DOLLS (DVD)
|
  Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 100 minutes |
Fans of Kitano’s other work may not know what to make of “Dolls.” In its more tragic moments, Kitano does revisit some of his older techniques, but this film operates on a more symbolic level, allowing colorful scenes to do the talking…
Posted on March 23, 2005 by Darrin Keene
IRREVERSIBLE
|
  Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 99 minutes |
SUNDANCE 2003 FRONTIER SELECTION! Director Gaspar Noé is one of current cinema’s notorious provocateurs. He shares his reputation with fellow French directors Catherine Breillat (“Romance”, “Fat Girl”), Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi (“Baise-Moi”) and Bertrand Bonello (“The Pornographer”). These filmmakers all share a great irony: no matter how many real porn stars they hire or individual scenes they add for shock value, their films are tiresome viewing experiences…
Posted on March 17, 2003 by Darrin Keene
STEVIE
|
  Year Released: 2003 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 127 minutes |
SXSW 2003 DOCUMENTARY FEATURE! When Stevie is arrested on a child molestation charge, James’ worst fears come true…
Posted on March 12, 2003 by Darrin Keene
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
|
  Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 100 minutes |
SUNDANCE 2003 WORLD CINEMA SELECTION! “Bend It Like Beckham” interweaves the underdog theme of “Billy Elliot” with Indian coming-of-age films like “East is East” and “Monsoon Wedding…”
Posted on January 17, 2003 by Darrin Keene
SCUMROCK
|
Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 79 minutes |
Too bad there’s no substance behind the grimy style…
Posted on January 15, 2003 by Darrin Keene
I-SAN SPECIAL
|
  Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 112 minutes |
As an exercise in storytelling, “I-San Special” does have a unique creative spark…
Posted on January 14, 2003 by Darrin Keene
THE HOURS
|
Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 114 minutes |
IN THEATERS! Much ado has been made about the Oscar-caliber cast that’s been assembled for “The Hours.” The film’s true star, however, is its script…
Posted on January 10, 2003 by Darrin Keene
CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND
|
  Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 113 minutes |
PLAYING IN NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES! Kaufman opts to treat the subject matter quite seriously, downplaying the zany game show set antics in favor of the spy story…
Posted on January 4, 2003 by Darrin Keene
THE PIANIST
|
Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 127 minutes |
IN THEATERS, DECEMBER 27TH! Does the world need another Holocaust film? When the director is Roman Polanski, the answer is an unequivocal “yes.” Polanski’s long-awaited film “The Pianist” is based on Wladyslaw Szpilman’s autobiography. Szpilman was the Jewish pianist/composer who, through a combination of good fortune, good connections and his own strong will, managed to stay alive within Warsaw during the city’s Nazi occupation…
Posted on December 23, 2002 by Darrin Keene
ABOUT SCHMIDT
|
  Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 124 minutes |
IN THEATERS! The film, a darkly comedic exploration of a retiree waking from the American pipe dream, has given Nicholson a chance to act his age and still deliver a strong performance…
Posted on December 18, 2002 by Darrin Keene
MY KINGDOM
|
  Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 117 minutes |
PLAYING IN LOS ANGELES! Harris’s performance and Aukema’s camera eye are the bright points of this otherwise forgettable film…
Posted on December 15, 2002 by Darrin Keene
KEEPING IT “REEL”
Reel Asian Film Festival hits Toronto, Nov. 27 – Dec. 1…
Posted on November 25, 2002 by Darrin Keene
FEMME FATALE
|
Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 100 minutes |
IN THEATERS! While “Femme Fatale”’s plot borrows from “Double Indemnity,” De Palma also adds some Lynchian flavour in the film’s substantial second act, which loses itself in a dreamy haze of deception. At least De Palma’s not rolling “Snake Eyes” this time around…
Posted on November 10, 2002 by Darrin Keene
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE
|
Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 105 minutes |
IN THEATERS! Paul Thomas Anderson is no stranger to a quirky story. Here he adds a few neurotic twists to the standard romantic comedy, pairing together Adam Sandler and Emily Watson to tell his tale. The first instinct is to think that Sandler will offer a drastically different performance from his standard shtick. Think again…
Posted on October 12, 2002 by Darrin Keene
FAR FROM HEAVEN
|
Year Released: 2002 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 100 minutes |
SNEAK PREVIEW AT THE EGYPTIAN THEATRE IN LOS ANGELES, OCTOBER 14TH! Director Todd Haynes updates Douglas Sirk’s 1950s-era melodramas with a subversive note…
Posted on October 10, 2002 by Darrin Keene