Archive for July, 2007

“Live-In Maid,” Jorge Gaggero’s remarkably assured first film, examines the complicated relationship between an upper-class Buenos Aires woman and her housekeeper.

Nostalgic as only a project steered by two former campers can be, “Summercamp!” is a riot of talent shows and campfires, canoeing and holistic clowning.

In the writer and director Sang-il Lee’s “Scrap Heaven,” three strangers share a general dissatisfaction with life — and a fateful ride aboard a hijacked bus.

Despite an at-times-unflattering portrayal of these players who sometimes appear to be the types who are far too old to still live in their mothers basements, its hard not to get caught up in the competitive spirit, even over something as simple as Donkey Kong. By the end you cant help rooting for Wiebe to get that top score.

ICasino RoyaleI got a lot of credit for re-energizing the baleful Bond franchise with fresh ideas, but all it was really doing was aping the IBourneI series. Daniel Craigs movie is just a pale shadow of the Bourne movies, Jason Bourne did it first and Jason Bourne did it better. What Bourne does so well and Bond wants is take super-spying and plop it down in the middle of reality. Better still, it does that without losing any of the fun associated with movie screen international espionage. Theres action aplenty in the IBourneI movies, and thats part of why the franchise is getting a movie number three.

Tired of the dreary, wet London weather, Bean packs up his suitcase and camcorder to head to Cannes for some sun on the beach. Ah...vacation. But his trip doesnt go as smoothly as he had hoped when the bumbling Bean falls face first into a series of mishaps and fortunate coincidences, far-fetched enough to make his own avant-garde film. Wrongly thought to be both kidnapper and acclaimed filmmaker, he has some serious explaining to do after wreaking havoc across the French countryside and arriving at his vacation spot with a Romanian filmmakers precocious son and an aspiring actress in tow. Will Bean be arrested by the gendarmes or end up winning the Palme dOr?

Dear Mick LaSalle: Thank you for a very fair review of "Sicko." I'm responding to your concern about asking foreigners how much of their taxes go toward medical services. Was it ever asked how much people in our country paid for insurance policies that let...

RATING: (ALERT VIEWER) Daphne: Biographical movie. Starring Geraldine Somerville, Elizabeth McGovern, Janet McTeer. Based on letters by Daphne du Maurier. 10 p.m. Sunday, Logo channel, available on Comcast digital Channel 146, DirecTV and satellite...

“Captivity” the movie has been thoroughly eclipsed by “Captivity” the marketing.

In ICaptivityI, Cuthbert plays Jennifer, a model who is abducted by one of these sadistic psychos, locked up in a room, and tortured, both psychologically and physically. Some people may want to argue that ICaptivityi isnt a torture-porn flick somehow the term exists despite the fact that no director wants the label applied to their movie, but I dont know what else to call it...