Everybody's Got One: The Home of Tim Grierson

Sundance 2012: '28 Hotel Rooms' review

2012-01-28T08:20:00.000-08:00

You would assume that the strongest offerings at Sundance would be in the competition sections, but for my money the two best movies I've seen this festival have been in NEXT, which spotlights daring/quirky low-budget fare. (Last year, Bellflower premiered in NEXT.) This year NEXT featured the touching and funny Sleepwalk With Me, but it also played host to the magnificent Compliance and a terrific film I saw yesterday: 28 Hotel Rooms. The premise couldn't be simpler -- a Seattle woman and a New York man carry out a clandestine affair over the span of 28 separate encounters in different hotels -- but the film burrows deeper into the nature of commitment and passion than just about any other recent love story I can recall. I was entranced, as I hope comes across in my Screen International review.

Sundance 2012: 'Mosquita y Mari' review

2012-01-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

Two teen Chicana girls share a close personal bond in Mosquita y Mari, but does that mean they're in love with one another? That's the question at the center of this modest little drama, and the film's strongest attribute is that it never says for sure -- after all, the two girls don't even know the answer to that one. My review is up at Screen International.

The Kills - "Future Starts Slow"

2012-01-27T06:58:00.000-08:00

One of the fun side effects of seeing so many movies at Sundance is getting a chance to hear a particularly great song in a new setting. For example, "Dance Yrself Clean" I've always loved, but the way the LCD Soundsystem track is used in Simon Killer is simply brilliant. Then there's the Kills, who are all over the soundtrack to Black Rock. "Future Starts Slow" is especially wonderful in the context of that horror/thriller. So turn it up.

Sundance 2012: 'For Ellen' review

2012-01-26T23:08:00.000-08:00

For Ellen is the third film from writer-director So Yong Kim, and by this point in her career, you should know what to expect from her movies. A gradual pace, an outsider main character, not a lot of plot.... If you get on her wavelength, her movies have such flow to them. Her first, In Between Days, showed a lot of promise, but I wasn't as impressed with her follow-up, Treeless Mountain. For Ellen might be her strongest -- to my mind, anyway. It stars Paul Dano as a would-be rocker who's about to reunite with the young daughter he's never known. My Screen International review is here.

Sundance 2012: 'The Words' review

2012-01-26T07:25:00.000-08:00

I think I'm really starting to turn the corner on Bradley Cooper. Where once he did nothing for me, now I'm enjoying his onscreen presence, whether it was in last year's Limitless or in his new film, The Words. The literary thriller got picked up by CBS Films here at Sundance, and it's the sort of airport-novel flick that ought to play well with audiences. The Words is all about its story-within-a-story cleverness, and it's executed in a fun, escapist way. My review is up at Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'Gypsy Davy' review

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't had a chance to see any documentaries yet at this year's Sundance -- I've been focusing on features for the first half of the festival -- but yesterday I saw Gypsy Davy, a rather touching film from director Rachel Leah Jones. Her film is about Flamenco guitarist David Serva, a renowned musician (and inspiration for the Counting Crows' "Mr. Jones") who has had five children, each with a different woman. Jones is one of those children, and her film explores those women and children, creating a portrait of the artist that gets away from the typical talking-heads/career-highlights bio treatment. This is a very quiet, intimate, personal movie, but I was moved by it. I sang the film's praises over at Screen International. And here's a little taste of Serva's musicianship....

Sundance 2012: 'Goats' review

2012-01-25T09:32:00.000-08:00

Generally speaking, Sundance's Premieres section is where they spotlight indie-ish films that will eventually get into theaters. They're not necessarily the most artistically adventurous films, but they're probably the most commercial offerings at the fest. And in the case of something like Goats, it means sitting through a mediocre movie that features stars you're pretty sure must have better things to do with their time. I don't mean to pick on Goats -- a so-so coming-of-age tale with David Duchovny and Vera Farmiga -- but it's indicative of a type of Sundance film I have little patience for. I reviewed the film for Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'Black Rock' review

2012-01-24T11:15:00.000-08:00

Director Katie Aselton's first film was The Freebie, about a married couple who decide that since their sex life is in a rut they're going to allow each other to have a one-night-only fling with someone else. Some might find that premise shocking, but it's got nothing on her follow-up film. Black Rock tells the scary story of three female friends (Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell, Aselton) who go on vacation together to a remote island ... and, well, bad stuff happens. I reviewed the thriller for Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie' review

2012-01-24T10:45:00.001-08:00

Don't have the mistaken impression that all the movies at Sundance are stunning works of independent and world cinema. Some of them are just terrible. Like Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie. Seriously, folks, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim should never be allowed to make anything longer than two minutes again. I caught the film at Park City, but it's going to be hitting VOD on Friday. My sincere hope is that my Screen International review sufficiently conveys how much I loathed this film.

Sundance 2012: 'LUV' review

2012-01-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

LUV is a film I wanted to like, but I just couldn't get all the way there. It tells the story of an 11-year-old African-American (Michael Rainey Jr.) who reunites with his Uncle Vincent (Common), who's just out of prison. Set in Baltimore, it's part coming-of-age tale, part crime drama, part sociocultural study. The sociocultural study element is the movie's strongest selling point: Unfortunately, the story itself is just too derivative. I reviewed LUV for Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'For a Good Time, Call...' review

2012-01-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

For a Good Time, Call... looks like the sort of movie that when it hits theaters will be described as "this year's Bridesmaids." It's not because it's about a maid of honor -- it's just that the movie features two female characters who talk about dildos and start their own phone-sex line. The comedy, which premiered last night at Sundance, is extremely uneven, but its stars (Ari Graynor and Lauren Anne Miller) are a pretty fun pair. My review just went up over at Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'Smashed' review

2012-01-23T11:41:00.000-08:00

Smashed is hardly a momentous or revelatory movie, but I wish more American indies were like it. Small-scaled but emotionally honest, it tells the story of a young married couple in Los Angeles (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul) who clearly have a drinking problem. But because they're happy and in love, it's all good, right? Maybe, maybe not. I reviewed Smashed for Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'Compliance' review

2012-01-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

I had been impressed with Craig Zobel's first film, Great World of Sound, but nothing prepared me for what he would do next. That would be Compliance, which debuted Saturday at Sundance and caused quite a stir in the audience. I can understand the volcanic, angry response, but I think it's completely misguided. I reviewed the film for Screen International, and I worked hard to avoid the word "masterpiece," although I think the movie gets pretty darn close to earning that designation.

