Sort list: by view date | alphabetically | by my rating
During the conference Xerxes sent a man of horseback to ascertain the strength of the Greek force and to observe what the troops were doing. He had heard before he... read review »
Sex is often a significant part of human relationships, so why shouldn't films reflect that and depict it more accurately? That's the question director Michael Winterbottom tries to answer with... read review »
Guest's latest mockumentary is probably the strongest film of the bunch that includes Best in Show, This is Spinal Tap, and Waiting for Guffman. A Mighty Wind tells the tale... read review »
It's been a few weeks since I saw the movie, but I still can't get the Rhubarb Pie song out of my head: But one little thing can revive a... read review »
What can I say about this film that hasn't been said (by me) before? Nothing.... read review »
Still good, but it doesn't hold up quite as well as some of the other films released that year.... read review »
In the 1960s, a young Al Gore had the good fortune to study under Roger Revelle at Harvard University. Revelle was one of the first scientists to claim that the... read review »
Anything but cool, I wanted my money back at the end of this one. Catching a John Travolta film is always a gamble and he was alright in this, playing... read review »
If it's wrong of me as a 29yo man to lust after Keira Knightly, I don't wanna be right.... read review »
I know I'm going to get mail about my five-star rating for this movie, but it cannot be helped. One summer when I was a kid, a friend and I... read review »
They don't make 'em like they used to. Sort of. According to Wikipedia, there are seven different versions of Blade Runner, from a 113-minute workprint version shown to test audiences... read review »
Wes Anderson's first film isn't as polished and elaborate as Rushmore or Royal Tenenbaums, and that's a good thing. It would be nice to see Anderson do another stripped-down film... read review »
I enjoy movies based on real-life events because of the post-movie Google/Wikipedia binge. You start at the Wikipedia page for the movie in question and work your way out from... read review »
Photograph of Sitting Bull by D.F. Barry, 1885.... read review »
One of the subjects of the film, David Friedman, is a birthday clown here in NYC and was profiled by Susan Orlean in the New Yorker a few years ago.... read review »
[Warning, might be some spoilers.] Cars was perfect. The problem is that it was a little too perfect. After seeing the movie on Friday, Meg and I came up with... read review »
A really fun movie, even better the second time around (I completely wasn't paying attention the first time around...I missed most of the abandonment, sense-of-belonging, father/son, etc. stuff in the... read review »
Bad editing, weak musical score, mediocre acting from good actors, no sense of humor, obvious plot "twists"...everything about this movie was phoned in. City by the Sea is a good... read review »
The trailer included on the DVD looks strikingly contemporary (pounding music, hundreds of cuts, very MTV) and must have been every bit as jarring** as the film to watch in... read review »
This isn't the most interesting or insightful documentary I've seen, but comedians can't help being funny.... read review »
First of all, where did this movie come from? When a reader recommended it to me last week, I'd never heard of it before...I thought he was talking about the... read review »
This movie could have been great, but it's just average. Skip to the end to see the Nazi figure skating thing. Now that's comedy gold!... read review »
Trolling around the Web for reviews of Gus Van Sant's rumination on Columbine, I came across this anecdote from Roger Ebert: Let me tell you a story. The day after... read review »
Elf would have absolutely sucked without Will Ferrell. Which is to say that it was a bad movie except that Will Ferrell is so delightful and funny as a 6'4"... read review »
It's only March but I feel safe in saying that this Charlie Kaufman/Michel Gondry collaboration is the most creative film of the year. What's even more remarkable than me making... read review »
The film, while entertaining -- very funny in parts and at times powerfully moving -- was ultimately disappointing for me. Whether Moore intended it to or not (not quite sure... read review »
This one's not holding up as well as one would think. The first time I saw it, in the theater in 1999, my reaction was "eh". The second time, on... read review »
Pixar has found what Disney lost in the early 90s...the something that makes animated movies actually watchable. I think it may have something to do with the lack of singing.... read review »
