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Wallowing somewhere between comedy and drama, The Break-Up wastes the primary talents of its two stars by filling their scenes with uncomfortable, room-clearing brawls. Unfortunately, you don’t see enough (or any) of the good times to know why this relationship is even worth saving. The film suffers from both misleading marketing — this ain’t funny [...]

A sparse, engrossing dissection of Truman Capote’s self-infatuation during the researching and writing of In Cold Blood. Hauntingly filmed in cold, unforgiving shades and colors, the film slowly wraps a hand around your throat, squeezing tighter as the film progresses. Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant and somehow unrecognizable, making the chilling conclusion all the more [...]

I’m rarely angry after watching a movie, but two hours of contrived and pointless plot developments left me reaching for my pitchfork and looking for the nearest mob. I can only conclude that the producers have some serious dirt on the cast in order to make them work on such a vapid script (let’s have [...]

Note to Steve Martin: please keep writing screenplays. Or, please keep writing books and turning them into screenplays. Shopgirl charters familiar territory (the love triangle), but manages to take fresh and believable turns in subtle movements. Director Anand Tucker pays loving attention to the film’s atmosphere, creating a serene backdrop filled with beautiful cinematography and [...]

The potential this love-triangle film builds during the first forty-five minutes churns into plodding turmoil that goes on too long. While Woody Allen’s characters don’t take the easy way out, it sure feels as though he did; the film takes a startling and disturbing turn, but one that ultimately feels very familiar. Still, it’s great [...]

A moving, occasionally disturbing, and frequntly funny tale of a family grappling with both divorce and chronic intellectual snobbery. Writer/director Noah Baumbach’s script and the impeccable casting make the film a must-see. Jeff Daniels deserves the praise he’s received, and Laura Linney matches his performance, but the film zeroes in on the children’s struggle to [...]

I can hear my grad school screenwriting professor now: “too much voiceover means you don’t know how to tell your story.” Excessive narration suffocates this beautifully filmed movie about gun runners, which also suffers from middling character development; by the end of the film, you really don’t care about the characters. Eamonn Walker shines as [...]

Solidly constructed con/heist flick, though Spike Lee wobbles a bit walking a fine line between unveiling the mechanics of the con while leaving dubious character motivations up for discussion. Some of the characters felt a little undercooked (who is Jodie Foster supposed to be?). That aside, the film features a strong cast (especially the great [...]