Sundance 2012: 'Lay the Favorite' review

2012-01-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

Rebecca Hall is a good actress, but she should never, ever play a ditzy Florida stripper who moves to Vegas and ends up getting sucked into the world of professional sports gambling. Oops, too late, she already did. The film is Lay the Favorite, which is directed by Stephen Frears and also stars Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It's a comedy that sees its milieu as one filled with adorable caricatures. It's not a pretty sight. My review is up at Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'Wrong' review

2012-01-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

Wrong is the new film from Quentin Dupieux, who last made the killer-tire horror-comedy Rubber. Wrong isn't a genre send-up like Rubber was, though: This time around, Dupieux is going for an off-kilter, absurdist comedy in which people still work in offices even after they're fired and lonely losers seek out their lost dogs while debating the merits of a new pizza company's logo. If deadpan oddness is your thing, you'll eat up Wrong. I was a little more mixed, personally: I explain why over at Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'Celeste and Jesse Forever' review

2012-01-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits were failed attempts by Hollywood to try to modernize the romantic comedy by suggesting that some people aren't looking for "the one": They just want to enjoy a no-pressure sexual relationship with someone they like hanging out with. Beyond their other failings, those two movies bombed because, despite their aspirations to be "hip" and/or "edgy," deep down inside they were as conventional as your typical rom-com. The forthcoming Friends With Kids, which I saw back in Toronto, offers hope that some filmmakers can come up with some fresh ideas on this front, and now comes Celeste and Jesse Forever, which isn't a great film, but at least is a sincere and touching one.

Co-written by Rashida Jones, the film stars Jones and Andy Samberg as a married couple who have decided to get divorced -- even though it has done nothing to dampen the lifelong bond they've shared since grade school. Their buddies refuse to believe that these two can remain friends after separating, but it seems to be working out quite well for them....until it suddenly doesn't. I reviewed the comedy-drama for Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'Red Lights' review

2012-01-21T08:32:00.000-08:00

Despite some reservations, I liked Buried, the 2010 thriller starring Ryan Reynolds as an ordinary man who finds himself buried alive in a box and must find a way to get out alive. That film's director, Rodrigo Cortes, is back with Red Lights, a bigger but not necessarily better follow-up. This one stars Cillian Murphy and Sigourney Weaver as paranormal investigators who seek to disapprove claims of the supernatural. But in their path is Robert De Niro as an infamous blind psychic who went into seclusion 30 years ago. If this sounds a bit like a graphic novel, you're on the right wavelength. Unfortunately, Red Lights is overlong and overwrought -- Cortes takes this enjoyably preposterous premise ridiculously seriously. Red Lights sure isn't boring, but unfortunately it sure isn't that good, either. My review is at Screen International.

Sundance 2012: 'Wish You Were Here' review

2012-01-20T07:44:00.000-08:00

Two years ago at Sundance, I saw Animal Kingdom, an exceptional Australian thriller starring (among others) Joel Edgerton. He was a virtual unknown to me, although after the fact I realized he had played young Owen in the Star Wars prequels. (You'll forgive me if I wiped that trilogy from my memory banks.)

I've been charting Edgerton's progress since -- he was quite good in the overrated Warrior -- and now he's back at Sundance with Wish You Were Here. It's a drama about two couples who go off on a vacation together -- and one of them ends up missing. Folks, it's no Animal Kingdom. Sadly, it's not even Warrior. My review is up at Screen International.

TV on the Radio - "Killer Crane"

2012-01-20T06:47:00.000-08:00

For me, one of the biggest shocks of this year's Pazz & Jop music poll was how low TV on the Radio's Nine Types of Light ranked. Not even in the Top 40 -- ouch. I'm not saying it's a masterpiece -- it didn't make my album ballot either -- but I had assumed that TVOTR were one of those groups (like Wilco or Radiohead) whose every album would at least make a decent showing in P&J. Apparently, people just didn't dig Nine Types of Light. Too bad: Here's the great track "Killer Crane" from the disc.

'Red Tails' review

2012-01-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

George Lucas spent more than two decades trying to bring the story of the Tuskegee Airmen to the big screen. And now he has ... and it's Red Tails, and it's not very good. Sure, Lucas is simply the executive producer of this World War II drama, but the movie will remind you of all the worst qualities of his Star Wars prequels: wooden performances, on-the-nose dialogue.... Just be glad there's no Jar-Jar Binks. My review is up at Screen International.

My Pazz and Jop Ballot; or, Defending 'Goblin'

2012-01-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

Even though it's been six years since Robert Christgau got fired from The Village Voice, I remain positively giddy each January when his creation, the Pazz & Jop music poll, comes out. This year's edition went live today, and count me as one of the people who assumed that Bon Iver's self-titled second disc was gonna win the album poll. Boy, was I off: It finished in ninth. The actual winner was tUnE-yArDs (the brainchild of Merrill Garbus) and her second disc, w h o k i l l. It was the first time a woman has topped the poll since Lucinda Williams' 1998 record, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. That was also the last time women occupied the top two spots: Williams narrowly edged out The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and this year Garbus slid by PJ Harvey's career-comeback Let England Shake.

Of course, Pazz & Jop isn't the same without Christgau's year-defining essay that always used to accompany the results. (Last week's "Rock & Roll &" essay is more about his best-of list than the music year in general, although it's definitely a must-read.) I've been contributing to P&J since 2000 -- my No. 1 album that year was And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out -- and while I miss Christgau's hands-on stewardship of the poll (although he still does contribute a ballot) I think this is by and large still the definitive countdown of the best in music.

