It is entirely appropriate to call writer/director Tamara Jenkins’ latest feature “The Savages” a comedy because it’s very funny. But like “About Schmidt” or “As Good As It Gets,” this film is also a poignant reflection on the human condition and on growing older in America. “The Savages” is tragic, acidic, hopeful, and full of […]
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Save for the thoughtful cinematography from director Joe Wright and cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, “Atonement” verges awfully close to your garden variety British period piece. The film has moments of inspiration, but remains throughout little more than typical – like a well-funded BBC production, the type you might run into on some lazy Sunday while perusing […]
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When writer/director Todd Haynes decided to make a movie about Bob Dylan, he was faced with a pretty big question. How do you make a biopic on one of rock n’ roll’s biggest chameleons? Rather than go the straight route and chronicle the influential songwriter’s entire career with a happy epilogue tacked on about his […]
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There is a twisted sort of circular logic at play in “Margot at the Wedding,” writer/director Noah Baumbach’s newest look at self-absorbed East Coasters (which is the follow-up to “The Squid and the Whale,” his 2005 picture about self-absorbed East Coasters). Nicole Kidman plays Margot, a writer who has cribbed so extensively from her own […]
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Ever since their first movie, 1985’s low budget neo-noir “Blood Simple,” the writing and directing team known as the Coen brothers have always been visual stylists—not in a rich-art-direction-Baz Luhrmann (who fills every frame of “Moulin Rouge” to the limit with splashes of color) kind of way, but more in a Gregg Toland-deliberate-camera-placement-and-lighting-scheme kind of […]
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“The Mist” is the first Frank Darabont feature I can’t endorse. That’s saying something when you consider I’m one of a select few critics who is willing to publicly admit they liked “The Majestic.” Director/screenwriter Frank Darabont is perfectly capable of making modern classics like “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” so “The Mist” isn’t clumsy […]
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“Beowulf” mounts a heroic effort and that’s not all, the randy Geat! “We came, we saw, we wore fashionable wraparound neon glasses.” Eric and J.D. file an on-camera report from a 3-D IMAX screening of “Beowulf.” Prefer the more considered approach? Eric also filed a print review right here.
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(Note: This review is of the 3-D IMAX version of “Beowulf,” which is not showing at all theaters. Check your local listings for details.) It is oddly appropriate that the oldest surviving epic poem in the English language is the inspiration for the absolute newest in motion picture technology. Director Robert Zemeckis has chosen to […]
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“Lars and the Real Girl” is an slightly absurdist and truly original story about family and love. It is incredibly well executed and the acting is ridiculously good. Ryan Gosling actually deserves an Oscar nomination. Do not seek out or read a plot summary of this film, should you stumble upon one. It was a […]
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Eric and J.D. saw the number one movie at the box office this weekend, and this is what they had to say about it. Visit the Scene-Stealers YouTube page for more video fun from the Scene-Stealers.
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The new horror flick “30 Days of Night,” based on the comic book series of the same name, is one of those simple, high concept movies you can explain to your friends right away. In a tiny Alaskan oil town, it stays dark for 30 days out of the year. Bloodthirsty vampires come to feast, […]
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One of the toughest and most intangible things for a first-time director to capture onscreen is a consistent mood or tone. In his directorial debut, Ben Affleck creates a strong sense of locale that permeates the entire story and becomes its most affecting element. It is familiar turf for Boston native Affleck, and his movie […]
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As far as I can tell, the Farrelly Brothers did just one thing that’s different in this movie than they’ve done in their previous films. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what that is without ruining the ending. So, lets talk about what they did…again. Eddie Cantrow (Ben Stiller) is a commitment-phobic sporting goods store owner […]
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A greatest hits album can span somebody’s entire career but it rarely paints a complete portrait of the artist. Director Julie Taymor’s “Across the Universe” is like a greatest hits album in more ways than one. Besides being a visually resplendent re-interpretation of Beatles songs, the film is that rare movie musical where you go […]
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I have a friend who doesn’t believe that human beings have ever landed on the moon. Like many of the doubters who continue deny mankind’s farthest-reaching achievement, he does so on the basis that the technology was never advanced enough to get us there. I think he’s full of it. But the fact that some […]
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