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Articles in Culture and Criticism

Little Miss Sunshine
March 5, 2007 – 5:41 AM | No Comment

It is, do not kid yourself, right up on that line where “quirky” becomes “shticky,” but the acting saves it.Every member of the cast is utterly lovable and familiar, and there isn’t a false acting …

Lenny Bruce: Swear To Tell The Truth
March 5, 2007 – 5:41 AM | No Comment

It’s not bad, but it felt like a lot got glossed over, like they had to rush to fit everything in, and all of a sudden he’s dead and it’s like, whoa, how’d we get …

The Last Waltz
March 5, 2007 – 5:41 AM | No Comment

If I ever have to get a divorce from Sam Rockwell, Robbie Robertson is my next husband. Oh, shut up. He had really good rock and roll hair, okay? Plus, if he can play that …

The Last Picture Show
March 5, 2007 – 5:40 AM | No Comment

I watched the bulk of it weeks ago, but then my TiVo spazzed and cut off the last ten minutes, so I had to order it in from Netflix, and as I suspected, I didn’t …

The Last Metro
March 5, 2007 – 5:40 AM | No Comment

The whole love-story element between Deneuve and Depardieu really seems to come out of nowhere; show, don’t tell, Truffaut. But the rest of the movie is very compelling and so lovely just to look at. …

Ladder 49
March 5, 2007 – 5:39 AM | No Comment

It’s for work, which allowed me to watch it with less hatred than I might have felt otherwise, but my Lord, what a paint-by-numbers bore. Joaquin is good, and Jacinda Barrett is surprisingly okay, but…oh, …

King Kong
March 5, 2007 – 5:39 AM | No Comment

I’d never seen the 1933 version, and honestly, I can’t tell you to bother; if you do, feel free to skip parts, because at an hour and 45 minutes, it’s just too long, and you’re …

Kingdom of Heaven
March 5, 2007 – 5:38 AM | No Comment

Blech. Confusing, dull, and overly PC. Edward Norton’s character is kind of interesting, but once he dies, snoozerama. (9/8/06)

Justifiable Homicide
March 5, 2007 – 5:38 AM | No Comment

A documentary about the shooting deaths of two Puerto Rican teenagers in the Bronx, and how the cops probably weren’t justified.It’s a little thin, but worth watching for the part where one kid’s mother totally …

JFK
March 5, 2007 – 5:37 AM | No Comment

Oliver Stone frequently drives me nuts, but he’s a technical master, and I enjoyed JFK — even at the endurance-testing director’s-cut length of 206 minutes. Okay, the closing arguments sequence at the end felt far …