Horns and Halos (2002) It’s the story of James Hatfield, the author of a book called Fortunate Son, a biography (the first) of pre-presidential George W. Bush. Meant to be a quickie “clip job,” written by quoting sources secondhand through previously published articles on Bush, Hatfield ended up turning in something a little different. The […]
The Hulk Months before The Hulk director Ang Lee announced he’d rely solely on CGI to create his colossal star, fanboys from Portland to Poughkeepsie worried about how the not so jolly green giant would look on screen. Early trailers fuelled speculation that Hulk would resemble Shrek, which made dedicated Hulk a maniacs very angry.
Human Nature If nothing else, writer Charlie Kaufman has created a style of comedy all his own. He is one of the very few screenwriters able to distinctly stamp his unmistakable personality on a film. Much like his previous Being John Malkovich, Kaufman again has his script brought to the big screen by a music
The Hustler The Hustler has always stood out as not just a great movie about the con game, but as a great movie, period. Paul Newman’s study of a pool hustler who goes through the highest highs and the lowest lows is so dazzling that an hour will go by before you look at the
I Am Sam (2001) What defines a parent? Is it the amount of intellectual maturity displayed or the level of love given? Such is the question posed in I Am Sam. In the film, Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) is a mentally challenged single father raising his daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning). Sam is a sweet, good
I Capture the Castle (2003) Movies teach us the power of love. Reality, quickly and without apology, demonstrates its limitations. Rarely does a film show us the flipside, but I Capture the Castle is that special exception. Based on Dodie Smith’s novel, I Capture the Castle gives us a 17 year old named Cassandra (Romola
I Stand Alone (1998) Gaspar Noé’s harrowing and misanthropic story has an aging butcher as he wanders through life just out of jail, unemployed, and looking for trouble in the city he utterly hates. Paris. He can’t get work, and quickly becomes broke the classic “from bad to worse” situation. Fortunately, he’s got a gun
Ice Age (2002) Ice Age is in many ways the archetypal animated flick updated for the computer era, of course. It’s a road trip populated by quirky and mismatched characters, all on an unlikely quest that they’ll never complete unless they somehow manage to work together. Ray Romano voices a burly mammoth named Manfred, who
The Ice Storm (1997) Kitschy seventies comedy does battle with some painful dramatics in Ang Lee’s highly regarded The Ice Storm, but the question of which of these wins is still in the air. It’s 1973, and the sexual revolution is in full bloom. So are the thick shag carpets, glass-bead necklaces, Watergate hearings, and
If Lucy Fell (1996) If Lucy Fell is the fifth romantic comedy I’ve reviewed this year, and it is the fourth to get my rating (no other genres have reached this high in 1996, according to my archives). So, am I getting soft for romances? Maybe so, but the quality of American comedy writing really
