> The first substantial buy of the Toronto Film Festival (Shame had sold first, but for art film prices) turned out to be Salmon Fishing In the Yemen, a modestly engaging romantic comedy from Lasse Hallstrom. Hallstrom has made a career out of “modestly engaging,” following his early distinction with My Life As a Dog […]
Worth a ticket. Tom McCarthy has been carving a modest but very impressive niche for himself in the indie film universe. His films The Station Agent and The Visitor were both superbly written and performed, and he takes a small step toward the commercial mainstream with the new WIN WIN. Paul Giamatti stars […]
I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT – Not Even For Free: You Don’t Want To Know The recent movie I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT most resembles is The Nanny Diaries, which is odd because it was a flop for Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company, and yet Weinstein’s studio […]
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL: Worth A Ticket – Routine But Spectacular With MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL, Brad Bird makes the very unusual transition from animation auteur to live-action director. Of course, since his animated work includes The Incredibles, one of the snazziest and smartest action-adventures of recent years, the leap […]
> One of the most heartening developments of the past couple of years has been the spreading popularity in theaters of cultural events presented in HD video. Operas and ballets have become monthly features in many cities, and stage shows are now joining in: Britain’s National Theatre has been presenting several productions on screen for […]
> When the inevitable US remake of the French thriller SLEEPLESS NIGHT arrives, it’ll benefit from some sharper dialogue (assuming the subtitles in Toronto were fully translating the original), a bit more characterization and a slightly more varied tone. But the framework already exists for a solid action hit. The picture begins as a variant […]
ZOOKEEPER – Not Even For Free: Isn’t There An ASPCA For Audiences? Let’s put off talking about ZOOKEEPER–it’s terrible, for those with no time to spare–by mentioning the trailer for Adam Sandler’s upcoming Jack & Jill that’s attached to it (both movies are produced by Sandler’s production company Happy Madison and released by […]
MARGIN CALL: Worth A Ticket – The Real Sequel to”Wall Street” MARGIN CALL is smarter and more gripping than Moneyball and The Ides of March combined–and those are two smart, gripping movies. However, the superb ensemble cast of Margin Call doesn’t boast a name as instantly bankable as Brad Pitt’s or George […]