Reviews

MEDIA REPORT: PREMIERE (OCT ’05)

The Magazine: Premiere The Pitch: America’s leading movie magazine. A consumer rag but tinted with a little of the insider stuff and industry editorial that flies a little over the heads of the readers of fluff like EW.The Cost: $3.99The Month: OctoberThe Publisher: Hachette Filipacchi MediaCover Story: Charlize Theron Main Interview: Steve Martin PRO: Tiny … Continue reading

REVIEW: EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED

There’s a lot that’s great about Everything is Illuminated, but one of the things that struck me is that this is the auspicious directorial debut for an actor. Liev Schreiber didn’t just direct this adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s critically acclaimed novel, he wrote the screenplay, yet this movie isn’t filled with actorly moments. In a … Continue reading

BOOK REVIEW: ARE MY BLINKERS SHOWING?

BUY IT AT AMAZON: CLICK HERE!PUBLISHER: Da Capo PressMSRP: $22.00PAGES: 162 [Note from George: Yes, CHUD’s delving into books. If this goes over well with you guys, expect to see more as time goes by.  I’m slogging through one at the moment as well! But for now, I’ll just shut up and let Mr. Arbuckle … Continue reading

REVIEW: TRANSPORTER 2

Transporter 2 may be the most gleefully unrealistic action film in the past decade. It also may be one of the most fun, something that tells me that audiences might have room in their hearts for both the new wave of postmodern gritty scaled down crowd pleasers as well as the carefree 1980’s style where … Continue reading

REVIEW: BAXTER, THE

I won’t deny that I like romantic comedies, especially when they’re done well (which is very rare in the last decade or two). But one of the things that bugged me in most of the romantic comedies I have seen is that there’s always a guy who has to lose out so the hero can … Continue reading

REVIEW: MEMORY OF A KILLER, THE

They warned us it would happen. They warned us that insidious Hollywood product would overcome indigenous films, sort of like rabbits being introduced to Australia. The Memory of a Killer, the latest import from Belgium, and winner of many Belgian awards and possibly waffles, is a perfect example of rote Hollywood fare being produced in … Continue reading

REVIEW: SERENITY

Firefly was a decent show. It was pretty neat, a space western with a sense of humor and the brain of Joss Whedon fueling it, something people weaned on Angel and Buffy are quite familiar with. It wasn’t great. In fact, it was his third best television show out of what I believe is a … Continue reading

REVIEW: BROTHERS GRIMM, THE

I really wish Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm was worse. Because then at least it would be a bad movie, and bad movies from great directors can often be as interesting, if not moreso, than good movies by bad directors. I would certainly rather spend time talking about the worst Kubrick film rather than the … Continue reading

REVIEW: SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE

Very early in Park Chanwook’s fantastic Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, there’s a scene where four boys are leaning their ears against a wall, masturbating furiously as they listen to a woman’s moans from the apartment next door. It’s very funny, but the camera slowly slides into the next apartment and we realize that the moans … Continue reading

REVIEW: 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, THE

Any movie that features Seth Rogen in a prominent role is, by definition, a good movie. Rogen was, of course, one of the cast members of Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, two of the failed TV shows that director Judd Apatow ran before making the move to the big screen. The 40 Year-Old Virgin marks … Continue reading