The Reader
Please note: While I have kept the following review of The Reader as spoiler-free as possible, it does contain some substantial discussion of the film’s story-line. Those of you who wish to know as little as possible about the movie before seeing it should proceed with cauti
Valkyrie
Bryan Singer’s film Valkyrie has been getting a bit hammered in the press lately. (Actually, I feel like I’ve been reading bad things about this movie for over a year, mostly in connection to the multiple shifts in its release date, which usually indicates a studio’
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
This is the film I’ve been waiting for. Steph and I took advantage of our vacation to see a LOT of the big Oscar-hopeful films that have been released in the past few weeks. As usual, there has been a crazy end-of-the-year rush of “serious” films, many of which won
Run Lola Run
I first saw this terrific German film a number of years ago, and for quite some time now I’d been eager to check it out again. The copious amount of snow that fell this past weekend was as good a reason as any! Released in 1999, the story of Run Lola Run is pretty simple: [&he
Once Upon a Time in America
I love trolling the discount bins at Newbury Comics and other stores that sell DVDs, because you never know what sort of fun treasures you’ll find for very little money. Case in point: I recently came across Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America. I had heard of th
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
My father recommended this film to me, years ago, and from the first time I watched it I knew right away that he was right on the money in declaring it to be a masterful work. Made in 1974, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three stars Walter Matthau as New York City transit chief Lt. [&h
Howard/Nixon
I love movies, and I am fascinated by politics, so it’s no surprise that I am always up for a good political movie. And make no mistake, Ron Howard’s latest film, Frost/Nixon, is a very good political movie. Adapted by Peter Morgan from his own play (which attracted noti
“He was Some Kind of a Man” — An Orson Welles Double Feature
I first saw Citizen Kane in college, during a fantastic class called Film Architecture (one of the best classes I had in college). I’ve seen it several times since then, and while I wouldn’t list Kane as my favorite film of all time, I certainly understand why many consi
How to edit a movie, starring The Incredible Hulk
In the weeks before Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk opened this summer, there were a lot of stories on-line and in various entertainment magazines about a dispute over the editing of the film between Marvel and star Edward Norton (who played Bruce Banner). As the tale was told, N