Life During Wartime: Criterion Collection
July 26, 2011
With his misanthropic comedy Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995), Todd Solondz announced himself as an independent filmmaker with a unique vision of American culture. His film, and subsequent efforts since, explore the trials and tribulations of people living...
The Crimson Petal & The White
June 28, 2011
“If you dare enter this world, you had better tread carefully,” warns Sugar in the shocking opening scene depicting the loveless immorality and seedy squalor of Victorian London’s Gin Lane. Brought up from infancy by the cold and mercenary Brothelkeeper...
Topsy-Turvy: Criterion Collection
March 31, 2011
You have to hand it to Mike Leigh, a filmmaker who has the confidence to make a $20 million period musical with limited commercial appeal. In 1999, he released Topsy-Turvy, a musical drama chronicling W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s creation of The...
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
September 19, 2005
With the commercial and critical success of Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) a sequel was inevitable. Helen Fielding, creator of the character, even wrote one but the problem becomes, how do you replicate the magic of the first film and yet make it different...
Bridget Jones’s Diary: Collector’s Edition
June 27, 2005
Before Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) was released in theatres, much was made of the casting of soft-spoken American (from Texas no less!), Renee Zellweger as the very British Bridget Jones. It was seen as almost heresy by fans of Helen Fielding’s very...
Trainspotting: Director’s Cut
February 19, 2003
When Trainspotting was released in 1996, it took the world by storm and caused a sensation not only in its homeland of England, but in the United States as well. Audiences couldn’t get enough of this gritty, funny tale of Scottish heroin addicts. The...
