No End in Sight Produced by Representational Pictures Directed and written by Charles Ferguson Distributed by Magnolia Pictures The Bourne Ultimatum Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Directed by Paul Greengrass Screenplay by Tony Gilroy and Scott Z. Burns The Simpsons Movie Produced and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Directed by David Silverman...
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I Love My Mother
Sicko Produced by The Weinstein Company Directed and written by Michael Moore Michael Moore calls his films documentaries, but they’re really sockumentaries. He is cinema’s heavyweight master of the sucker punch. Behind his slovenly, shambling flabbiness, he packs a vicious left hook. That’s politically left, of course. Now, some suckers deserve to be pounded by...
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Jekyll and Hyde in a Box
Mr. Brooks Produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Directed by Bruce A. Evans Screenplay by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon Last month, the Wall Street Journal gleefully doted on billionaire wonderboy Stephen Schwarzman of the aptly named Blackstone Group, a firm dealing in private equities and leveraged buyouts. Schwarzman, George W. Bush’s roommate at...
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The Last Adieu: A Wake for the Living
It is not surprising that death has always been a target for comedians and satirists. After all, dying is the ultimate prat fall, an ungainly reminder to others that their time is coming. When Leo Tolstoy wanted to have a good laugh at the expense of the Russian middle class, he naturally chose a funeral...
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In the Register of Ka-ching!
The Hoax Produced and distributed by Miramax Films Directed by Lasse Hallstrom Screenplay by William Wheeler With The Hoax, Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom and his screenwriter, William Wheeler, have at long last given Clifford Irving his due. They have done so by portraying their subject with about as much honesty as Irving did Howard Hughes...
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The Genetics of Hate and Mercy
The Wind That Shakes the Barley Produced by UK Film Council Directed by Ken Loach Screenplay by Paul Laverty Distributed by IFC First Take Last month, scientists at Oxford University reported that there are no significant genetic differences between the British and the Irish. Their announcement might almost have been timed as a sardonic backdrop to...
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The Personal Is Not the Political
The Lives of Others Produced by Bayerischer Rundfunk and Creado Film Directed and written by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics Breach Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Directed by Billy Ray Screenplay by Adam Mazer and William Rotko Anyone who wants to know what it is like to live in a...
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The Squirm Index
Little Miss Sunshine Produced by Big Beach Films Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Screenplay by Michael Arndt Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures Little Children Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema Directed by Todd Field Screenplay by Tom Perrotta and Todd Field Allow me to introduce the Squirm Index. For a while now,...
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Astray From the Fold
The Good Shepherd Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Directed by Robert De Niro Screenplay by Eric Roth Call me slow, but I had to see The Good Shepherd twice to figure out what was going on. Truth to tell, I’m still not entirely sure what this dour, 167-minute CIA drama wants to say. Its...
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Blood Offerings
Casino Royale Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Directed by Martin Campbell Screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis Distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment Apocalypto Produced by Icon Productions and Touchstone Directed by Mel Gibson Screenplay by Mel Gibson and Farhad Safinia Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Unlike the earlier techno-laden James Bond films, Casino Royale...
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Cross-Cultural Follies
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan Produced by Everyman Pictures Directed by Larry Charles Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, and Dan Mazer Distributed by 20th Century Fox Babel Produced by Anonymous Content and Zeta Film Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu Screenplay by Guillermo Arriaga Distributed...
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Infernally Yours
The Departed Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers Directed by Martin Scorsese Screenplay by William Monahan In The Departed, a raucously sordid meditation on the ways of the lower-class Boston Irish, director Martin Scorsese has included a passing tribute to Carol Reed’s peerless film, The Third Man. Reed’s adaptation of Graham Greene’s novella concludes with...
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Of Men and Supermen
Hollywoodland Produced by Miramax Films Directed by Allen Coulter Screenplay by Paul Bernbaum Distributed by Focus Features Of the entertainment industry’s many venerable traditions, cashing in on dead celebrities ranks just below rehabilitating headliner junkies. Untold millions have been made under the guise of immortalizing fallen performers—think of James Dean, Elvis, John Lennon. And who...
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Prohibition Addiction
Miami Vice Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Directed by Michael Mann Screenplay by Michael Mann and Anthony Yerkovich Miami Vice isn’t a film; it’s a cultural indicator. This thought came to me as I was making my way off a plane coming home from Las Vegas. (I was traveling for business, not pleasure, if...
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Super Savior
Superman Returns Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers Pictures Directed by Bryan Singer Screenplay by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris The American Civil Liberties Union’s executive officers must be on vacation somewhere off the telecommunications grid. This supposition occurred to me as I watched Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns. Although the film takes off the wraps...
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Leonardo’s Little Joke
The Da Vinci Code Produced by Columbia Pictures Directed by Ron Howard Screenplay by Akiva Goldsman from the novel by Dan Brown Distributed by Sony Pictures At one point in The Da Vinci Code, the marvelously funny movie based on Dan Brown’s as nearly hilarious novel, Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), renowned cryptologist for the Direction...