Garden State is probably one of those movies that gets better with a second viewing. I liked it alright the first time, enough that I'm willing to give it that... read review »
Boy, does hype work both ways. Gigli wasn't nearly as bad as the critics said it was. Mostly it was just an overreaction: with all the Bennifer buzz, this should... read review »
What struck me most about this film was not how mature and immature the girls were but how, as I said on the way out of the theatre, "our country... read review »
According to IFC, the word "fuck" and its derivatives was uttered 138 times during the course of the film.... read review »
Like many movies I enjoy, Good Bye, Lenin doesn't fit neatly into any particular genre. It's billed as a comedy, but could easily be considered a drama or even a... read review »
The legend of Groundhog Day is based on an old Scottish couplet: "If Candlemas Day is bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year." (source)... read review »
People, myself included, like to lament the lack of media choices in a production environment dominated by large multinational corporations, but the truth is that with a little access and... read review »
Aside from William Shatner playing himself in Free Enterprise, Neil Patrick Harris's small part in this movie is probably the greatest celebrity cameo in the history of film. I also... read review »
I really want to like the Harry Potter movies, but the potential just can't make up for their overall suckiness. Take Draco Malfoy. He's evil, we get it. But he's... read review »
Perhaps the highest praise I can offer for Helvetica comes courtesy of Meg, who was snickering on the way into the theater about going to see a movie about a... read review »
An absolutely beautiful film by the director of Raise the Red Lantern; I felt as though I were watching a lavishly produced ballet instead of a movie. If you're heading... read review »
God ruined I Am Legend with the most literal deus ex machina I've ever seen in a movie. The alternate ending makes a whole lot more sense. Then again, I... read review »
This is a movie that looks like a home run but ends up being a mishit single just over the shortstop into shallow left field. The concept is fantastic --... read review »
If you need a reminder of Harrison Ford's ability to play Indiana Jones after nearly 20 years on the shelf, it comes in the movie's opening scene. Indy is roughly... read review »
I don't know a whole lot about the history of pornography, but I'm guessing Inside Deep Throat overstates the importance of Deep Throat in the eventual acceptance of pornography into... read review »
See the original Norwegian film instead. And Pacino's schtick is getting a little old.... read review »
I just realized the guy's name was Vince. Invincible... Vince... Must have been a lot of LOLs in the conference room at Disney when they came up with that one.... read review »
Like Gigli, Jersey Girl suffered unfairly at the box office because of the whole Bennifer thing. I liked a couple of Kevin Smith's previous films but the poor acting always... read review »
Even though I wasn't that familiar with the whole Jim Jones/Jonestown story, I felt like they rushed through the early parts of the story...might have worked better at 2 hours... read review »
This film answers the question, "what if you took a guy who grew up watching kung-fu films and gave him $60 million to make his own kung-fu film?"... read review »
[Warning: there's some spoilers in here.] I don't really know what to make of Peter Jackson's King Kong. On the one hand, it's a fantastic movie, a huge blockbuster, chock... read review »
If you've already seen King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, I'd suggest reading Jason Scott's pair of posts about the movie. In The King of Wrong, Scott suggests that... read review »
Needed more HOTTT LEZBIAN ACTION!!!!... read review »
After getting an email from a reader last week (thx, david), I poked around a little and found the cult French film La Jetée on Google Video: The above contains... read review »
Die Hard 4 might be the perfect summer entertainment. I couldn't believe how much fun this movie was...we wanted to go again as soon as we got out.... read review »
Sorry Sofia, but seeing ROTK was the best time I've had at the movies in a long, long time. I can't say if this is the year's best film or... read review »
If only Peter Jackson could have found a way to make the LOTR book trilogy into four 2h45m movies instead of three. I just finished watching the Two Towers extended... read review »
Best film I've seen in the theatre in ages. Bill Murray is a comedic genius; the scene with the elliptical trainer had my eyes watering and my pants wetting.... read review »
