Archive for February, 2009

Crossing Over

February 28th, 2009
Rumor has it that ICrossing OverI endured a post-production experience so hellish that Sean Penns character was cut entirely from the film, and three different versions of the film were screened for test audiences. That may explain in part how the movie turned into such an earnest, unfocused mess, but ICrossing OverI is really a movie that never should have been made

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li

February 28th, 2009
You can only ask so much from this kind of movie and all it really needs to do in order to be successful is outlined in the title. It needs fighting. In the streets. Do that and though you may get terrible reviews, you can walk away with your head held high. IChun LiI is so utterly inept, its incapable of even that..

Shrek the Fourth

February 28th, 2009
Nothing is known about the plot of IShrek 4I yet, except that it will almost certainly involve Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, and Fiona. The film is currently being targeted for release in summer of 2010.

The Three Stooges

February 28th, 2009
Synopsis available soon.

Two Lovers

February 27th, 2009
Bearded and brain addled, Joaquin Phoenix has happily made his way through the press declaring that ITwo LoversI is his last movie. If true thats a shame, since its a testament to just how good he really is. Forced to perform opposite the unbearable Gwyneth Paltrow and working from what is a fairly mediocre script, Phoenix still delivers a fantastic performance.

Fired Up

February 27th, 2009
I had almost come to terms with the rampant misogyny in IFired Up!I, given that its a teen comedy too dumb to know better. But it was the rampant homophobia, tossed in everywhere it didnt belong, that convinced me IFired Up!I is just a hateful mess. With its PG-13 rating it doesnt fulfill its own mandate of raunch comedy, and everyone in the movie is either obnoxious or bland beyond belief.

‘Frankly, My Dear,’ by Molly Haskell

February 27th, 2009
Frankly, My Dear: "Gone With the Wind" Revisited By Molly Haskell (Yale University Press; 272 pages; $24) Film critic Molly Haskell is interested in the meeting points between film, sociology and history, and she writes about all of them, together and...

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Movie review: Phoenix masterful in ‘Two Lovers’

February 27th, 2009
Two Lovers RATING: (WILD APPLAUSE)Drama. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw. Directed by James Gray. (R. 110 minutes. At Bay Area theaters.) If you want to get an idea of what makes "Two Lovers" an exceptionally well-written and...

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‘Circumcise Me’ to be at Contra Costa film fest

February 27th, 2009
Circumcise Me: As part of the Contra Costa International Jewish Film Festival. "Circumcise Me" screens at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Contra Costa Jewish Community Center, 2071 Tice Valley Blvd., Walnut Creek. Tickets: $5. The festival begins Saturday and ends...

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Movie review: Laotian family’s ‘Betrayal’

February 27th, 2009
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) RATING: (WILD APPLAUSE) Documentary. Directed and written by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath. In English and Lao with English subtitles. (R. 96 minutes. At the Lumiere and Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley.) There are a smattering of...

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