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Nobody’s Going to Help Us
United 93 Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Directed and written by Paul Greengrass United 93 is the extraordinarily convincing faux-documentary of what might have happened aboard the fourth plane hijacked on September 11, 2001. Flight 93 was the one that may have been headed for the Capitol in Washington, D.C., until its passengers stood...
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Word Power
V for Vendetta Produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Directed by James McTeigue Screenplay by Andy and Larry Wachowski Thank You for Smoking Produced by Room Nine Entertainment and ContentFilm Written and directed by Jason Reitman from the novel by Chistopher Buckley Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures “Words will always retain their power.” So says...
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Crash Course
Crash Produced by Bull’s Eye Entertainment Directed by Paul Haggis Screenplay by Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco Distributed by Lions Gate Films Last month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held its 78th annual awards ceremony. Dreamt up by Louis B. Mayer in 1927, the Academy’s advertised mission was to confer legitimacy on...
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Can’t Get No Satisfaction
Brokeback Mountain Produced and distributed by Focus Features Directed by Ang LeeScreenplay by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana from a story by Annie Proulx An enlightened colleague recently asked me what I thought of director Ang Lee’s film Brokeback Mountain. When I told him I thought it a dreary, sappy soap opera, he smiled pityingly...
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Keeping the Promise
Munich Produced and distributed by DreamWorks and Universal Pictures Directed by Steven Spielberg Screenplay by Eric Roth and Tony Kushner Munich is Steven Spielberg’s account of Israel’s retaliation against the Palestinians who masterminded the kidnapping and murder of 11 of their athletes during the 1972 Olympics. He has brought all the enormous resources of his...
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Out of Gas
Syriana Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan George Clooney wants you to know that he’s got gravitas. To prove it, he packed on an extra 35 pounds for his latest roles. In Good Night, and Good Luck, a film he directed, he plays Fred Friendly, the portly television producer...
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Whose Point of Order?
Good Night, and Good Luck Produced and distributed by Warner Independent and Redbus Pictures Directed by George Clooney Screenplay by Grant Heslov With all that has been revealed since the Soviet archives were opened to scrutiny in the 1990’s, does anyone still believe that Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy was hunting witches where there was...
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Limping to Hell With Good Intentions
A History of Violence Produced and distributed by Neil’ Line Cinema Directed bv David Cronenberg Screenplay by Josh Olson from the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke Film titles do not come more portentous than A History of Violence. Entering a Manhattan theater to view David Cronenberg’s latest cinematic lesson, I was half...
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Redemptive Weeding
The Constant Gardener Produced by Potboiler Productions and Scion Films Directed by Fernando Meirelles, Screenplay by Jeffrey Caine from John Le Carré’s novel Distributed by Focus Features What’s in your medicine chest? Aspirin, ibuprofen, antibiotics? Let me prescribe another medicine: John Le Carré’s disturbing novel, The Constant Gardener (2001), and its recent screen adaptation directed...
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Pimp Dreams
Hustle and Flow Produced by Crunk Pictures and New Deal Productions Directed and written by Craig Brewer Distributed by MTV Films and Paramount Classics Bulletin: Pimps and rappers have hearts; they have yearnings; they have midlife crises, for heaven’s sake! Sure, they exploit and abuse women, deal dope, and occasionally shoot one another; but, hell,...
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Preternatural Selection
War of the Worlds Produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Directed by Steven Spielberg Screenplay by David Koepp and Josh Friedman Holy oxymoron! Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds is a thoughtful summer blockbuster. While it serves up the obligatory thrills of the school’s-out-let-it-rip subgenre, it also pays surprisingly scrupulous homage to its...
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Low Blows, Dark Vengeance
Cinderella Man Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures and Miramax Films Directed by Ron Howard Screenplay by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman Batman Begins Produced and distributed by Warner Brothers Directed by Christopher Nolan Screenplay by David S. Goyer Boxing has always been a favorite subject for screenwriters. No other sport accommodates their mythomaniacal instincts...
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Fact and Fiction
Kingdom of Heaven Produced and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Directed by Ridley Scott Screenplay by William Monahan Crash Produced and distributed by Bull’s Eye Entertainment Directed and written by Paul Haggis As I watched Kingdom of Heaven, Sir Ridley Scott’s most recent directorial effort, a feeling of déjà vu descended upon me, the story...
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Empty Gestures
Sin City Produced by Dimension Films Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller Written by Frank Miller Distributed by Dimension Films and Miramax Films So you have been wondering what happened to Frodo, a.k.a. Elijah Wood, after he drifted off into that glorious sunset at the end of The Return of the King? It seems...
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Shooting One Another in the Land of the Free
Gods and Generals Produced and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell Screenplay adapted from Jeff Shaara’s novel by Ronald F. Maxwell Released by Warner Bros. Opening in 2003, director Ron Maxwell’s Civil War film, Gods and Generals, was swept from the multiplexes within two weeks by a torrent of critical hysteria. “Jingoistic goat spoor,” raged one...
