Archive for April, 2005

Pleasantville

Pleasantville” begins pleasantly enough with a commercial for one of those retro-cable channels like “T.V. Land.” Ah, the good old days. “Father Knows Best,” “Leave it to Beaver,” I Married Joan,” and everyone’s perennial favorite, “Pleasantville.” Read the rest of this entry »

Match Point

There are moments in a match when a ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second it can either go forward, or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward. You win. Maybe it doesn’t, and you lose. Read the rest of this entry »

X-Men 2

Even as someone who read super hero comics as a kid, I have never been a big fan of the first films in their respective franchises. “Superman” was grounded by feet of lead, wasting too much time setting up the premise, while “Batman” was too dark and serious. I didn’t like the first “X-Men” movie for those same reasons. Read the rest of this entry »

Touching the Void

Some people see a mountain as an obstacle. Others see a mountain as a challenge. In 1985, two twenty-something British mountaineers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, saw the Siula Grande peak in the Peruvian Andes as the ultimate challenge. Unreachable by helicopter, the peak remained virgin territory. Using climbing skills refined in the Alps, Simpson and Yates opted to make their record breaking climb a straight ascent rather than use base camps. Read the rest of this entry »

Serving Sara

“Serving Sara” is a fish fart of a movie, an indistinguishable little bubble of toxic waste that ascends from an ocean of indifference until it reaches the surface and dissipates into nothingness. Read the rest of this entry »

The Siege DVD

Watching the new terrorist thriller “The Siege” is the equivalent of having great sex only to have your mom walk in on you. No matter what you do after that point is a waste of time. That’s the problem I had with “The Siege,” the new thriller from director Edward Zwick. Read the rest of this entry »

The Santa Clause

It’s hard to believe that “The Santa Clause” was released four years ago. Since then, it’s combination of clever humor, heart and seasonal spirit have made it a perennial holiday favorite. The film’s star, Tim Allen, was riding the crest of his success on television’s “Home Improvement.” Allen’s comic timing made him a natural for the big screen, and he hit pay dirt with “The Santa Clause.” Read the rest of this entry »

Dark City

Director Alex Proyas is a real visionary. The former music video director proved that he was capable of merging style and substance with his theatrical debut, “The Crow.” He takes that talent even further in “Dark City,” a brainy science-fiction drama that is so dark it goes beyond noir. Read the rest of this entry »

The Crew

In what can only be described as an attempt at counter-programming, August has seen not one but three films featuring mature actors and plot lines. What would normally be a welcome relief from the usual drudge that oozes across theater screens throughout the summer is actually an embarrassment of riches. Read the rest of this entry »

Modern Romance

Maybe the 70s rock group Sweet was right when they sang Love is Like Oxygen. If that is the case, romance in modern films is barely breathing. Not that I’m complaining, but the closest thing we got in theaters last Christmas that even resembled a romantic movie was “Kate & Leopold,” starring the four hankie perennial Meg Ryan and hunky Hugh Jackman of “Swordfish.” Read the rest of this entry »