Reviews

Our Disappeared

PEG ALOI — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:24:57 GMT

Fascinating historical clips mixed with personal interviews
Between 1976 and 1983, some 30,000 people were kidnapped and killed by the Argentine military dictatorship.

British Advertising Films Of 2008

PEG ALOI — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:15:29 GMT

This year’s goodies revealed some notable new trends
Simple visual concepts predominate; — the use of color, in particular, shows advertising’s incestuous link with the high-flying design and DIY œuvre.

Rachel Getting Married

ALICIA POTTER — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:08:56 GMT

An exhausting march down the aisle
By the time the Ganesha cake is cut, you’re left with the poodle as the only family member worthy of empathy.

An American Carol

BETSY SHERMAN — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:07:07 GMT

A dissent-bashing tale
A Michael Moore–esque documentarian changes his stars and stripes after trying to abolish the Fourth of July.

The Express

TOM MEEK — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:04:54 GMT

Football bio-pic offers a reflection on our not-so-proud past
Ernie Davis may be the greatest running back never to play in the NFL.

Days and Clouds

GERALD PEARY — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:18:06 GMT

Well shot but predictably depressing
Not exactly the escape movie the doctor ordered from abroad for our own economic miseries.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

TOM MEEK — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:09:58 GMT

A kooky Disney cross-breed
About the only one who unleashes any enthusiasm is Jamie Lee Curtis as Chloe’s obscenely rich owner.

Religulous

GERALD PEARY — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:28:14 GMT

Unabashedly agnostic and skeptical
He’s as cocky and smarmy as Michael Moore, but somehow Bill Maher is also more endearing and credible, as he prances about the globe making jest of sanctimonious true believers.

The Pool

BETSY SHERMAN — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:42:29 GMT

Quietly moving, and full of dark secrets
Chris Smith, maker of the hilarious indie gems American Job and American Movie , set this quietly moving story in the Indian state of Goa, using a mostly non-professional cast.

Miracle at St. Anna

PETER KEOUGH — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:31:59 GMT

Has Spike Lee lost his way?
What is the Miracle at St. Anna? Maybe that a filmmaker capable of the eloquence of When the Levees Broke could make such an incoherent movie.

A Man Named Pearl

ALICIA POTTER — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:28:17 GMT

An earnest yet inspiring documentary
The film makes up for its lack of conflict with the quiet power of its imagery: a descendant of sharecroppers coaxing scrubby brush into great green gumdrops and sculptural swirls.

How To Lose Friends & Alienate People

PETER KEOUGH — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:27:15 GMT

Lesson learned, but no laughs
British comics Rich Gervais and Simon Pegg have attempted the jump to Hollywood, opting to squeeze their eccentric personae into a standard romantic comedy.

Flash of Genius

PETER KEOUGH — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:23:20 GMT

An unexciting, earnest homily
The title of Marc Abrahams’s first feature refers to the “eureka” moment that the US patent people insist must occur if an inventor is to prove that an idea is his own.

Eagle Eye

BRETT MICHEL — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:57:57 GMT

A credulity-be-damned plot
The trouble with Shia? He’s no Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, or Cary Grant.

Appaloosa (2008)

TOM MEEK — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:51:04 GMT

A revisionist Western in the vein of Unforgiven
From its shaky start, you’d think Appaloosa a first-time effort, but director/star Ed Harris already has Pollock to his credit.

Allah Made Me Funny

GERALD PEARY — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:18:34 GMT

But not that funny.
Muslim comedy is still a work-in-progress, to judge by this videotaped rendition of a three-man stand-up comedy show of Muslim-American jokesters.

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

BETSY SHERMAN — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:17:14 GMT

A smart, refreshing teen romance
In what has been an excellent year for comedies, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist ensures that the young ’uns won’t be left out.

Blindness

GERALD PEARY — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:12:02 GMT

An old-fashioned disaster-movie yarn
The Fernando Meirelles–directed film is, of necessity, less literary and philosophical.

Flow

PETER KEOUGH — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:52:26 GMT

A somewhat wishy-washy exposé
Instead of goading us with bits and pieces of the doom-and-gloom picture, some documentarian should come up with a unified theory of why we’re all screwed.

Beautiful Losers (2008)

BETSY SHERMAN — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:50:16 GMT

An energized portrait of Alleged Gallery artists
A documentary, directed with Joshua Leonard, about an energized group portrait whose accessibility is abetted by the artists’ collectively keen sense of humor.