April 24, 2011

Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky, 2010)

Black Swan is marked by Nathalie Portman's grandiose performance, but Aronofsky’s regresive aesthetic hinders the movie’s themes and narrative.
April 20, 2010

Funny People (Judd Apatow, 2009)

Funny People is funny, touching and rings true, even through all its comic exaggeration. Apatow's direction is poised and appropriate to the subject matter.
March 29, 2010

Gone, Baby, Gone (Ben Affleck, 2007)

WHAT IT IS: Boston: A private investigator is enlisted to find a little girl who’s been abducted in his old neighborhood. HOW IT IS: In his directorial debut, Ben Affleck borrows from many of the great living directors, from Eastwood to Van Sant. Most notable is the latter’s influence in the cinema vérité shots. A Bostonian himself, Affleck’s neighborhood seems […]
March 29, 2010

Sukiyaki Western Django (Takashi Miike, 2007)

Sukiyaki Western Django virtuously evokes in its narrative Sergio Leone westerns, samurai films and Japanese classic films like Yojimbo.
March 26, 2010

Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (Sidney Lumet, 2007)

Although Before The Devil Knows You're Dead succeeds for most of its running time, it fails to deliver a satisfactory end.