Monthly Archives: January 2009
DVD reviews: ‘The Express’ scores, ‘Max Payne’ plotzes, ‘City of Ember’ sails, `Saw V’ sickens
Touchdown! Just in time for the Super Bowl, “The Express” charges onto the field, inspiration under its arm, to remind us about Ernie Davis, the Syracuse University running back who became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Influenced … Continue reading
Win Oscar, Live Longer
Better than gold A snippet in the Jan. 11 edition of Parade mentions a “controversial study” that claims Academy Award winners lived 3.9 years longer than performers who don’t get that recognition. Then it trots out a more recent analysis … Continue reading
DVD reviews: “Appaloosa,” “Mirrors,” “Swing Vote”
Needs some giddyup There must have been a lot of moseying in the Old West. According to “Appaloosa,” a Western based on a Robert B. Parker novel, cowboys sat around gathering dust, occasionally spouting short sentences and, less frequently, firing … Continue reading
Hitchcockian “Transsiberian” reviewed
Suspense on a train in the snow with murder “Hitchcockian” is an odd word, when you think about it. OK, that’s over. Others have compared “Transsiberian” to one of Hitchcock’s suspense thrillers, more for its tone, I imagine, than for … Continue reading
DVD reviews: “Hancock,” “Meet Dave,” “Fred Claus”
Had high hopes for “Hancock,†the Will Smith popcorn movie about a curmudgeonly superhero with a drinking problem. So much for expectations. “Hancock: The Two-Disc Unrated Special Edition†gives you a choice of watching the theatrical version or the unrated … Continue reading
Baseball movies on deck
Like other sports, when it comes to baseball there’s the reality and there’s the myth. The reality covers the game, the players, the business, the scandals, other history and such. The myth sees players as larger-than-life celebrities, with plays and … Continue reading
Action: Relationship novel laced with movie tidbits
I probably won’t finish “Don’t Make a Scene,” a fairly recent novel by Valerie Block, author of “Was It Something I Said?” It’s just not talking to me now, but it may talk to you, given the subject matter: relationships … Continue reading
“Gone Baby Gone” & Mental Popcorn & Sex
Hard to say if “Gone Baby Gone” will have legs. Ben Affleck’s impressive directorial debut has smarts. Like “Mystic River,” the film is based on a Dennis Lehane novel; meaning, you can expect a complex story with well-crafted characters and … Continue reading
DVD reviews: ‘I’m Not There,’ ‘Over Her Dead Body,’ ‘Romance Collection,’ ‘Teeth’
Another reason to worship at the altar of Cate Blanchett: She nails Bob Dylan with her Oscar-nominated portrayal of the icon in “I’m Not There,†Todd Haynes’ impressionistic portrait of the artist as a self-indulgent enigma. In all, Haynes casts … Continue reading