This brings us to my ballot. A focus on film reviewing in recent years -- and a concentration on covering rock music thanks to my work at About.com and Revolver -- has made it a little tougher to write about all the albums and songs that matter to me on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, so I figured I'd take a moment to highlight some of my picks. But probably, I should just spend my time defending my No. 1 album of 2011, Tyler, the Creator's Goblin, a lowly No. 98 on the album chart that contained votes from 700 music critics. Even Metallica and Lou Reed's universally loathed Lulu charted higher.

Released in May -- just two months after the artist born Tyler Okonma turned 20 -- Goblin was impossible to judge without also discussing the man behind its making. The leader of Odd Future, a buzz-heavy L.A. rap collective, Tyler, the Creator has been criticized for his homophobic and misogynistic antics that he's been unable to defend in any meaningful way. Goblin is a treasure trove of similarly disgusting sentiments, and he and his posse of Odd Future rappers -- with the possible exception of Frank Ocean, whose Nostalgia, Ultra suggested he might be the one guy in this group who has a healthy amount of empathy for other human beings -- do little to convince me that these dudes aren't straight-up jerks.

And yet... in ways that recall Never Mind the Bollocks or Appetite for Destruction, Goblin is a record I find fascinating and gripping in almost perfectly indirect proportion to how much I like the artist personally. Goblin is Tyler's second album -- his first was Bastard -- and it's been compared to the unapologetic rage of Eminem's early records. (As Brad Wete noted in his Entertainment Weekly review, Goblin really deserves the title My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy even more than Kanye's 2010 record does.) Tyler's anger at those around him -- music critics, Bruno Mars, kids who grew up rich, Bill O'Reilly, girls who won't sleep with him, girls who will sleep with him but give him diseases -- may be partly in his head, but as a producer and a record-maker, he knows how to turn his album into a paranoid, claustrophobic hall of mirrors in which his misanthropy starts to develop its own kind of bizarre inner logic.

But despite his monstrously ugly persona, Tyler succeeds in making his shallow complaints compelling. He mourns the friends he's lost, he pines for the one good girl he managed to come across -- naturally, it's his fault that she got back with her old boyfriend -- and when he talks about killing himself, his freak-show keyboards and jittery samples give the boasts a frightening realism. (Even when it's stooping to mere shock value, Goblin turns out to be rather effectively shocking.) And while he doesn't want you calling his music horrorcore, there's an undeniably nightmarish quality to it. But that doesn't mean it's monotonous: Only after weeks of slowly digesting Goblin and then putting it away for a while did I realize how the songs' hooks had stuck with me. No question his petulance ties the (admittedly overlong) disc together, but his beats -- sometimes merciless, other times tricky, occasionally haunting -- are a close second.

If Goblin was a movie, it might be Rampart or There Will Be Blood, starring a thoroughly detestable main character who we don't like but whom we come to understand. And so we have yet another musician whose personal behavior is repellent but also fuels the vibrant, upsetting and, yes, sometimes funny art that he makes. You wouldn't want your daughter dating this creep, but on Goblin he lets you enter his dark twisted fantasy. Just remember it's a fantasy -- or at least I hope it is.

The Roots - "Make My"

2012-01-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

Seriously, folks, I'm gonna keep saying it until it sinks in: The Roots are America's best band. (Well, either them are Drive-By Truckers.) Undun came out at the end of 2011 and hasn't gotten nearly enough love. So it's a "concept album" -- you don't need to know the concept to love it. The music's what matters, and Undun is a fount of gorgeous, smart, hard, wonderful music. This is "Make My."

Godard's 'Weekend' at the Cinefamily

2012-01-08T18:42:00.000-08:00

This is an occasional feature called Blind Spots. It gives me a chance to write about movies or albums or whatever that I missed during their initial run. Ideally, this exercise of going back will help me fill in some gaps. I'll write these whenever the spirit moves me.

Two film critic colleagues' comments about Jean-Luc Godard are useful to suggest the wide gap in opinion about the iconic French New Wave filmmaker:

Film Critic Colleague Number 1: "Nobody really likes Godard. He's a guy you're supposed to like, but nobody really does -- they just say they do."

Film Critic Colleague Number 2: "The problem with most filmmakers is that they don't challenge you. But when you watch a Godard film, you think, 'You're a [expletive]. And you're such a [expletive] that I'm gonna sit here and watch your movie and prove that you're a [expletive].'"

(By the way, Film Critic Colleague Number 2 loves Godard: He was saying this to prove his point about what a genius Godard is.)

I'm somewhere in between my two colleagues. I'm still working my way through Godard's immense oeuvre, but there isn't a single film of his that I've seen that I haven't been inordinately impressed by. (Of course, I've yet to see his King Lear.) At the same time, there isn't one I haven't had major reservations about. For me, he's a filmmaker to admire deeply but who's hard to love. His shadow is so large and his influence so wide that it's simply ridiculous to dismiss what he's accomplished. (If you're someone who gets all sappy about Hollywood's maverick '70s, you'd better recognize that just about every film of that era was directly inspired by something Godard did in the '60s.) But even if no Godard film has fully, wholly, completely connected with me, I keep going through his catalog, preferably on the big screen if I can help it.

The latest opportunity presented itself Friday night at the Cinefamily, which is doing a retrospective of Godard's work (including the much-belated L.A. run of his latest, Film Socialisme.) The long story short is that his 1967 film Weekend, which is being presented in a brand new 35mm print, was supposed to play at the Nuart around Thanksgiving of last year, but instead it got pulled for another week of Melancholia. So the Cinefamily got to play host to the revival screening instead, although it is funny to think how similar Godard's and Von Trier's movies are in some ways. Though their approaches couldn't be more different, both films are about the end of the world.

Tight narrative is rarely a major component of a Godard film, so let's dispense with Weekend's as quickly as possible. The married couple Corinne and Roland (Mireille Darc and Jean Yanne), who are both engaged in adulterous affairs, head off on a car trip one weekend to see her gravely ill father. Their reasons are purely selfish -- they want their inheritance, and they're hoping the old man will croak quickly -- and they have no qualms whatsoever about their motives. But as we quickly learn, these two have no qualms whatsoever about any of their consumerist, self-centered actions. Almost 40 years before the funny series of Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig sketches on Saturday Night Live, Weekend's central characters were the original Two A-Holes.

