Email Author Melissa Levine

2006 Stories by Melissa Levine

• Letter-Box Edition

  published June 22, 2006

  It may not be an "iconic manifestation of civilization," as documentarian Ken Burns proclaims, but The New York Times crossword puzzle is... More >>

• Smite Me

  published June 1, 2006

  About 10 minutes into Michael Cuesta's 12 and Holding, the following thought came to mind: Not afraid to put children in harm's... More >>

• Head Over Heels

  published May 25, 2006

  There are lots of ways to grow up. The method offered by Somersault is to do something awful and then flee from it. This dreamy,... More >>

• Way Down

  in the Hole

  published April 20, 2006

  Countless are the creative souls who struggled with mental illness, as are the novels and films dedicated to them. Again and again, we've... More >>

• Lovely, Not Amazing

  published April 13, 2006

  In Nicole Holofcener's first feature, 1996's Walking and Talking, the writer-director warmly portrayed an adult female friendship, nudging... More >>

• Naomi Then and Now

  published April 13, 2006

  Ellie Parker (Strand) This extremely raw portrait of an actress trying -- and failing -- to make it in Hollywood showcases... More >>

• Misery Train

  published April 6, 2006

  At the opening of Lonesome Jim, a terrific new film directed by Steve Buscemi, a country song plays behind scenes of small-town... More >>

• Biblical Contortions

  published March 30, 2006

  If you're craving an antidote to the sanctity of repressed gay cowboys, you could do worse than Adam & Steve. This good-natured... More >>

• Nowhere Man

  published March 23, 2006

  The brain is a beguiling thing. One evening, you're talking to a friend on the phone. Sometime later, you find yourself in a subway car, passing... More >>

• Suspended Sentence

  published March 23, 2006

  As scientific advances have made forensic DNA matching a reality, a new field has emerged in criminal justice: exoneration. In cases where... More >>

• Jingle Hell

  published March 23, 2006

  It can't be easy making films about war. It's so inherently dramatic that, as a setting for art, it's overdetermined; it drips with meaning even... More >>

• Dreams Deferred

  published March 16, 2006

  The Boys of Baraka, a fine documentary about a group of inner-city, at-risk boys who travel to Kenya to attend a special school,... More >>

• Free for All

  published March 9, 2006

  If you plan to see The Libertine, an artful and brooding period piece about a scandalously debauched earl of the English... More >>

• Because of Dixie Win

  published March 9, 2006

  If the Confederacy had won the Civil War, would blacks still be enslaved? Would women vote? Would the United States have colluded with Hitler--or... More >>

• Bull@$#*%

  published March 9, 2006

  Here's the first thing that's audacious about What the Bleep!?: Down the Rabbit Hole, the second installment in what has become a... More >>

• Whoa, Nelly

  published March 2, 2006

  The thing that's so difficult about Cowboy del Amor--a richly layered documentary by Israeli filmmaker Michèle Ohayon--is the... More >>

• The Great Cash-In

  published March 2, 2006

  Walk the Line (Fox) No matter what a junkie does with his spare time -- say, redefine country music, or forge one of history's... More >>

• Take This Woman

  published February 2, 2006

  It happens so often these days. A comedy opens with clever jokes, endearing characters, and an enjoyably brisk pace, all of which put you at ease.... More >>

• Valley of the Dolls

  published January 26, 2006

  The big news about Bubble, the new film by director Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, Traffic), is the way it's... More >>

• Now Dirtier Than Ever

  published January 26, 2006

  The Aristocrats (Lions Gate) The single joke around which Paul Provenza's documentary revolves has a standard beginning and ending,... More >>