It took me two full reels to get into “This Must Be The Place”–an experience that I suspect many viewers will have with the film–because I wasn’t sure if I was willing to accept Sean Penn’s singular protagonist as the real deal. Even though Penn is among the finest working actors today, the character can’t […]
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Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. After coming within 1.9 percent of the actual for “Skyfall” last weekend, I’m feeling pretty good about my prognostication abilities–at least for now. Let’s hope I don’t goof on one or both of this weekend’s
Box Office Beat: Weekend of November 16 Read More »
A few liberal American critics have argued that the lessons of “A Royal Affair,” which chronicles Enlightenment thinking’s triumph over the religion-abusing aristocracy of 18th Century Denmark, apply to today’s domestic political sphere, as far-right officials and pundits like Michele Bachmann and Sean Hannity use the country’s Judeo-Christian tradition to justify what the left views
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Certain literary works, especially those that traffic in the fantastical, are best left on the page because they cannot be brought to cinematic life in a manner that remains true to their original spirit. Presumably, this is the case with Qing Dynasty author Pu Songling’s “Erotic Ghost Story,” a beloved work in Chinese culture, but
Blu-Ray Review: “Painted Skin: The Resurrection” Read More »
As I predicted in this week’s edition of Box Office Beat, “Skyfall” ended up earning the biggest opening weekend of any James Bond film to date, surpassing the last installment, “Quantum of Solace,” by about 30 percent. “Skyfall” grossed $87.8 million over the three-day and an even $90.0m when accounting for Thursday IMAX preview shows.
Weekend Box Office: “Skyfall” soars Read More »
The meat of Julia Loktev’s “The Loneliest Planet” stems from a single action that lasts no more than five seconds, nearly an hour into the film, and is never referenced again. An unfortunately timed bathroom break would render the second half unintelligible. There’s no denying that this structure is daring in its unwillingness to pander
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Jacob Aaron Estes’ “The Details” has no idea what tone it wants to establish. Billed as “darkly comic,” the movie attempts to strike that distinctly Coen Brothers-esque balance between farcical humor and over-the-top violence. But Estes is nowhere near as artistically gifted and confident as the Coens and, by not committing exclusively to either style,
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Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. It’ll be a short version this time, because there is only one new wide release, albeit a huge one: Daniel Craig as James Bond in “Skyfall.” I would usually be inclined to pontificate about the
Box Office Beat: Weekend of November 9 Read More »
David Weissman and Bill Weber’s documentary “We Were Here” operates on two levels by providing both an overarching account of the 1980s San Francisco AIDS crisis and intimate portraits of five people who lived through it. The group of subjects, comprised of four men and a woman, offer a variety of perspectives: the guilt-ridden survivor,
Streaming Pick: “We Were Here” (2011) Read More »
“Cloud Atlas” is a huge, exhausting film, one that might defy audiences to even make up their minds about whether or not they like it. It’s an important work in that it demands analysis and discussion as precious few do, providing a cornucopia of ambitious technical decisions, intertwined narratives, and New Age rhetoric that succeeds
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