This was hardly new territory for Godard, of course: Starting with Breathless, he'd very happily populated his movies with protagonists you're pretty sure you're not entirely supposed to like. But what made Weekend such a watershed for me was how superbly complete its dislike for modern life was. Godard has never had the rosiest view of humanity, but Weekend might be his bleakest portrait -- and yet it's also probably his funniest.

The couple's car trip does not go as planned, resulting in many run-ins with various strange characters, some real, some seemingly figments of fiction (including a few castaways from Lewis Carroll). But what becomes clear rather quickly -- once the couple escape a seemingly endless traffic jam near the film's opening -- is that these two are really journeying into Hell. Or, more accurately, another version of Hell. Weekend is not one of those films that equates city life with civilization and the countryside with barbarism: The city is filled with jerks in cars who keep crashing into one another, resorting to violence in a moment's notice -- or, at the very least, leaning on their horns with obnoxious frequency. Meanwhile, the countryside in Weekend is filled with radicals who enjoy a little raping, savagery and cannibalism. And Corinne and Roland aren't innocents trying to make their way: They're spoiled and obnoxious and seemly wholly indicative of the sort of nightmarish reality Godard is decrying in his film.

This should be a movie in which there's no rooting interest -- and, hence, no viewer interest at all -- but I have to say I found the whole thing rather riveting. Part of that is because Darc and Yanne are so good at being so shallow. Their short-sighted rudeness in the face of the fiery overturned cars on the highway has a sort of deadpan wit to it. There's a dark, apocalyptic undercurrent humming throughout Weekend -- almost a surreal sci-fi edge -- and yet these two nitwits, these two complete wastes of space, just keep merrily rolling along, mostly annoyed that it's taking a lot longer to get to Corinne's dad's home than they were hoping. That was the genius of the "Two A-Holes" sketches as well: Not only didn't Sudeikis and Wiig care that they were horrible people, they seem irritated that more people weren't like them.

Because Godard enjoys didactic digressions -- you could argue that his later films, like Film Socialisme, are nothing but them -- Weekend is weighed down by preachy political commentaries. These tend to stop the film dead in its tracks, but because so much of the movie has a vaguely unhinged quality to it, I found myself more receptive to them than usual. And while Godard's visual aesthetic often mixes between playful and pretentious, Weekend features some of his more arresting moments. The long traffic-jam scene is rightly heralded, but it's just one of several fairly brilliant scenes, each done in a single take (One involves a detailed account of an orgy. The other a bit of Mozart.) Though Godard is clearly on the side of the hippie guerrillas who emerge in the film's second half, he seems to understand the limits of rebellion and antisocial behavior. That's why Weekend doesn't really need its talky stretches: The film's very conception -- a world gone mad that most people are too self-absorbed to notice -- tells you more than any single bit of dialogue. Technically speaking, the world doesn't end in Weekend, but it sure feels like humanity is on its final legs. And Godard seems rather cheered by it.

"Weekend is a prolonged howl of rage at the perceived vanities and cruelties of bourgeois life," Richard Brody wrote in his book Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard. Maybe, but that hardly makes the film a downer. If anything, it's liberating -- almost cheery. As R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe once sang in "Ignoreland":

I know that this is vitriol
No solution, spleen-venting
But I feel better having screamed
Don't you?

Godard sure does.

'The Devil Inside' review ... and the State of Studio Horror Films

2012-01-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

The Devil Inside opens today. As you might imagine, it's not so good. But I wanted to touch on a few things that I didn't have the space to address in my Screen International review:

1. Why do people find exorcisms scary?

I realize that may sound like a silly question. People find them scary because the person is flopping around and speaking in tongues and spewing horrible things out of his or her mouth (or other orifices, if you're really unlucky). But unlike other horrific/terrifying things that are portrayed on screen, I don't find myself particularly scared by the prospect of seeing an exorcism on screen. It's not like being killed by a guy with a knife or being trapped in a haunted house or having to escape zombies: As farfetched as some of those scenarios are, they at least seem plausible in the world of a horror movie. But with an exorcism, well, you're sorta just watching someone (who's normally not the main character) having their limbs go in funky directions they normally don't. That's incredibly discomforting to watch, but it's not, as far as I'm concerned, really frightening.

Clearly, I'm in the minority. Between The Rite and The Last Exorcism and a few other recent examples, exorcism horror movies are relatively popular. (Or at least Hollywood thinks they are.) Maybe it's because of the recent scandals in the Catholic Church? Whatever reason, I go to these films mostly preparing to have a miserable time. There are few things worse than watching a horror movie whose central concept just makes you irritable.

2. Is it time to retire the found-footage gimmick?

This may be a strange thing for me to say. I actually liked Apollo 18, and I remain a fan of the Paranormal Activity films. But with PA, as I've written about previously, I would argue that the films' found-footage conceit isn't really what's scary about those movies: It's the way the conceit forces you to look around the screen with the knowledge that something horrible is there somewhere. As for Apollo 18, the filmmakers' decision to design the movie as leaked footage from a doomed moon mission is actually executed pretty well technically, even though I'm pretty sure the film as a whole cost about 10 bucks to make. But what's really scary about Apollo 18, unlike The Devil Inside, is that it does play into universal fears in grimly effective ways. Claustrophobia, fear of drowning/smothering/suffocating, fear of creepy-crawly things ... Apollo 18 doesn't win any prizes for originality but it at least knows what horrors it's tapping into. Did it need to be camouflaged as a found-footage film? Probably not.

Washed Out - "Eyes Be Closed"

2012-01-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

Washed Out (real name Ernest Greene) has acquired a bit of fame due to the fact that his "Feel It All Around" is used as the theme song to Portlandia. But his 2011 debut album, Within and Without, which was released after "Feel It All Around," is darn good and worth checking out. Here's the opening track, "Eyes Be Closed."

