Vincent Scarpa

I’m hoping this piece, and the interview below, will create a space for a more thoughtful discussion than has existed around the controversial ‘Hick’ thus far, and that it encourages you to rent it and decide for yourself.

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The best performance in the film comes from Kirsten Dunst, who uses the leftover existential dread from her brilliant role in Melancholia to her advantage here in her portrayal of Regan, the closest thing the film has to a protagonist.

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You’d be hard-pressed to find a movie released in the past year that will break your heart the way “Rabbit Hole” does. Based on the play by David Lindsay-Abaire, this adaptation is helmed by John Cameron Mitchell, of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” fame. The indie director has taken a departure from Hedwig insofar as […]

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I went into “Love and Other Drugs” with mid-level expectations. I expected Anne Hathaway to be adorable, the script to often be pretty funny, and that the structure would more or less follow that of the typical romcom. All of this was fine by me; it seemed more or less right up my alley. However, […]

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Movie Review: Easy A

by Vincent Scarpa on September 17, 2010

in Print Reviews

I must confess that when I first saw the trailer for “Easy A,” the literature nerd in me was thrilled. A teen comedy that takes on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter”? So down. I didn’t expect much of the movie—by which I mean I went in with no expectations of greatness—and while I don’t think […]

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This is a new column that I pitched to Eric a few weeks ago, basically because I have a lot of pent-up frustration about award shows. Thank you Eric for letting me “freelance” while all I’m really doing is venting. Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, 2009 WINNER: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) […]

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Seeing Double is the Scene-Stealers series that celebrates the only thing better than watching one movie—watching two movies. We look for a more perfect cinematic union as we view and discuss a pair of movies chosen either for things they have in common or things they don’t. The films may be old or new, obscure […]

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Overlooked really is the first adjective I’d ascribe to my choice for this week’s Overlooked Movie, “Prozac Nation“. Based on Elizabeth Wurtzel‘s 1994 memoir about suffering major depression, the film was made in 2001, and premiered at Toronto that very same year, with the rights being purchased by Miramax. But it wasn’t until 2005 that […]

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I was seven when I first saw my mother’s favorite movie, “Pretty Woman.” She loved it so much that, years later, she would make it her email address. This was my first introduction to Julia Roberts, and I’ve been a die-hard fan ever since. I own most of her catalog of work on DVD (some […]

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I wasn’t ashamed in the slightest when I called “Jennifer’s Body” one of my favorite movies of last year. You read that right. I put it right up there with “A Single Man” and “The Road”. Surprised? So was I. But so much of “Jennifer’s Body” worked for me, dare I say all of it, […]

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I was fortunate enough to be in New York City this past weekend, one of the few cities  showing “The Kids Are All Right” before its wider release later this month. I’ve been anticipating this film since I saw the trailer a few months ago during “Greenberg”. I jabbed whoever was sitting next to me and […]

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Today’s installment of Insomniac Movie Theater, where we celebrate the best/worst in late-night movie programming comes from contributor Vincent Scarpa. Trevan McGee will be back next week with another not-so-classic. Maybe it’s because I’m from Jersey, but I can’t help loving “Coyote Ugly”. The Comcast listing gives it one star, it has a 21% rating on […]

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Seeing Double is the Scene-Stealers series that celebrates the only thing better than watching one movie—watching two movies. Each week we look for a more perfect cinematic union as we view and discuss a pair of movies chosen either for things they have in common or things they don’t. The films may be old or […]

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