Manufactured Landscapes opens with an eight-minute tracking shot of a gigantic factory in China, the camera moving past row after row of workers assembling widgets until you feel like the... read review »
This French film[1] is one of those movies that comes along once or twice a year and has Hollywood scratching its head as to why it's so popular and where... read review »
Surprisingly good. I've been told the books on which the film is based are meticulous in adhering to historical accuracy w.r.t. what it was like serving aboard a naval ship... read review »
McLibel is the story of two Londoners fighting a libel lawsuit that the McDonald's hamburger people brought against them in English court. Without access to legal aid and being fairly... read review »
We checked out the critically acclaimed Me and You and Everyone We Know (blog) on the opening weekend of the IFC Center here in NYC. The Center occupies the former... read review »
.gnimit dna tolp eht tuoba desufnoc era uoy esac ni redro lacigolonorhc ni mlif eht hctaw ot noitpo na sniatnoc DVD otnemeM ehT... read review »
Count me among those that scoffed when I heard a movie was being made of the Miami Vice TV series. The lesson: don't doubt Michael Mann. Not to mention Vice's... read review »
I like Tilda Swinton and all, but her performance in Michael Clayton receiving awards bugs me. She was the only prominent woman character in the movie and was the only... read review »
Finally settled in to watch Microcosmos last week after Tivoing it several weeks ago. James Berardinelli sums up how I felt about the film pretty well (4 1/2 stars at... read review »
After recommendations from a couple of readers, I checked out Millions a couple of weeks ago. The film was directed by Danny Boyle, who did Trainspotting and 28 Days Later,... read review »
A year and a half ago, we had a big discussion as to some possible holes in Minority Report's plot. I'm still disappointed in the "accuracy" of the future, especially... read review »
No Man's Land is a French film about the Bosnian War. Slight correction: it's a comedy about the Bosnian War. The film reminded me a bit of Dr. Strangelove with... read review »
I have a theory about this movie. Every time I tell my theory to someone, they cough uncomfortably and roll their eyes as soon as they're out of my sight.... read review »
While this movie needed more topless women in pools of K-Y Jelly and Will Ferrell on the screen, it was still a pretty funny update of Animal House.... read review »
There's nothing wrong with this movie. Robin Williams was good and they didn't do the typical serial killer thing with it. But the film as a whole seemed empty, forgettable,... read review »
Or as I now like to call it, Ocean's Ten. (Also, I like Don Cheadle a lot, but I just don't find him plausible as either his nutball former boxer... read review »
The film in general seemed thrown together, but Colin Farrell was surprisingly good.... read review »
If you'd asked me six months ago if I wanted to go see a Disney movie based on a Disneyland attraction, I probably would have punched you in the face.... read review »
The first paragraph of Dana Stevens' review of the third installment of Pirates of the Caribbean accurately describes my experience seeing the film: With Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's... read review »
As far as I'm concerned, Will Ferrell et al., Jon Stewart, or the Farrelly brothers have nothing on Jane Austen when it comes to humor (or would that be humour?).... read review »
You think you know what's going on in this (very**) indie film, you've caught yourself up, and then Primer just throws another curve ball at you. Even without the time... read review »
Pumping Iron reveals Arnold Schwarzenegger to be unusually suited for a career in politics...which makes for a fascinating documentary and which should scare the hell out of everyone currently living... read review »
Forget for a moment that this is just another Adam Sandler movie where he plays a dorky guy who gets angry at inappropriate moments and smashes things. Actually, scratch that...Sandler's... read review »
Action films tend not to age well. Raiders is a happy exception. Expertly paced, a trait not shared by many contemporary films, action or otherwise.... read review »
With its latest film, Pixar manages to achieve something that few other big Hollywood films do these days: a convincing reality. The body language & emotions of the characters, the... read review »
I wanted to like Rize a whole lot more than I did. The subject matter was fascinating, but the documentary itself was a little sloppy, especially near the end (e.g.... read review »
