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Reviews: June 2007 Archives
"Vitus"
By Matt Singer on 06/28/2007
By Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Vitus," Sony Pictures Classics, 2007] The movies are filled with adolescent fantasies — sometimes, particularly during the summer, it seems the movies are only adolescent fantasies — but rarely with pre-pubescent ones, particularly those that do not involve animated talking animals. The reason, I suspect, is as much biological as anything else. It is much easier to remember yourself at age 18 than at age 12. The creators of the marvelous little film "Vitus" are as in touch with this inner tween as any filmmakers have ever been. If I'm as in touch with... MORE »
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"Vitus"
By Matt Singer on 06/28/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Vitus," Sony Pictures Classics, 2007] The movies are filled with adolescent fantasies — sometimes, particularly during the summer, it seems the movies are only adolescent fantasies — but rarely with pre-pubescent ones, particularly those that do not involve animated talking animals. The reason, I suspect, is as much biological as anything else. It is much easier to remember yourself at age 18 than at age 12. The creators of the marvelous little film "Vitus" are as in touch with this inner tween as any filmmakers have ever been. If I'm as in touch with... MORE »
"Sicko"
By Matt Singer on 06/25/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Sicko," Weinstein Company/Lionsgate, 2007] Provocative, entertaining, educational and utterly infuriating, Michael Moore's "Sicko" exposes a deeply ingrained illness in the American healthcare system. Symptoms include indifference to suffering and bloating of stockholders' wallets. According to Moore's frank diagnosis, the insurance companies care too much about their profits and not enough about their customers. One former insurance company staffer who had a crisis of conscience explains how things worked in her office. A denial rate was tabulated based on the number of claims each caseworker rejected. Whoever denied the most treatment (or, in the industry's... MORE »
"Sicko"
By Matt Singer on 06/25/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Sicko," Weinstein Company/Lionsgate, 2007] Provocative, entertaining, educational and utterly infuriating, Michael Moore's "Sicko" exposes a deeply ingrained illness in the American healthcare system. Symptoms include indifference to suffering and bloating of stockholders' wallets. According to Moore's frank diagnosis, the insurance companies care too much about their profits and not enough about their customers. One former insurance company staffer who had a crisis of conscience explains how things worked in her office. A denial rate was tabulated based on the number of claims each caseworker rejected. Whoever denied the most treatment (or, in the industry's... MORE »
"Manufactured Landscapes"
By Matt Singer on 06/18/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Manufactured Landscapes," Zeitgeist Films, 2007] Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky likes to capture scenes of "environment without nature," places that have been stripped of their beauty and resources by man. He prefers to shoot things in their endless middles, grand vistas with no beginnings or endings, no edges whatsoever. In his eye, his subjects, from decay, to waste, to humanity (or an industrialized approximation), stretch on seemingly to infinity. Documentarian Jennifer Baichwal filmed Burtynsky on a trip to China; that footage forms the basis for this feature-length documentary on the man and the drastic environmental... MORE »
"Manufactured Landscapes"
By Matt Singer on 06/18/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Manufactured Landscapes," Zeitgeist Films, 2007] Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky likes to capture scenes of "environment without nature," places that have been stripped of their beauty and resources by man. He prefers to shoot things in their endless middles, grand vistas with no beginnings or endings, no edges whatsoever. In his eye, his subjects, from decay, to waste, to humanity (or an industrialized approximation), stretch on seemingly to infinity. Documentarian Jennifer Baichwal filmed Burtynsky on a trip to China; that footage forms the basis for this feature-length documentary on the man and the drastic environmental... MORE »
"A Mighty Heart"
By Matt Singer on 06/18/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "A Mighty Heart," Paramount Vantage, 2007] "A Mighty Heart"'s opening titles alternate black words on a white background with white words on a black background. Black and white obviously imply opposites; their juxtaposition with white on black suggests something further. From either side of the divide, each faction sees itself as wholly in the right and the other as wholly in the wrong, not unlike how the United States views Islamic terrorists and vice versa. This is the sort of political landscape in which Michael Winterbottom's new film is set and in which Wall... MORE »
"A Mighty Heart"
By Matt Singer on 06/18/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "A Mighty Heart," Paramount Vantage, 2007] "A Mighty Heart"'s opening titles alternate black words on a white background with white words on a black background. Black and white obviously imply opposites; their juxtaposition with white on black suggests something further. From either side of the divide, each faction sees itself as wholly in the right and the other as wholly in the wrong, not unlike how the United States views Islamic terrorists and vice versa. This is the sort of political landscape in which Michael Winterbottom's new film is set and in which Wall... MORE »
