No matter how great the filmmaker behind the camera, a movie is only as good as its screenplay. Martin Scorsese may be the best director working today, but even he can’t steer “Shutter Island” away from its fundamental story problems. Moody atmosphere, convincing period art direction and an island stocked of A-list actors just can’t […]
Scorsese caged by ‘Shutter Island’ story Read More »
I finally got around to seeing "The Invention of Lying" tonight (Thanks, Netflix, for delaying its availability four weeks after its regular home video release date). The film isn’t as hilarious as you might expect from writer/director/star Ricky Gervais, the man behind the British version of "The Office" and the HBO series, "Extras." Still, “The
Did Ricky Gervais just invent God? Read More »
Pick of the Week: “Cold Souls” Paul Giamatti made a perfect wino in “Sideways” and a rather effective boxing coach to Russell Crowe in “Cinderella Man.” In his latest acting challenge, Giamatti plays Paul Giamatti, a semi-famous actor tackling a soul-sucking role in a Chekov play. That’s only the start of “Cold Souls,” a bizarre
Discover ‘Cold Souls,’ brush up on Scorsese Read More »
The best of the best. Check out numbers 11-51 in part one of this Best Movies of the 2000s list. By now you’ve read a thousand of these articles. At least mine originally published on Christmas Day, so it’s not like I’m that late to the party. And yes, this Top 10 contains 13 movies.
50 (ish) Movies of the Decade (10-1) Read More »
Ten years. Thousands of movies. Hundreds of contenders. When I set out to write a best movies of the decade feature, I only intended to showcase 10. Talk about being indecisive. You can find numerous articles by more reputable critics concerning the best movies of the decade. My list is 100% personal preference. These are
50 (ish) Movies of the Decade (51-11) Read More »
The North Idaho lifestyle has its benefits. Diverse moviegoing is not one of them. Some of the best movies of any given year never play in our area, and many take their sweet time getting here. “Crazy Heart,” the indie drama starring Oscar hopeful Jeff Bridges, finally opened in Spokane last week after months of
Oscar hopefuls ‘Crazy Heart’ and ‘An Education’ worth the wait Read More »
Casual moviegoers finally have a reason to watch the Academy Awards ceremony. When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to expand its Best Picture category from five nominees to 10, many hoped it would lead to a more diverse and audience-friendly awards show. They got their wish, and it only desecrated the
Oscar noms celebrate diversity Read More »
Science-fiction isn’t all about space battles, lightsabers and really tall Smurfs. Occasionally, filmmakers can utilize futuristic settings to tell fascinating stories of personal struggle. Such is the case with “Moon,” a haunting indie sci-fi starring Sam Rockwell as the sole astronaut working a three-year stint on a remote moon base. This is Rockwell’s show, with
‘Moon,’ ‘Big Fan’ worth a look on DVD Read More »
