A Good Year
March 7, 2007
File this film under “what the hell were they thinking?” Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott follow-up their successful collaboration in Gladiator (2000) with A Good Year (2006), a warm and fuzzy mid-life crisis dramedy (?!) that plays out like a sub par...
The Prestige
March 6, 2007
In the cinematic duel between two films about 19th century magicians, The Prestige (2006) certainly had the advantage over The Illusionist (2006) with big name stars, a large budget and a major studio backing it. The film was directed by Christopher Nolan...
Friends with Money
February 27, 2007
Nicole Holofcener writes some of the best, most realistic dialogue for women (and men) and how they interact with one another. This was evident with her strong debut film Walking and Talking (1996) and her work on the small screen with the episodes of...
Bicycle Thieves
February 26, 2007
Vittorio de Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948) is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of Italian Neorealism. Born out of World War II, this style of filmmaking took aspects of the documentary by portraying life with unflinching honesty and...
Coastlines
February 21, 2007
Victor Nunez may not be the most prolific filmmaker – he’s made five feature films in 28 years – but the ones that do exist are intimate portraits of characters in transition, often leaving a bad situation in the hopes of starting a new life. His...
Green for Danger
February 9, 2007
Based on Christianna Brand’s novel of the same name, Green for Danger (1946) is a first rate example of the classic English murder mystery with game-like rules including false leads, plot twists, adherence to certain decorum of the time period and clues...
Half Nelson
February 3, 2007
Despite the overwhelming of hype of Little Miss Sunshine, Half Nelson is 2006’s little, independent film-that-could, catapulted into the mainstream thanks to an Academy Award nomination for Ryan Gosling’s memorable performance as a high school history...
Running with Scissors
February 2, 2007
Running with Scissors (2006) is the latest entry in the dysfunctional, eccentric family genre alongside the likes of recent additions, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Family Stone (2005). It’s a genre that allows actors to grunge themselves down,...
Border Radio
January 16, 2007
In the 1990s, Allison Anders emerged as one of the most distinctive female filmmakers working in American independent cinema. Gas Food Lodging (1992) was the first film of hers that garnered significant attention both critically and commercially. For...
The Illusionist
January 9, 2007
The Illusionist and The Prestige were released in theatres in 2006 and featured 19th century magicians as their protagonists. However, the latter was backed and promoted by a major Hollywood studio while the former was a modestly budgeted independent...