'Beneath the Darkness' review

2012-01-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

January. It's a terrible time for new movies. (Although that's not entirely true: Once Upon a Time in Anatolia hits theaters this month.) But more often than not you've got junk like Beneath the Darkness. It's a low-budget thriller starring Dennis Quaid as a small-time mortician who's Up To No Good. Dreadful, dreadful stuff. By the way, the film's press notes point out that Beneath the Darkness was filmed in the same Texas town that The Tree of Life was. So, you know, there's something. My review is up at The Village Voice.

The Zombies - "This Will Be Our Year"

2011-12-30T06:17:00.000-08:00

See everybody in 2012.

Radiohead - "Lotus Flower"

2011-12-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays, folks. This isn't the best or worst video of 2011, but it's the one I'll probably remember the most as feeling like 2011.

'The Flowers of War' review

2011-12-20T18:01:00.000-08:00

The Flowers of War is the second Chinese production to hit the U.S. this year about the Nanjing Massacre. The first was the brilliant, unforgettable City of Life and Death. The latest is The Flowers of War, the mediocre new drama from director Zhang Yimou and star Christian Bale. You can't fault the intentions, but you sure can fault the execution, which has a lot to do with Zhang's overly bombastic, spectacle-rich storytelling style. Everything's too operatic, too showy -- and yet, weirdly, it hardly resonates at all. I reviewed The Flowers of War for The Village Voice.

Wye Oak - "Holy Holy"

2011-12-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

With Pazz & Jop just around the corner, I'm working on my list of the year's best albums and songs. Which led me back to Wye Oak's Civilian. Great stuff ... here's "Holy Holy."

'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' review

2011-12-15T10:12:00.000-08:00

The day before this year's LAFCA awards vote, I spent time watching Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. Well, you can't say I'm not thorough when it comes to making sure I see just about everything out there in the world of movies. And I have to admit that Chipwrecked isn't the worst thing I've seen all year. Top Five, definitely, but not the worst. I reviewed the film for Screen International, which allowed me to at least say a few nice things about Jenny Slate, who does the best she can in this tediously terrible kids' movie. Hey, a girl needs to earn a living, right?

'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' review

2011-12-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

Yup, that's Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, a movie I liked quite a lot. I definitely prefer it to the original Swedish version from a few years ago, although I wish David Fincher's new take ended a little better than it does. (Honestly, I wish both movies had better endings.) Do I think Dragon Tattoo needs to be over two-and-a-half-hours long? Not really: As popular as the original books are, these don't quite seem like epic stories that require that sort of extended running time. Still, it's Fincher being Fincher, which is more than good enough for me. My review is up at Screen International.

Albert Pujols Is No Longer a Cardinal

2011-12-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

The news I'd been expecting since the final out of the World Series happened Thursday: Albert Pujols left the St. Louis Cardinals to sign with another team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Unlike some Cardinal fans, I'm taking the news in stride. I think it makes sense for St. Louis not to be burdened with an expensive contract that will carry Pujols through his later, less-effective years. Rick Chandler over at NBC Sports asked me (among others) to react to the Pujols news. You can read that here.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - "No One Is (As I Are Be)"

2011-12-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I still love the guy after all this time. And who can resist these lines: "I cannot even do one sit-up. Sit-ups are so bourgeoisie"?

'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' review

2011-12-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

To call the new Mission: Impossible the best of the series isn't that much of a stretch. To be honest, I've never really loved any of them. (Before this one, I would have probably gone with the J.J. Abrams third installment simply because it was the least ponderous and/or self-important.) But director Brad Bird puts together some pretty fantastic action sequences in Ghost Protocol. And Tom Cruise remains forever young. And, good lord, the IMAX is just stunning: I see now why Christopher Nolan wanted to do The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX instead of 3D. My Ghost Protocol review is up at Screen International.

'New Year's Eve' review

2011-12-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

For what it's worth, I didn't think Valentine's Day was the worst thing in the world. Now, that's not to say that I liked it — the last sentence of Karina Longworth's review sums it up pretty nicely — but, trust me, I've seen far, far worse. Like New Year's Eve, for instance, which made me hate my life and everything that's good and decent. It's not that this latest comedy from Garry Marshall is incompetent and lazy: It's that it's insufferably smug about it. I rip into the film over at Screen International.

Saying Goodbye to The Projector

2011-12-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Today, I got the sad news that Yahoo is pulling the plug on The Projector, the film site I ran with Will Leitch. As many of you know, Will and I grew up together and have been passionate about movies from an early age. Getting to run a site with a lifelong friend was a dream come true, and so you can imagine how heartbroken I am at the moment.

Still, I'd like to take a moment to thank Mark Lisanti and Courtney Reimer for being great editors. It was a pleasure, you guys, and I'm glad to have been part of this endeavor with you.

Also, I wanted to thank everyone who has reached out to let me know how much they enjoyed the site. It means a lot. You have no idea what a fantastic time Will and I had every day at The Projector.

It really isn't my style to be too self-promotional -- even writing this blog post makes me a little queasy -- but I want to say that, fear not, I'll continue to be writing reviews for Screen International.

And, seriously, Will: What a blast that was. Let's do it again soon.

chic - I want your love

2011-12-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

Seriously, see Shame as soon as you can. A fantastic film. In honor of Shame, let's do some "I Want Your Love," which shows up on the movie's soundtrack.

'coriolanus' review

2011-12-01T12:08:00.000-08:00

Ralph Fiennes is an absolute monster in the bloody, gripping Coriolanus. It's the sort of Shakespeare adaptation that inspires "this isn't your mother's Coriolanus" kinds of raves, but it is a movie that feels vital and engaging in ways that some recent Bard remakes haven't. My review is up at Yahoo.

'the lady' review

2011-11-29T13:45:00.001-08:00

Having action filmmaker Luc Besson direct a biopic about Aung San Suu Kyi might seem like an odd pairing, but The Lady .... well, yes, it is indeed an odd pairing. And a mediocre film. I reviewed the Michelle Yeoh-starrer for Yahoo.

madvillain - all caps

2011-11-25T07:36:00.000-08:00

One of the tough things about picking a single track off Madvillainy to spotlight is that there isn't exactly a standout track: It's all about the flow from song to song. Still, "All Caps" is pretty awesome -- and check out this video.

