David Mamet’s Redbelt gives kung fu films a kick.

By Curt Holman posted May 08, 2008 12:00 AM

Playwright and filmmaker David Mamet holds a purple belt in jujitsu, which you might not guess from his work. Jujitsu involves deflecting the strength of your opponent’s attacks, while the... read on»

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Thomas McCarthy’s follow-up to The Station Agent deals with immigration issues.

By Anders Wright posted May 08, 2008 12:00 AM

Thomas McCarthy has made two films that stand out not just for their sharp, emotional observations, but also because of the lead actors. Instead of focusing on the traditional movie... read on»

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Leading-man status doesn’t suddenly turn Made of Honor’s Patrick Dempsey into a charismatic star.

By Scott Renshaw posted May 01, 2008 12:00 AM

It must all seem like some wonderful McDream to Patrick Dempsey. Twenty years ago, he was playing the improbable pizza-delivering gigolo in Loverboy, and the guy who had to rent... read on»

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The documentary Young@Heart follows a group of seniors who become revitalized by singing contemporary rock songs.

By Steve Davis posted May 01, 2008 12:00 AM

Adocumentary about a choral group of lovable octogenarians whose repertoire includes songs by Sonic Youth and the Talking Heads? It sounds gimmicky, scary even. But despite an occasional lapse into... read on»

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Married Life examines a batch of characters with a twisted sense of right and wrong.

By Josh Rosenblatt posted April 24, 2008 12:00 AM

Corruption, immorality, decadence, secrecy, loyalty, selfishness, selflessness, murder, love, sex and indigestion are all swirling around one another in Married Life, director Ira Sachs’ adaptation of the 1955 John Bingham... read on»

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Pregnancy comedy grates expectations for Tina Fey.

By Curt Holman posted April 24, 2008 12:00 AM

Whenever people star in their own American Express commercials, they’re not just selling credit cards, but establishing themselves as products, too. Tina Fey’s recent Am Ex spot provides a perfect... read on»

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Forgetting Sarah Marshall plays its protagonist’s exposed emotions for laughs.

By Dan Hudak posted April 17, 2008 12:00 AM

How do you forget someone you can’t escape? You can’t. But Forgetting Sarah Marshall, for all its tortured breakup hardships and indecent exposures, makes us laugh long and hard enough... read on»

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Morgan Spurlock takes a wild swing at the War on Terror.

By David Lee Simmons posted April 17, 2008 12:00 AM

The same personal, quippy filmmaking that made Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me such a breezy delight all but dooms his second feature-length effort, Where in the World Is Osama bin... read on»

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The recent winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year revisits the holocaust with fresh eyes.

By Kelly Vance posted April 10, 2008 12:00 AM

Salomon “Sally” Sorowitsch bears little resemblance to the innocent, law-abiding victim in most Holocaust movies. Indeed, with his prominent jaw, compact but wiry frame, and furtive eyes, Sally looks more... read on»

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Smart People’s great cast punctures the world of academia.

By Curt Holman posted April 10, 2008 12:00 AM

Intelligence runs in the Wetherhold family DNA. Smart People’s curmudgeonly protagonist, Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid), indifferently teaches literature at Carnegie Mellon University, where his bright son (Ashton Holmes) is a... read on»

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Director George Clooney is not afraid to poke fun at himself in the football farce Leatherheads.

By Curt Holman posted April 03, 2008 12:00 AM

George Clooney’s 1920s football comedy Leatherheads – his third film as a director – sums up the modern-day matinee idol’s attitude toward his own fame. Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, the... read on»

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Lovely storytelling gives way to terminal despair in Snow Angels.

By Scott Renshaw posted April 03, 2008 12:00 AM

Near the beginning and the end of writer/director David Gordon Green’s Snow Angels, he features an identical montage of small-town Northeastern everyday life – provided “everyday” takes place in the... read on»

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