City of Ember
Bill Murray stars as a corrupt mayor in this fantasy-adventure flick that’s probably more suited to young viewers than adults. The “city of ember” is an underground village where the only light comes from a power generator. When teenagers Lina (Saoirse Ronan) and Doon (Harry Treadaway) find a box that includes an emergency plan that…
Obscene (US, 2007)
Described by one of his many admirers as the “last maverick in American publishing,” Grove Press and Evergreen Review founder Barney Rosset is the subject of Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O’Connor’s wryly affectionate new documentary. The censorship battles that Rosset waged in defense of Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer, an unexpurgated Lady Chatterly’s Lover and…
The Secret Life of Bees
The subject matter of this movie, which is set in segregated South Carolina in the ’60s, isn’t exactly kids’ stuff. Raised by an abusive father, Lily (Dakota Fanning) runs away from home with her caretaker Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) and eventually ends up meeting the honey-making Boatwright sisters, an African-American family led by the matriarchal August…
Sex Drive
I was wondering when the remorseless wheels of the remake mill were going to grind up The Sure Thing, Rob Reiner’s well-remembered rutting-teen-comedy-with-a-brain starring John Cusack as the youth going cross-country to rendezvous with a sexy golden girl; would he or wouldn’t he figure out that the demure brunette accompanying him was his soulmate instead?…
Max Payne
Based on a popular video game character, this ultra-violent film starring Mark Wahlberg as vigilante cop Max Payne tries to be two things at once. On the one hand, it’s a crime drama about a guy whose wife and child were killed during a robbery attempt. On the other, it’s a sci-fi thriller about an…
Filth and Wisdom
Filth and Wisdom marks the directorial debut of Madonna, who also co-wrote the screenplay. The film plays like an above-average student film, at times pretentious and unnecessarily arty; it also has an infectious energy. There are even a few little moments of truth when it isn’t trying to come across as more profound than it…