'hugo' review

2011-11-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

Martin Scorsese is known for his dark tales of New York City life, but he heads off to 1930s Paris for "Hugo," his first family film. There is a lot to love -- and a lot to wish could have been a little better. I reviewed Hugo for The Projector over at Yahoo.

'arthur christmas' review

2011-11-22T07:52:00.001-08:00

I'm in the minority on Arthur Christmas, an animated family movie I thought was merely OK. What can I say, my heart is three sizes too small. My review is up at Yahoo.

u2 - numb

2011-11-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

You know, I still really dig Zooropa.

'the muppets' review

2011-11-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

For the first several reels, The Muppets is very nearly perfect. It slows down after that, unfortunately, but its cheerful, idealistic spirit made me so very happy. My review is up at Screen International.

'tyrannosaur' review

2011-11-17T07:08:00.000-08:00

Actor Paddy Considine makes his feature directorial debut with Tyrannosaur, the sort of tough, bleak film that lives or dies by the strength of its acting. I reviewed the drama for Yahoo.

'beginners' writer-director mike mills speaks

2011-11-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

Beginners is a small little gem. It's out on DVD now, and I interviewed writer-director Mike Mills to talk about the movie. It was a very fun chat, which you can read over at Yahoo.

'happy feet two' review

2011-11-14T10:29:00.001-08:00

Happy Feet has a permanent place in my heart, and not just because my wife adores the movie. But Happy Feet Two isn't nearly as special. I reviewed the film for The Projector over at Yahoo.

'the adventures of tintin' review

2011-11-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

It's not high praise to say that Steven Spielberg has rebounded from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with his new film, The Adventures of Tintin. Frankly, any movie he would make would be better than that unfortunate debacle. But while Tintin is a technological feat, it doesn't feel inspired in the way that Spielberg's best movies do. I saw it last night at its North American premiere at AFI Fest, and my review is up at The Projector.

matthew sweet - into your drug

2011-11-11T06:53:00.000-08:00

I got into a Matthew Sweet kick on Spotify and stumbled across his greatest-hits collection, Time Capsule. Decent overview, but where's "Into Your Drug"? It's right here.

'immortals' review

2011-11-10T23:43:00.000-08:00

Big muscles! Big fights scenes! Big speeches! Welcome to the world of Immortals, which I reviewed for Screen International. I wish I liked it more than I did.

'jack and jill' review

2011-11-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

I didn't like Jack and Jill so much, but rather than just ripping on it, I decided to spend some time in my review trying to figure out what it is about Adam Sandler that drives me nuts. The results are over at Yahoo.

eddie murphy and brett ratner exit the oscars

2011-11-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

For The Projector last night, I wrote about Brett Ratner's resignation as Oscar producer. Then this morning, we found out that Eddie Murphy is walking, too. So, naturally, I had some things to say about that as well.

'j. edgar' review

2011-11-07T12:47:00.000-08:00

It's practically stop-the-presses news to announce that I didn't hate J. Edgar. A lot of folks do, but I actually think it's a sturdy (if unfocused) affair. My review is up at Yahoo.

'Haywire' review

2011-11-07T09:43:00.001-08:00

Man, oh man, Haywire is a lot of fun. This is Steven Soderbergh just rolling up his sleeves and having a blast, and while the movie does eventually lose some of its fizzy pleasure, you probably won't care all that much. And the action sequences? Man, oh man. The movie premiered last night at AFI Fest: I reviewed it for Screen International.

lou reed - baton rouge

2011-11-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

Because I've been concentrating on Lulu a lot lately, I've been thinking about Lou Reed's career some. So here's a personal favorite "deep album cut" from the man. This is off Ecstasy. My dad likes this song, too. I always consider it a sign of how good a song is when both my dad and I like it.

lou reed and metallica - 'lulu' review

2011-11-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

Oh, Lulu, why does everyone hate you so? You're not that bad at all, actually -- just a little misunderstood. I reviewed the record for About.

'a very harold & kumar 3D christmas' review

2011-11-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed the first Harold & Kumar and didn't care much for the sequel. Now we have A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, which I ultimately liked, although it's very hit-or-miss. Thankfully, John Cho and Kal Penn are as fun as ever. And, seriously, WaffleBot rules. My review is up at Screen International.

'charlotte rampling: the look' review

2011-11-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

I've always liked Charlotte Rampling as an actress, but I gained a new appreciation for her after watching Charlotte Rampling: The Look, a documentary that's less about her acting career and more about her as a person in the here and now. She's a bright, thoughtful woman. She also seems like she's a lot of fun. My Yahoo review is up now.

'killing bono' review

2011-11-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

U2 fans who want to know about the band's early days in Dublin will get a kick out of Neil McCormick's memoir, I Was Bono's Doppelganger. It tells about his childhood growing up with the band in the late '70s. U2 become superstars, but McCormick's rock 'n' roll dreams never materialized. Now there's a movie based on the book, but the tome's spirit, candor and insights are mostly scrubbed clean. I reviewed Killing Bono for Yahoo.

'janie jones' review

2011-10-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to catch up after being gone for a few days, but I reviewed Janie Jones, the low-budget indie starring Abigail Breslin and Alessandro Nivola. Breslin's career is at an interesting crossroads, which I talk about over at Yahoo.

massive attack - protection

2011-10-28T06:19:00.000-07:00

OK, not the full-length version off the album. But nonetheless, still a total killer.

'anonymous' review

2011-10-25T18:02:00.001-07:00

Probably like you, I didn't have much faith in Roland Emmerich making a movie about the conspiracy theory that argues that William Shakespeare was a fraud. But, nope, I liked Anonymous just fine. But the movie's real secret weapon is Rhys Ifans, who's really fun. My review is up at Yahoo.

'like crazy' review

2011-10-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

This year's Sundance dramatic competition turned out to be a pretty strong one. Higher Ground, Take Shelter, Martha Marcy May Marlene ... and now let's add Like Crazy, which ended up winning the Grand Jury prize. I think it's not quite as good as those three other films, but it's pretty remarkable in its own right. My Like Crazy review is up at Yahoo.

