[B] Espionage comedy Written and directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen The Coen brothers are back to their old tricks, mining the dark comic prospects of a crime gone wrong. While Burn After Reading lacks the humanity of Fargo and the blazing, non-stop lunacy of Intolerable Cruelty, it still provides 95 very entertaining minutes. … Continue reading Burn After Reading
Category: Reviews
W.
Political biopic Written by Stanley Weiser Directed by Oliver Stone The very fact of W.'s existence raises an interesting and important question: Why go to an Oliver Stone movie after all the times he's disappointed us? And W. provides an answer: There is no good reason. Judging from the final result, Stone didn't know whether … Continue reading W.
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
Musical Documentary Directed by Steven Sebring Steven Sebring spent over a decade following Patti Smith around with a camera (okay, I'm not sure how much of that time he actually devoted to the project), trying to get to the core of the cutting-edge rocker, poet, and generally arty person. He succeeds--with a great deal of … Continue reading Patti Smith: Dream of Life
Ballast
Contemporary Drama Written and directed by Lance Hammer Vast, flat, cold, muddy landscapes make a perfect metaphor for the lonely human heart in Lance Hammer's directorial debut. I've been seeing a lot of low-key chamber dramas lately--all of them forgoing such comforting movie conventions as music, glamour, and a tripod. I like the trend. The … Continue reading Ballast
Happy-Go-Lucky
Character-driven comedy Written and directed by Mike Leigh There's no excuse for Happy-Go-Lucky working as well as it does, and not only because the term "Mike Leigh comedy" sounds like an oxymoron. This movie has no real plot, no significant conflict, and not an overwhelming supply of laughs. What it has is a bubbly, upbeat, … Continue reading Happy-Go-Lucky
Real Time at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Odd how these things work. I've lived in the Bay Area for 33 years. I even lived in Marin County the first 17 months of that (around the corner from the Rafael, actually). Yet until today, I don't believe I have ever been in downtown Mill Valley. (Up until this year, every Mill Valley Film … Continue reading Real Time at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
Music documentary Directed by Robbie Cavolina and Ian McCrudden People don't recognize the name Anita O'Day the way they do Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, but as a jazz vocalist she's arguably in their class. She possessed a beautiful voice, a unique and expressive way of making familiar lyrics her own, and a phenomenal sense … Continue reading Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
Humboldt County
Comedy-drama Written and directed by Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs Movies that start as broad comedies and turn serious seldom work. The transition is tricky, especially if you don't layer in enough reality between the big laughs before the drama begins. Yet first-time writers/directors Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs pull it off beautifully in Humboldt … Continue reading Humboldt County
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Family Drama Written by Yiyun Lee; based on her short story Directed by Wayne Wang Generations and cultures clash, but quietly, in Wayne Wang's return to Chinese-American subject matter. Things feel strained when widower Mr. Shi (Henry O) arrives in America to visit his daughter Yilan (Faye Yu). That's understandable. They haven't seen each other … Continue reading A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
Opera Jawa
Dance opera Written by Aramantono and Garin Nugroho Directed by Garin Nugroho Astonishing sensual, works like a dream. Things don't connect the way they do in the real world (or in a conventional film), but that doesn't bother you in the slightest. You're in its world, and you see no reason to want out. In … Continue reading Opera Jawa
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