Now showing on HBO: On March 11, 1977, Roman Polanski was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with the following counts: furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, committing a... read review »
Pretty good, but a little heavy-handed in spots. Can Hollywood make a "serious" film without being heavy-handed? Also, before the show, Mark bounded up to the folks waiting in the... read review »
Maggie Gyllenhaal talks about her role in Secretary with Nerve in an interview called Spanking the Flunky.... read review »
Jackie Chan's schtick -- along with the man himself -- is getting old. I wanted to like this movie, but even Owen Wilson's presence, which actually made the movie worse,... read review »
For all the corny potshots that Dreamworks takes at Disney in Shrek 2, they're hard at work exploiting their own set of rapidly tiring cliches, an approach that eventually steered... read review »
In a recent NY Times article, A.O. Scott calls Sideways the most overrated film of the year. He allows it's "well written and flawlessly acted, funny and observant" but feels... read review »
When I telephoned to see if he wanted to go, a friend warned me off Sin City. But since both Metacritic and Ebert (who has tastes similar to mine) gave... read review »
Sky Captain reminded me of the first Star Wars movie, which ordinarily wouldn't be such a bad thing. However, the problem here is that Star Wars is almost thirty years... read review »
Somewhere in Spanglish, there's a damn good movie trying to get out. Not that I didn't like it; Cloris Leachman was hilarious and Adam Sandler's surreal performance simultaneously puzzled and... read review »
Somehow this 90-minute film isn't just about the National Spelling Bee and eight of its contestants, it also manages to fit in a great deal about what it means to... read review »
Considering how much I didn't like the first one, I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the sequel. Still a few cheesy bits (the laughing mask needs to... read review »
Skip this one and watch Requiem for a Dream instead...Spun just ripped off all of Aronofsky's camera techniques. I should have known not to go see something with Brittney Murphy... read review »
To be honest, I was a little disappointed in Standard Operating Procedure...but the fault is my own, not the film's. My expectation was that the film would start with the... read review »
I didn't realize how much the recent two Star Wars movies had sullied my once-fond memories of the first three films until I sat down to watch the original Star... read review »
I know it's kind of pointless to review some of the most re/viewed movies in history, but I'm working my way through the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD and... read review »
Warning: there are some major spoilers in here if you haven't seen it yet. As a life-long Star Wars fan (but not fanatic), I flat out loved Revenge of the... read review »
Finally got around to seeing this documentary and loved it...but wanted to love it even more. There's so much going these days in relation to America's relationship with food: the... read review »
There's a bit of a shout-out to citizen journalism in Superman Returns. Mid-movie, Daily Planet Editor in Chief White, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen look at some photos of Superman... read review »
In his review of Syriana, Ebert calls it a "hyperlink movie" [warning, some spoilers]: A recent blog item coined a term like "hyperlink movie" to describe plots like this. (I... read review »
The main character and narrator initially spent $218 making this film on his Mac and ended up with something that is remarkably sharp and almost professional, considering he used iMovie... read review »
T3 was better than any movie made specifically for paying Arnold Schwarzenegger a lot of money has a right to be. And Claire Danes was in it, so that's good... read review »
For a movie about a joke, The Aristocrats didn't have me laughing as hard as I thought it would. The problem lies with the joke itself...I didn't think it was... read review »
When I first saw the trailer for this movie several months ago, I thought it would suck for sure. Surprisingly, it did not. Not at all actually. DiCaprio continues to... read review »
This may be the worst movie I've ever watched all the way through. Highly stylized garbage. Not even Willem Dafoe as an openly gay FBI agent in drag could save... read review »
Having lived in San Francisco, I've walked across the Golden Gate Bridge and driven across it countless times. The bridge is a nearly perfect metaphor for what some people go... read review »
This is one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. If I had kids, I'd rather take them to see Scarface or Requiem for a Dream. Better: Lazy Sunday,... read review »