'submarine' review

Submarine is a slight, charming film about a Max Fischer-esque teen trying to find his way. Most critics seem to love it more than I do. My review is up at Yahoo.

drive-by truckers - goddamn lonely love

Happy Memorial Day weekend, folks. Be safe out there. And may you never feel that goddamn lonely love.

'The Tree of Life' review

The Tree of Life is boldly ambitious, stunning conceived, and occasionally transporting. Unfortunately, it's also probably Terrence Malick's most frustrating film. I go over it at length in my Yahoo review.

'Tuesday, After Christmas' Review

At this point, just about any movie from Romania interests me. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu ... 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days ... Police, Adjective ... The Happiest Girl in the World ... Tales From the Golden Age: It's just been one strong film after another. Now comes Tuesday, After Christmas, a very sober, lifelike depiction of a married man having an affair. I reviewed the film for Yahoo.

'kung fu panda 2' review

The first Kung Fu Panda was a real charmer. After years of "hip" (read: lame) DreamWorks animated films, Kung Fu Panda actually had some real heart -- plus, the thing looked fantastic. So my hopes were high for the new film. Unfortunately, I walked away disappointed. My review of Kung Fu Panda 2 is up at Screen International.

sebadoh - not too amused

Finally, someone got the bright idea of marrying Sebadoh's wonderfully angst-ridden lo-fi rock to an old Popeye cartoon....

'midnight in paris' review

Midnight in Paris is a real charmer. It's modest and likeable and funny. Is that enough? It is for me: I reviewed the film for Yahoo.

thoughts on terrence malick

On Monday, Terrence Malick's new film, The Tree of Life, premieres at Cannes. I took the opportunity to reflect back on the director's career, specifically the aura of mystery he's cultivated so successfully. My piece is up at Yahoo: I hope you enjoy.

vampire weekend - giving up the gun

Yes, you've probably already seen this video. But is it not amusing? And, really, "Giving Up the Gun" is something of a time-capsule video: It'll be used to document the way indie bands used to incorporate random bizarre celebrity pairings for comedic effect. Or something. Oh, just watch the video.

'pirates of the caribbean: on stranger tides' review

The initial reviews suggest I'm all by lonesome in thinking that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides stinks. Folks, I think it stinks really bad. I explain why over at Screen International.

'dylan dog: dead of night' review

I always thought Brandon Routh got a raw deal with Superman Returns. He played the part perfectly as a loving, dead-on homage to Christopher Reeve's turn as the Man of Steel a generation earlier. When the movie underperformed, everybody blamed him: Hey, he was just doing what he was told (and did it pretty well, I might add). Anyway, his career has stumbled a bit since then: He's in the new horror-comedy Dylan Dog: Dead of Night. It is not very good, as my Screen International review explains.

elvis costello and burt bacharach - this house is empty now

Remember when it seemed like Elvis Costello was making every other album with some sort of high-profile collaborator? 1998's Painted From Memory paired him with Burt Bacharach: "This House Is Empty Now" was a real standout.

'something borrowed' review

Oh, Something Borrowed, there's a kernel of a good idea embedded within your movie: Why couldn't you find it? And, seriously, Kate Hudson: What were you thinking? My review of this unfortunate romantic comedy is available over at Yahoo.

'thor' review

My review of Thor in five words: "Sue me, I liked it." My review of Thor in 860 words you can see over at Yahoo.

beastie boys - ricky's theme

The Beastie Boys are offering a free stream of their new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, so naturally I've been thinking a lot about these guys lately. And I thought about my favorite Beasties instrumental, "Ricky's Theme" off Ill Communication. It's smooth.

'jumping the broom' review

Jumping the Broom starts with a promising idea, but then it becomes essentially the African-American version of all those bad, melodramatic wedding movies where you laugh and cry and learn lots of deep, dark family secrets. Blegh, I say. My review is up at Screen International.

'prom' review

If I was 13 years old, I wonder what I'd make of Prom, the high school comedy-drama coming from Disney this Friday. The movie sure makes prom seem like the biggest, most awesomest thing ever. But because it's a Disney movie, the high school is the most unrealistic version of a high school you'll ever see: Everybody's teeth are way too perfect. I reviewed Prom for Screen International, which you can read here.

'the beaver' review

Well, after all the wait, The Beaver will finally be coming out May 6. I just saw the Mel Gibson comedy-drama-satire and reviewed it for Screen International. Overall, it's an honorable misfire, but Gibson's quite good in it. I go into more detail here.

fruit bats - the earthquake of '73

Five years ago, I got married to an amazing woman. This was the song for our first dance. I still get happy whenever it pops up on shuffle.

'incendies' review

Incendies was the Canadian entry for this year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. It's an involving drama, but also a really frustrating one. I review the film for Yahoo.