Coldplay - 'Mylo Xyloto' review

2011-10-23T10:37:00.001-07:00

Apparently, any intelligent person worth his salt absolutely hates Coldplay. You wouldn't want to be caught dead liking these guys -- it would be akin to really digging No Jacket Required back in the day. Me, I'm Coldplay-neutral. I've liked a few songs off each of their albums, but beyond A Rush of Blood to the Head I've never considered any of their discs to be all that essential. So here comes their latest, Mylo Xyloto. It's more of the same, which I get into over at About.

'father of invention' review

2011-10-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Were you aware that Kevin Spacey has a movie out? Well, too late, it's already gone from theaters. Father of Invention is a comedy in which he plays a former millionaire fresh out of jail who has to rebuild his life. Spacey's OK, the movie less so. Please enjoy my review over at Screen International.

uncle tupelo - new madrid

2011-10-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

It's now been 18 years since the final Uncle Tupelo album, Anodyne, was released. Here's "New Madrid" off it. Yes, a Jeff Tweedy song. I still prefer Jay Farrar, but this tune just seemed right at the moment.

'le havre' review

2011-10-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

The latest from filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki, Le Havre, opens this weekend in New York and Los Angeles. I reviewed this gentle, likable fable for Yahoo. The movie's worth your time -- hopefully the review is, too.

'being elmo' review

2011-10-19T23:34:00.000-07:00

I can't be the only person who finds Elmo kinda annoying, right? But even if you are like me, you may still very much enjoy Being Elmo, which is about the puppeteer who brings the character to life. I reviewed Being Elmo for Yahoo.

'oranges and sunshine' review

2011-10-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

Oranges and Sunshine is based on the true story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker who exposed a horrible secret about child deportations from the U.K. to Australia in the 1980s. Emily Watson plays Humphreys, and while she's her usual great self, the movie itself isn't quite up to snuff. My Yahoo review goes into all the details.

'paranormal activity 3' review

2011-10-19T22:29:00.001-07:00

Has a franchise other than Paranormal Activity ever gotten progressively better with each installment? (Maybe The Lord of the Rings.) Much to my pleasant surprise, Paranormal Activity 3 is the best one yet. How did they do it? I reviewed the found-footage horror movie for Screen International.

'The Catechism Cataclysm' review

2011-10-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

The Catechism Cataclysm played as part of Sundance's Park City at Midnight section, but it's not nearly weird and/or offensive and/or nutty enough to be a truly great midnight movie. I dispense with this meager road comedy/surreal anti-religion satire at Yahoo.

'martha marcy may marlene' review

2011-10-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

One of the big sensations at this year's Sundance, Martha Marcy May Marlene is pretty much as good as advertised. Even if Elizabeth Olsen never does anything as impressive again, well, she did this. My review is up at Yahoo.

jane's addiciton - 'the great escape artist' review

2011-10-17T10:30:00.001-07:00

Don't tell anyone, but I was never a big Jane's Addiction fan. (Too hippie-dippy mystical for me.) But, hey, I am a man with open ears, and so I am pleased to announce that I enjoyed their comeback record, The Great Escape Artist. Maybe it's because I wasn't such a fan back in the day that I'm open to their new sound? Perhaps. My review is up at About.

'the rum diary' review

2011-10-14T07:13:00.000-07:00

Johnny Depp's second adaptation of a Hunter S. Thompson novel, The Rum Diary, is more effective than his first, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Still, Rum is a bit of a mess, only sporadically arresting. I give a full rundown of its strengths and weaknesses over at Screen International.

bon iver - beth/rest

2011-10-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

The final track off Bon Iver's new self-titled album is some sort of throwing down of the gauntlet. "You think I'm a sappy wimp?" he seems to be saying. "I'll show you just how much of a sappy wimp I can be!" "Beth/Rest" is like Bruce Hornsby-meets-Sting. Phil Collins would have killed to have come up with this song. So, yes, it is very sappy ... but I also find it sort of endearing for its outrageously wussy courage.

'the big year' review

2011-10-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

Marley & Me got me but good -- it's that rare tearjerker that's actually well-done -- but director David Frankel's new film, The Big Year, isn't quite as good. Mostly it's just nice and pleasant and bland. My review is up at The Projector, a high-quality film site that is never nice or pleasant or bland.

'footloose' review

2011-10-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

There's cheesy-good and cheesy-bad, and then there's Footloose, which is cheesy-so-so. I reviewed the film for Yahoo, where I can proudly say I made no bad allusions to kicking off my Sunday shows or cutting loose or what have you. I'm a professional, consarnit.

'trespass' review

2011-10-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

In 2011, a movie starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Joel Schumacher shouldn't inspire much confidence in anyone. And, alas, Trespass isn't very good, although it's not quite the laughable fiasco some might think (or hope). I dissect the corpse for Yahoo.

'fireflies in the garden' review

2011-10-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

Did you know there's a movie coming out on Friday that stars Julia Roberts and Ryan Reynolds? Well, there is, and it's called Fireflies in the Garden, an indie drama about family dysfunction and grieving that's, unfortunately, very pedestrian. I reviewed the film for Yahoo. (And now that I have reviewed it, I can stop calling it Grave of the Fireflies by mistake. Now that is a great movie.)

tom petty - i'll feel a whole lot better

2011-10-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Byrds originally recorded "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better," which you can hear here, but I've always been partial to Tom Petty's version -- probably because I heard it first and more often. Fun Fact: Contrary to what this YouTube video would have you believe, Petty's cover is not from Into the Great Wide Open. It's on Full Moon Fever. What would you people do without me?

blink-182 - 'neighborhoods' review

2011-10-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

Just catching up on this, but for About I reviewed Blink-182's big comeback/reunion album, Neighborhoods. I never loved them back in the day, but I was pleasantly surprised by their new "mature" sound. Anyway, I go into all of that here.

