Email Author Jim Ridley

Awards

• 2006 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published March 24, 2005

  "Blown Opportunity"

• 2006 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published May 19, 2005

  "Lost in the Stars"

• 2006 - AAN AltWeekly Awards, published September 1, 2005

  "Pulling Punch Lines"

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2007 Stories by Jim Ridley

• Film 2007: Hit List

  published December 27, 2007

  It’s that time of year again. Our six critics don’t always (or often) agree, but we’ve combined their top 10 lists (allowing for... More >>

• Film 2007: Missed Opportunities

  published December 27, 2007

  How tough is it for a movie to find its audience above the din of blockbuster marketing and beyond the clogged distribution pipeline? Tsai... More >>

• Hock the Line

  published December 20, 2007

  As an actor, John C. Reilly is the opposite of Mr. Cellophane. He doesn't disappear into a role; roles disappear onto him—the... More >>

• Margot Shows Family's Prickly Side

  published December 6, 2007

  There are comedies of discomfort, and then there's Margot at the Wedding, Noah Baumbach's scalding follow-up to The Squid and... More >>

• True Love

  published November 15, 2007

  The Princess Bride: 20th Anniversary Edition (MGM) As far as anniversary-edition DVDs go, The Princess Bride is... More >>

• The Boys Are Back

  published October 25, 2007

  The Boys Are Back Directors Series: Stanley Kubrick (Warner Bros.) Most of the old Kubrick DVDs were crap: full-screen... More >>

• Genuine Fake Robots

  published October 18, 2007

  Transformers (DreamWorks) No doubt, Michael Bay's slam-bang action-figure commercial doesn't play nearly as well on TV, no... More >>

• Afflecks Come Through with Gone Baby Gone

  published October 18, 2007

  "Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid," Raymond Chandler wrote in 1950's "The... More >>

• You'll Laugh Dying

  published October 11, 2007

  You Kill Me (Genius) Funny thing seeing Philip Baker Hall in You Kill Me, as he's already played the role of a drunken... More >>

• Fist Things First

  published October 4, 2007

  Caligula: Imperial Edition (Penthouse) (Spoiler alert: Fisting!) One day back in the swingin' '70s, somebody mentioned how... More >>

• John Digweed

  published September 6, 2007

  Even if you don't know acid house from Hugh Laurie, you've probably heard of U.K. DJ Digweed, who as half of Sasha & Digweed and as a solo... More >>

• After Sunrise

  published August 23, 2007

  Back in 1995, Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise gave flesh to a Yank's fantasy of worldly European womanhood: Julie Delpy's Celine, a... More >>

• Keep the Meter Running

  published August 16, 2007

  Taxi Driver: Collector's Edition (Sony) "Listen, you fuckers, you screwheads: Here is a man who would not take it... More >>

• Maybe Another Teen Movie

  published August 16, 2007

  It seems fitting that a movie about debate competition should produce ambivalent feelings. As a master debater says early on in Jeffrey Blitz's... More >>

• Celebrity Justice

  published July 26, 2007

  Steve Buscemi the director is nothing like the art-damaged auteur Buscemi the actor played in 1995's Living in Oblivion. No dry ice and... More >>

• Chow Time Again

  published July 26, 2007

  Hard Boiled: Two-Disc Ultimate Edition (Weinstein) The Criterion version of John Woo's masterpiece, about two cops (the... More >>

• Short Cuts

  published July 5, 2007

  Eagle vs. Shark Written and directed by Taika Waititi. Starring Loren Horsley, Jemaine Clement and Craig Hall. Opens... More >>

• When He Was Small

  published July 5, 2007

  Chancer: Series 1 (Acorn) Available solely in the U.K. for years, this is a small-time release featuring a modestly big-time... More >>

• Crackers & Cheese

  published June 28, 2007

  Black Snake Moan (Paramount) The best place to see Craig Brewer's mash-up of blood-boiling exploitation elements would be a... More >>

• Maybe Too Hard

  published June 21, 2007

  Die Hard Collection (Fox) You don't need to watch the included preview of Live Free or Die Hard to know it's going to... More >>

• Sagebrush & Spaghetti

  published June 7, 2007

  The Sergio Leone Anthology (MGM) Sergio Leone made westerns like Wagner made ditties. This essential boxed set--four films with... More >>

• What Garry Didn't Know

  published April 19, 2007

  Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders Show (Sony) The greatest boxed set ever--not so much for the made-up irritainment as for... More >>

• Franchise Player

  published March 15, 2007

  Casino Royale (Sony) James Bond gets a stirring shake-up in the best--yeah, Goldfinger fans, the best--film in... More >>

• Chick Flick

  published February 22, 2007

  Shut Up & Sing (Genius) It's a shame that one of 2006's best documentaries is being released without extras; it would have been... More >>

• Old Man's Still Got It

  published January 25, 2007

  Maurice Russell, a septuagenarian actor facing the end of his career and life, gazes raptly at the present that fate has given him: the company of... More >>