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Reviews: February 2007 Archives
"Black Snake Moan," "The Wayward Cloud"
By Matt Singer on 02/26/2007
By Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Black Snake Moan," Paramount Vantage, 2007] "Black Snake Moan" "Y'all ready for some shit?" a bald, bearded Samuel L. Jackson bellows near the climax of "Black Snake Moan." Brother, you ain't kidding. Not because Craig Brewer's latest film, the highly watchable, highly curious, highly unclothed "BSM," is shitty, but because, as Jackson's character, an old farmer, bluesman and self-styled faith healer named Lazarus, implies, there is some crazy crap going on in it. Whatever criticisms we may level against Brewer, there's no denying "Black Snake Moan" is unlike any other film made recently. You... MORE »
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"Black Snake Moan," "The Wayward Cloud"
By Matt Singer on 02/26/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Black Snake Moan," Paramount Vantage, 2007] "Black Snake Moan" "Y'all ready for some shit?" a bald, bearded Samuel L. Jackson bellows near the climax of "Black Snake Moan." Brother, you ain't kidding. Not because Craig Brewer's latest film, the highly watchable, highly curious, highly unclothed "BSM," is shitty, but because, as Jackson's character, an old farmer, bluesman and self-styled faith healer named Lazarus, implies, there is some crazy crap going on in it. Whatever criticisms we may level against Brewer, there's no denying "Black Snake Moan" is unlike any other film made recently. You... MORE »
"Gray Matters," "Glastonbury"
By Matt Singer on 02/19/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Gray Matters," Yari Film Group, 2007] Gray Matters There's something to the idea of a gay reimagining of the classic screwball comedy as a love triangle between a straight brother and his gay sister who both fall in love with the same woman. But "Gray Matters" takes that charming premise in charmless and unsophisticated directions. Writer/director Sue Kramer acknowledges in the press notes that she wanted to capture the "elegance and grace of [a] 1940s movie classic," but her film feels, sounds and looks more like an episode of "Mad About You" than like... MORE »
"Gray Matters," "Glastonbury"
By Matt Singer on 02/19/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Gray Matters," Yari Film Group, 2007] Gray Matters There's something to the idea of a gay reimagining of the classic screwball comedy as a love triangle between a straight brother and his gay sister who both fall in love with the same woman. But "Gray Matters" takes that charming premise in charmless and unsophisticated directions. Writer/director Sue Kramer acknowledges in the press notes that she wanted to capture the "elegance and grace of [a] 1940s movie classic," but her film feels, sounds and looks more like an episode of "Mad About You" than like... MORE »
"Days of Glory," "Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams"
By Matt Singer on 02/12/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Days of Glory," Weinstein Company, 2006] Days of Glory The French film "Days of Glory," about a group of heroic North Africans who overcome systematic racism and oppression to help liberate France during World War II, reminded me of the American film "Glory," about a group of heroic African Americans who overcome systematic racism and oppression to help the North during the Civil War. Curiously, "Days of Glory" is not in any way a translation of the film's original French title, "Indigènes," a derogatory term for the African soldiers in the French army. Maybe... MORE »
"Days of Glory," "Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams"
By Matt Singer on 02/12/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Days of Glory," Weinstein Company, 2006] Days of Glory The French film "Days of Glory," about a group of heroic North Africans who overcome systematic racism and oppression to help liberate France during World War II, reminded me of the American film "Glory," about a group of heroic African Americans who overcome systematic racism and oppression to help the North during the Civil War. Curiously, "Days of Glory" is not in any way a translation of the film's original French title, "Indigènes," a derogatory term for the African soldiers in the French army. Maybe... MORE »
