Tweet Once (2006; dir. John Carney): Magic.

Tweet UPDATE: For my take on the new Fame (2009), please see this post: FILM: Fame (1980), Fame (2009), and Fame! I’ve been devouring movies lately, at home and in the theater, so I haven’t been posting much — I’m too overwhelmed. I’m going to give quick reviews of all that I’ve seen, old and new. [...]

Tweet Love Songs (2007; Dir. Christophe Honore) – Though it’s been in New York for a while, the movie just came to Philly. Movie musicals are hit or miss, and this one is a hit, albeit with a few misses to start. A French story of romantic entanglements (some obvious, some unrequited and unspoken), Les [...]

Tweet Japan Japan (2007) – I’m a nice guy, so I’m not going to beat up on a low-budget movie from overseas. Japan Japan is a bit of a mess, though. A NewFest program coordinator introduced the movie as “experimental.” That it is. The movie is filmed with what seems like various cameras of various [...]

Tweet “Greek” – I’m writing about a TV show this time and not a movie because I’ve just watched a completely-unplanned 5-hour marathon of “Greek.” And I have to say, even though I hated fraternities and sororities in undergrad, I love this show! What drew me in was obviously the black gay character, Calvin Owens, [...]

Tweet Sex and the City: (Warning: some spoilers in this review) I liked the movie. It met my somewhat high expectations. But Sex and the City is the nightmare of men and Marxist-feminists alike, and that’s quite a feat. To understand why it makes men and women shriek, the answer lies not so much in [...]

Tweet The FallIt’s true, the movie’s kind of boring. Why? Despite a brilliantly funny child actress playing an injured girl in a infirmary, The Fall simply lacks any forward motion and conviction. We don’t know where it’s going and we don’t care. Lee Pace — however much I adore him — is not a strong [...]

Tweet I’ve seen a lot of movies lately! I’ll roll them out slowly. Here’s two Baghead (okay I lied. Saw this weeks ago at Philly Film Fest, but it’s coming out in theaters) Interesting. It’s an interesting film. It does in fact bend genres: mumblecore-like realism, horror, comedy. Problem is, it’s not very memorable. You [...]

Tweet Mister Lonely – Loved it, although I can’t say watching it was always a pleasant experience. The film has a sadness to it, and part of it came with my unease with celebrity impersonators. I cannot imagine living through someone else — but the film has a good way of addressing that unease. Harmony [...]

Tweet The Visitor: Subtle yet powerful, the perfect post-9/11 movie about New York and America. The storyline unfolds gradually and quietly. A couple — both Muslims, one Senegalese, one Syrian — accidentally get caught living in the apartment of a bored, lonely economics professor (international economics, no less!).  The movie is at its best when [...]