The Ghost Writer (2010)–**** Quickie Review A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a Blair-esque former British prime minister discovers an international conspiracy behind the politician’s career. Atmospheric and genuinely suspensful, this tense, focused geopolitical thriller from Roman Polanski beats with the same heart of darkness that made his Chinatown a classic. Thanks to a subtle but [...]
Archive for the ‘Quickie’ Category
CIFF 34 Quickies: HANNAH FREE, FALKENBERG FAREWELL, TOE TO TOE
Hannah Free (2009)–** An aging lesbian lays in a nursing home just rooms away from the comatose partner she is barred from seeing. Even with its topical subject, this softball romance never reaches a dramatic peak. What could have been a gay The Notebook is instead a cumbersome, often boring, theater adaptation that is actually [...]
Quickie: CRAZY HEART
Crazy Heart (2009) — ***1/2 Quickie Review A washed-up, alcoholic country singer named Bad Blake tries to get his life and career in order after meeting an upstart music writer in Santa Fe. With the humble lyricism of a great country song, this understated drama from first-time director Scott Cooper aches with the spirit of [...]
Quickie: THE LOVELY BONES
The Lovely Bones (2009)–** Quickie Review A young girl who is brutally murdered remains in between heaven and earth, watching her family, her friends and even her murderer endure the aftermath of her violent death. As tepid as it is inauthentic, the Peter Jackson picture never finds a balance between fantasy, horror and reality. There [...]
Quickie: NINE
Nine (2009)–1/2* Quickie Review In 1965, Italian film director Guido Contini struggles to make his latest film while grappling with the women in his life. Based on the Broadway show that was inspired by Fellini’s 8 1/2, this movie musical is an affront to fans of cinema and musicals alike. In trying to capture the manic spirit of [...]
Quickie: The Road
The Road (2009)–** Quickie Review A father and son struggle to survive in an ashen wasteland left after an unknown cataclysm destroys the world as we know it. Director John Hillcoat treats this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s masterpiece like a Harry Potter book, focusing on the bleak landscape and atmospheric details rather than trying to [...]
Quickie: Law Abiding Citizen
Law Abiding Citizen–**1/2 Quickie Review A man whose family was slaughtered during a home invasion goes after the justice system that allowed the murderer to get off with a slap on the wrist for testifying against his accomplice. What this action-thriller lacks in polished writing, it comes close to making up for in pure filmmaking. [...]
Quickie: Julie & Julia
Julie & Julia (2009)–** Quickie Review Julia Child changes the world by introducing French cuisine to servantless American cooks. Years later, Julie Powell attempts to change her life by cooking her way through Child’s cookbook. Told using parallel narratives, this Nora Ephron dramedy is half great and half miserable. Meryl Streep inhabits Child’s skin, giving [...]
Quickie: Adam
Adam (2009)–*** Quickie Review A man with Asperger’s, left mostly alone after his father dies, develops a relationship with a woman who moves into his building. A touching story about two people who find each other when they need each other, this dramedy avoids the sentimentality that we’ve come to expect from similar (though not [...]
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