Thursday, March 31st, 2011
Paul
In the olden days, comedy troupes like the Marx Brothers didn’t have the luxury of sticking with their favorite directors; they got whoever the studio threw at them. But the writing-and-acting team of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg have had a kickass collaboration with Edgar Wright that’s resulted in two exhilarating, gut-bursting features: the [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by elliott
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Cedar Rapids
Depending on your age, and other demographic factors, Cedar Rapids is like seeing your parents’ friends—or friends’ parents—in their element. Joan Ostrowski-Fox (Anne Heche), Dean Ziegler (John C. Reilly), and Ronald Wilkes (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) are workaday insurance agents from the Upper Midwest who want to make the most of an industry convention in Iowa; [...]
5 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by elliott
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
The Messenger
Watching The Messenger, I felt as if I was moderating a group-therapy circle—a support group for veterans whose lives have been torn asunder. There seems to be something movie-ish withheld from this movie; the plot is scaled-back and purposeful: It has ends to meet. But its self-abnegation seems like a sacrifice to higher values; the [...]
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Thursday, August 27th, 2009
Inglourious Basterds
Quinten Tarentino’s Inglourious Basterds is about as accurate to the Second World War as Kill Bill was to the present day, and while watching the movie I bought the conceit because this is Tarantino territory, and I was entertained. But, in retrospect, his revisionist history is offensive not so much because it’s dreadfully arrogant of [...]
11 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by elliott
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
Observe and Report
Last week, I asked my friend how he planned to open a stand-up routine he was preparing for. He hopped to his feet in the bustling public area we were in and shouted, “A guy walked into the Civic Association in Binghamton and shot 13 people!” All too often, blunt insensitivity passes for “dark comedy.” [...]