The Hard Word is like most other heist films, only less so
By Robert Wilonsky,
July 17, 2003
The heist-film genre, especially in recent years, practices the most blatant brand of cinematic swindle. It's built on little more than pilfered... More>>
Mandy Moore's going to be around for a while--but that doesn't mean you should see her movies
By Bill Gallo,
July 17, 2003
So much for those crackpot theories about flighty teen-agers and their short attention spans. For four long years now the bland pop star Mandy... More>>
In the slick and handsome Pirates of the Caribbean, more is somehow less
By Gregory Weinkauf,
July 10, 2003
To prepare for reviewing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, I did the obvious research: I watched Yellowbeard again. Yes,... More>>
Swimming Pool is many things at once, all of them good
By Jean Oppenheimer,
July 10, 2003
French director Francois Ozon doesn't like to repeat himself. His last film, 8 Women, was a theatrical, rather campy piece of fluff starring la... More>>
The Legend of Suriyothai gives 16th-century Thailand an epic identity
By Gregory Weinkauf,
July 10, 2003
If, in keeping with current fads, you seek movies featuring females kicking a bunch of ass, your appetite will be tended (and cultivated) at the... More>>
Much like "hilarious Islamic comedy" or "sublime Affleck picture," the term "terrific second sequel" isn't bandied about too much. Name one. Took... More>>
ABC-TV has penciled into its 2004 schedule a series based on the 2001 film Legally Blonde, for which a pilot has been shot starring someone named... More>>
Brad Pitt gets animated in a movie that's not--not really
By Robert Wilonsky,
July 03, 2003
DreamWorks' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas pulls into port but a week before Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black... More>>
In Whale Rider, a Maori lass confronts her heritage and destiny
By Gregory Weinkauf,
July 03, 2003
Once in a while a film comes along that is as sound, smart, sweet and significant as can be, and Whale Rider is such a film. Fault the project on... More>>
Charlie's high-flying heroines kick ass, but not the sequel syndrome
By Luke Y. Thompson,
June 26, 2003
As the Columbia Pictures logo looms large in frame till its torch becomes the focal point, we find ourselves in what appears to be a tent full of... More>>
The Pang brothers want to feed your horror hunger, but some of their smorgasbord's stale
By Luke Y. Thompson,
June 26, 2003
There is one truly striking shock in the new made-in-Hong-Kong-by-Thai-directors horror flick The Eye, but unfortunately, directors Danny and... More>>
Stripped of pretention, Danny Boyle gets his mojo back in the zombie flick 28 Days Later
By Luke Y. Thompson,
June 26, 2003
It's the end of the world as we know it, and it's all PETA's fault.
Oh, we humored those wacky vegan extremists when they threw paint at rich... More>>
In Whale Rider, a Maori lass confronts her heritage and destiny
By Gregory Weinkauf,
June 26, 2003
Once in a while a film comes along that is as sound, smart, sweet and significant as can be, and Whale Rider is such a film. Fault the project on... More>>
Ang Lee's Hulk will eat up summer cash, but it's still an uneasy mix of brains and brawn
By Bill Gallo,
June 19, 2003
He's 12 feet tall. He's ripped. He's quick as a tiger and fierce as a dragon. Lit by his fury to a dull green glow, the guy is sheer, boundless... More>>
Ron Shelton tries to mock the L.A. cop buddy movie
By Luke Y. Thompson,
June 12, 2003
Having seemingly exhausted all permutations of the sports comedy formula (Bull Durham, White Men Can't Jump, et al.), Ron Shelton has now moved... More>>
Ken Loach's look at working-class adolescents pulls no punches
By Bill Gallo,
June 12, 2003
The hero of Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen is an isolated teen-ager mired in a gray Scottish slum with only a vague dream of family life to sustain... More>>
The high-speed sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious delivers more noise and more flash
By Bill Gallo,
June 05, 2003
Whenever the stars of the adolescent street-racing fantasy 2 Fast 2 Furious were feeling balky or temperamental on the set, as movie stars are... More>>
Lawless Heart is an alert look at human bounds and the emotions that break them
By Bill Gallo,
June 05, 2003
Credit the quality of a superior educational system. Or the native wit of two quick thinkers with a gift for understanding the human animal. Or... More>>