'1911' review

2011-10-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

Jackie Chan gets serious for 1911, a war drama tied to the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution. As someone who doesn't pretend to know much Chinese history, I found it somewhat enlightening. But as a piece of cinema? Good lord, what a bore. I reviewed the film for Yahoo.

'dream house' review

2011-09-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

How can a movie that stars Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, and Naomi Watts (and is directed by Jim Sheridan) not be screened in advance for critics? Well, if that movie is Dream House, it's actually pretty easy. Not quite a disaster or fiasco, the film feels like it's been rejiggered during its making: I'm not sure who came up with the third act, but it doesn't seem like it's from anyone who made the first two acts. My Dream House review is up at Screen International.

fruit bats - you're too weird

2011-09-30T06:37:00.000-07:00

I am shocked and embarrassed that I have yet to pick up the new Fruit Bats album, Tripper. I also can't believe I hadn't seen this video for the album's single, "You're Too Weird." Parodies of '80s video cliches: They never get old, huh?

'margaret' review

2011-09-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's hard to say what's the saddest thing about Margaret. Is it that it's the long-delayed follow-up film from Kenneth Lonergan, the man responsible for the excellent You Can Count on Me? Is it that it's full of interesting ideas that simply don't work? Is it that some of my colleagues are being far too kind to it? All of the above. I reviewed the film for Yahoo.

'sarah palin: you betcha!' review

2011-09-28T12:32:00.001-07:00

Sarah Palin: You Betcha! is not grade-A Nick Broomfield, but it's still an engaging, breezy documentary into the former Alaska governor's background. One thing's for sure: Palin's parents sure seem like nice folks. I reviewed the movie for Yahoo.

'take shelter' review

2011-09-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

Yeah, Take Shelter is terrific. Writer-director Jeff Nichols and star Michael Shannon performed their magic first in 2007's Shotgun Stories, and they've returned with an even more resonant film. I gush about Take Shelter in my Yahoo review.

'the whale' review

2011-09-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

So, Ryan Reynolds' best movie of 2011 definitely isn't Green Lantern or The Change-Up. It's the documentary The Whale, which he executive produced and narrated. It's about a baby orca that got separated from his family and ended up off the west coast of Canada. It's a bit cutesy, but that whale sure is lovable. I reviewed the film for Screen International.

'my joy' review

2011-09-26T15:06:00.000-07:00

My Joy is a Russian drama that calls to mind the bare-bones stories popular in Romanian cinema, but it's more existential and mysterious than that. I can't say it all worked, but the movie has stayed with me, which is its own kind of compliment. I reviewed My Joy for Yahoo.

wilco - 'the whole love' review

2011-09-25T14:32:00.001-07:00

I'm one of those weirdos who has preferred Wilco's post-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot/A Ghost Is Born period to all the ones that came before. (If that makes me a proponent of dad-rock, so be it.) Their new disc, The Whole Love, is another superb addition to their catalog. I reviewed the record for About.

'thunder soul' review

2011-09-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I reviewed Thunder Soul, a documentary about the Kashmere Stage Band. It's a very likable film that isn't quite as deep or insightful as I would have preferred. Still, if you love '70s funk, you'll very much enjoy it. And, hey, DJ Shadow cameo.

r.e.m. - try not to breathe

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm still bummed out about the R.E.M. news. So here's a little "Try Not to Breathe."

'weekend' review

2011-09-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

If it's playing in your area, seek out Weekend, a sweet, simple drama directed by Andrew Haigh. If you're the type to be unnerved by a gay love story, well, you should still see it. I reviewed the film for Yahoo.

'machine gun preacher' review

2011-09-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

Gerard Butler gives one of his better performances -- which, I realize, isn't saying all that much -- in Machine Gun Preacher, an inspirational drama about Sam Childers, the former drug dealer turned Sudan crusader. The movie isn't bad but, man oh man, I wish they'd found another director other than Marc Forster to put it together. I reviewed Machine Gun Preacher for Yahoo, and I see that folks are already commenting over there.

'puncture' review

2011-09-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Chris Evans goes dark and indie for Puncture, a legal drama based on a true story. Turns out the true story is more interesting than the movie itself. I reviewed Puncture for Screen International.

toronto film festival 2011, from worst to best

2011-09-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

If it hadn't been for a nasty cold that wiped out the last two-and-a-half days of my trip, I would have easily logged over 30 films during my stay at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival. Nonetheless, here's my list (from worst to best) of what I saw, including films I screened in advance. Links lead to my reviews or articles over at The Projector....

Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
This Side of Resurrection
360
50/50
God Bless America
Twixt
Albert Nobbs
The Artist
Friends With Kids
Rampart
The Deep Blue Sea
Sarah Palin: You Betcha!
Damsels in Distress
Moneyball
Guilty
A Dangerous Method
Alps
Melancholia

Take This Waltz

The Loneliest Planet
Wuthering Heights
Your Sister's Sister
The Descendants
Into the Abyss
Drive
Shame

So many movies, and yet so many I wish I could have seen: Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Elena, The Kid With a Bike, A Separation, I Wish... Oh well, it happens. I'm hoping this year's AFI Fest helps fill in some gaps for me.

'your sister's sister' review

2011-09-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Humpday is one of my favorite recent American indies, so I was excited to see what writer-director Lynn Shelton would do next. That turns out to be Your Sister's Sister, which isn't quite as accomplished but still rather fetching. I saw the film in Toronto and review it for The Projector.

'twixt' review

2011-09-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

Francis Ford Coppola continues his late-career adventurousness with Twixt, a moody, loopy horror thingy starring Val Kilmer. And parts of it are in 3D. My review is up at Yahoo.

trent reznor and atticus ross - in motion

2011-09-16T05:51:00.001-07:00

If I had to list my 10 happiest film moments of the year, I think one of them would be Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross winning the Oscar for their exceptional score to The Social Network. It's an example of an acclaimed songwriter (and his longtime collaborator) easily transitioning to movies without losing an ounce of their creative spark. If anything, Reznor's work has gotten stronger in the last few years, which I attribute to him realizing he can't be the angst-ridden young man anymore. Regardless, here's a little "In Motion" for your Friday.