"Fido"
By Matt Singer on 06/11/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Fido," Roadside Attractions, 2007] You really want to like "Fido," but boy does the movie makes it difficult. It presents a smart premise and then squanders it. It has a great cast but doesn't take advantage of their talents. It tries to send up Sirkian melodrama and the old "Lassie" TV show and winds up looking like a Sci Fi Channel movie: professional, competent with a clever genre hook, but lacking in style and artistry. Zombies always lend themselves to social or cultural metaphors (see this week's feature for further evidence). Co-writer/director Andrew Currie... MORE »
"Fido"
By Matt Singer on 06/11/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Fido," Roadside Attractions, 2007] You really want to like "Fido," but boy does the movie makes it difficult. It presents a smart premise and then squanders it. It has a great cast but doesn't take advantage of their talents. It tries to send up Sirkian melodrama and the old "Lassie" TV show and winds up looking like a Sci Fi Channel movie: professional, competent with a clever genre hook, but lacking in style and artistry. Zombies always lend themselves to social or cultural metaphors (see this week's feature for further evidence). Co-writer/director Andrew Currie... MORE »
"Lights in the Dusk"
By Matt Singer on 06/11/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsThe protagonists in thrillers are often referred to as coiled springs because they, like coiled springs, are always ready for trouble and are poised to strike at any moment. Koistinen, the lead of Aki Kaurismäki's new film "Lights in the Dusk," is like an old Slinky, played with so long it's bent out of shape and lost all elasticity. It's only good for sitting around and getting tossed around by cruel people, which is essentially what poor Koistinen does for 80 minutes. But then, "Lights in the Dusk" has all the requisite elements of a thriller, except the actual thrills.... MORE »
"Lights in the Dusk"
By Matt Singer on 06/11/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsThe protagonists in thrillers are often referred to as coiled springs because they, like coiled springs, are always ready for trouble and are poised to strike at any moment. Koistinen, the lead of Aki Kaurismäki's new film "Lights in the Dusk," is like an old Slinky, played with so long it's bent out of shape and lost all elasticity. It's only good for sitting around and getting tossed around by cruel people, which is essentially what poor Koistinen does for 80 minutes. But then, "Lights in the Dusk" has all the requisite elements of a thriller, except the actual thrills.... MORE »
"Ocean's Thirteen"
By Matt Singer on 06/04/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Ocean's Thirteen" Warner Bros., 2007] The number one and essentially only question asked of this writer upon the mention that he'd seen the new "Ocean's Thirteen" is "Is it better than 'Ocean's Twelve'?" Not "How is it?" or "How does it compare to the first one?" Just "Is it better than 'Ocean's Twelve'?" occasionally followed by "'Ocean's Twelve' stunk." Where does the animosity for "Ocean's Twelve" come from? Critics largely dismissed the 2004 sequel to the vastly more popular 2001 film "Ocean's Eleven" (itself a remake to the most famous movie from Frank Sinatra's... MORE »
"Ocean's Thirteen"
By Matt Singer on 06/04/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: "Ocean's Thirteen" Warner Bros., 2007] The number one and essentially only question asked of this writer upon the mention that he'd seen the new "Ocean's Thirteen" is "Is it better than 'Ocean's Twelve'?" Not "How is it?" or "How does it compare to the first one?" Just "Is it better than 'Ocean's Twelve'?" occasionally followed by "'Ocean's Twelve' stunk." Where does the animosity for "Ocean's Twelve" come from? Critics largely dismissed the 2004 sequel to the vastly more popular 2001 film "Ocean's Eleven" (itself a remake to the most famous movie from Frank Sinatra's... MORE »
"La Vie En Rose"
By Matt Singer on 06/04/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose," Picturehouse Entertainment, 2007] A confused and awkward movie gets in the way of its own remarkable lead performance in "La Vie en Rose," the story of famous French songbird Edith Piaf. Though writer/director Olivier Dahan claims in "La Vie"'s press notes that he "didn't want to make a biopic," he has done exactly that. Burdened by the overwhelming weight of its subject's endless tragedies, its running time and narrative are as bloated as its star performance, by Marion Cotillard, is refined to precision. Piaf was one of... MORE »
"La Vie En Rose"
By Matt Singer on 06/04/2007
Filed under: Reviews, ReviewsBy Matt Singer IFC News [Photo: Marion Cotillard in "La Vie en Rose," Picturehouse Entertainment, 2007] A confused and awkward movie gets in the way of its own remarkable lead performance in "La Vie en Rose," the story of famous French songbird Edith Piaf. Though writer/director Olivier Dahan claims in "La Vie"'s press notes that he "didn't want to make a biopic," he has done exactly that. Burdened by the overwhelming weight of its subject's endless tragedies, its running time and narrative are as bloated as its star performance, by Marion Cotillard, is refined to precision. Piaf was one of... MORE »
