Archive for May, 2008

Just when “Bigger, Stronger, Faster*” seems content to be an entertaining exploration of the use of anabolic steroids, it turns a corner and plunges into deeper waters.

Being a young woman living in New York City, I often feel required to have an opinion on ISex and the CityI. Do I love it? Is it a guilty pleasure? Do I recognize that its really just a giant pit of consumerist greed? After seeing the ISex and the CityI movie, the big, shiny sparkler on top of the decadent cake that was the series, the answer to all of those questions is: Yes.

Mr. Pevney directed some of the best-known episodes of the original “Star Trek” television series.

RATING: (POLITE APPLAUSE)The Fall: Drama. Starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell and Leo Bill. Directed by Tarsem Singh. (R. 116 minutes. At Bay Area theaters. To see complete movie listings and show times, and to buy tickets for select theaters,...

'Note by Note' RATING: (WILD APPLAUSE)Documentary. Directed by Ben Niles. (Not rated. 81 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) Like an elegant set of theme and variations, director Ben Niles' beautiful, probing documentary about music and craftsmanship takes a...

RATING: (WILD APPLAUSE) Alexandra: Drama. Written and directed by Alexander Sokurov. With Galina Vishnevskaya, Vasily Shevtsov and Raisa Gichaeva. In Russian and Chechen with English subtitles. (Not rated. 92 minutes. At the Opera Plaza in San Francisco and...

RATING: (SNOOZING VIEWER) The Strangers: Thriller. Starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. Directed by Bryan Bertino. (R. 85 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) You've heard of the suspense genre. Old-fashioned. Here's something new for the new millennium: The we-...

RATING: (ALERT VIEWER) The Children of Huang Shi: Drama. Staring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh. (R. 125 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) You can be 100 percent in favor of rescuing adorable orphans from war-torn zones and...

RATING: (ALERT VIEWER) Postal: Comedy. Starring Zack Ward, Dave Foley, J.K. Simmons and Verne Troyer. Directed by Uwe Boll. (R. 116 minutes. At the Roxie Film Center in San Francisco.) It's no exaggeration to say that Uwe Boll is the most openly despised...

Amy Sewell, whose second documentary, “What’s Your Point, Honey?” had its New York premier this week, seems to have her bases covered as a Gloria Steinemesque feminist.