it and then stomping on it, then you’re almost certainly not an Al Franken fan. On the other hand, if you […]
Posted inMovies
“School for Scoundrels”
Movies Despite the ancient and apparently deathless cinema tradition of sequels and remakes, it seems apparent that some works, like some wines, simply don’t travel well. The new version of the 1960 English pictureSchool for Scoundrels suggests some of the reasons for a problem that involves translation as much as transplantation — the differences in […]
Posted inMovies
“Keeping Mum,” “Jackass Number Two”
Movies David Bowie once admitted in a song to being afraid of Americans, but it’s the English that have me worried. If we’re to believe movies like Niall Johnson’s grey comedy (not too light, not too dark) Keeping Mum, it’s like Old New Jersey over there, with little old ladies solving their problems via genteel […]
Posted inMovies
“All the King’s Men”
The tragedy of Southern politics Movies In this season of great expectations and diminished achievements, the remake of All the King’s Men may surpass The Black Dahlia as the most disappointing work of them all. In adapting Robert Penn Warren’s well-known novel and updating the original movie, the new film purportedly suggests some contemporary connection […]
