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>>
Who would have thought--a compelling film about spelling!
By Luke Y. Thompson,
May 29, 2003
If you're reading this paper, chances are you're more literate than the average American. If you're reading the film reviews, it's also likely... More>>
This new Italian Job, a remake better than the original, is a steal
By Robert Wilonsky,
May 29, 2003
Another week, another remake--summer, that season of air-conditioned originality, must be upon us. Only unlike The In-Laws, which creaked into... More>>
Parents, take heart: Finding Nemo is better than the average Disney 'toon
By Bill Gallo,
May 29, 2003
If grown-ups were meant to watch Walt Disney cartoons, God would have kept us all in the third grade for two or three decades. Still, somebody... More>>
Many moviegoers see hyperactive Jim Carrey as the second coming of Jerry Lewis, but no one's ever mistaken him for God. Clearly, he'd like to... More>>
The In-Laws is bigger and broader than the original, but not better
By Robert Wilonsky,
May 22, 2003
Occasionally I can be convinced it's the singer, not the song. I've no love for Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time," but can't get enough of... More>>
Keanu Reeves and the Wachowski brothers deliver a fresh helping of May tricks
By Andy Klein,
May 15, 2003
Talk about tough acts to follow: The original 1999 Matrix, a critical and commercial smash, came almost as a revelation out of nowhere--if the... More>>
Ross Hunter, dead seven years, hasn't been this alive at the movies since the 1950s and '60s, when he produced some of the weepiest melodramas... More>>
Forthcoming is an impressive collection of expensive junk amassed for a movie The New York Times predicted four years ago had "big prospects as a... More>>
Billy Bob comes close to nothingness in the curiously titled Levity
By Andy Klein,
May 15, 2003
Nobody can convey more, doing nothing, than Billy Bob Thornton. His minimalist style is appropriate for the ironically named Levity, but what is... More>>
This time it's the woman who manipulates the man in Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things
By Luke Y. Thompson,
May 08, 2003
Neil LaBute is back to his old self, and the cinematic world is a better place for it.
Honestly, what was he thinking when he made Possession?... More>>
Eddie Murphy plays Daddy, once more, and it becomes him
By Robert Wilonsky,
May 08, 2003
Long ago Eddie Murphy had grown tired of Eddie Murphy parts: the fast-talking high-jiver, the preening put-on. Even before he began parodying... More>>
Raising Victor Vargas draws remarkable performances from an untrained cast
By Jean Oppenheimer,
May 01, 2003
It is rare to find a film that defies one's expectations as sweetly and satisfyingly as this coming-of-age comedy-drama from first-time feature... More>>