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Exterminate the Brutes
Hotel Rwanda Produced and distributed by United Artists Directed by Terry George Screenplay by Keir Pearson and Terry George Hotel Rwanda is a must-see for President Bush and his administration. It might make them rethink their oft-repeated assurance that democracy is an unqualified good to be encouraged among all peoples everywhere. From the day Belgium...
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Fly Boy
The Aviator Produced by Warner Bros. and Miramax Films Directed by Martin Scorsese Screenplay by John Logan Distributed by Warner Bros. From the late 1920’s to the late 1950’s, Howard Hughes seemed to own the world. Backed by the wealth of his father’s patented oil-drill business, he moved from Houston to Los Angeles in 1925...
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Puritan Pervert
Kinsey Produced by American Zoetrope Written and directed by Bill Condon Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures Pervert. Although the word has been drummed out of polite conversation in recent years, pervert comes inevitably to mind when discussing Alfred C. Kinsey, the sex statistician and subject of Bill Condon’s new film, Kinsey. Pervert perfectly applies to...
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Saint Aborta and the Molesters
Vera Drake Produced by Thin Man Films and Studio Canal Written and directed by Mike Leigh Distributed by New Line Cinema Birth Produced and distributed by Fine Line Features Directed by Jonathan Glazer Screenplay by Jean-Claude Carrière and Milo Addica Mike Leigh, one of Britain’s socialist directors, begins and ends his latest effort, Vera Drake,...
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Nostalgia’s Rearview Mirror
The Motorcycle Diaries Produced by South Fork Pictures Directed by Walter Salles Screenplay based on The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara and Traveling with Che Guevara by Alberto Granado Distributed by Focus Features Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow Produced by Brooklyn Films Written and directed by Kerry Conran Distributed by Paramount Pictures It...
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Dim Young Things
Bright Young Things Produced by Doubting Hall Limited Written and directed by Stephen Fry from Evelyn Waugh’s novel Vile Bodies Distributed by Icon Film Distribution and Think Film, Inc. Stephen Fry’s Bright Young Things is a vibrant, hectic, but finally disappointing adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s second novel, Vile Bodies (1930). Although Fry has assembled an...
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What’s the Big Idea?
The Village Produced by Touchstone and Blinding Edge Pictures Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures The Manchurian Candidate Produced and distributed byParamount Pictures Directed by Jonathan Demme Screenplay by Daniel Pyne from the novel by Richard Condon George Axelrod (1962 screenplay) María, Full of Grace (María, llena eres de...
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Montage Mirage
Fahrenheit 9/11 Produced by Miramax Films and Dog Eat Dog Films Written and directed by Michael Moore Distributed by Lions Gate Films, Inc. Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 is shallow, manipulative, and malicious. It is also the slickest piece of cinematic propaganda since Sergei Eisenstein made Battleship Potemkin in 1925. Like Eisenstein’s film, Fahrenheit 9/11’s political...
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And Agamemnon Dead
Troy Produced by Warner Brothers and Plan B Films Directed by Wolfgang Petersen Screenplay by David Benioff Distributed by Warner Bros Control Room Produced by Andrew Rossi, Hani Salama, and Rosadel Varela Directed by Jehane Noujaim Distributed by Magnolia Pictures “Inspired by the Iliad.” These helpful words appear on-screen just before the final credits roll...
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Make Mine Revenge, Please
The Punisher Produced by Marvel Enterprises Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh Screenplay by Michael France and Jonathan Hensleigh Distributed by Lions Gate Films Inc. Man on Fire Produced by Fox 2000 Pictures and Scott Free Productions Directed by Tony Scott Screenplay by Brian Helgeland from A.J. Quinnell’s novel Distributed by 20th Century Fox Film Corporation Mean...
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Caution: Allegory Ahead
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Directed by Michel Gondry Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman Distributed by Focus Features The Return (Vozvrashcheniye) Produced by Ren Film Directed by Andrei Zvyagintsev Screenplay by Vladimir Moiseyenko and Aleksandr Novototsky Distributed by Kino International Allegory is a tricky undertaking. Its practitioners must conceal at first what they mean to...
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The Crux of the Matter
The Passion of the Christ Produced by Icon Productions Directed by Mel Gibson Screenplay by Benedict Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson Distributed by Newmarket Film Group I recently posted a review of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ in my In the Dark section of our website (Chronicles-Magazine.org). I expressed my admiration for the film...
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Monsters
Monster Produced by Zodiac Productions Inc. Written and directed by Patty Jenkins Distributed by Newmarket Film Group The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara Produced by @radical.media and Senart Films Directed by Errol Morris Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics In Monster, director Patty Jenkins rehearses yet again the pitiful...
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Character Is Fate
House of Sand and Fog Produced and distributed by DreamWorks Directed by Vadim Perelman Screenplay by Vadim Perelman and Shawn Lawrence Otto from the novel by Andre Dubus III As Heraclitus concluded so has Andre Dubus III: Character is fate. By way of illustration, in 1999, Dubus gave us his hypnotic novel House of Sand and Fog,...
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Secret Sharers
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox Directed by Peter Weir Screenplay by Peter Weir and John Collee from Patrick O’Brian’s novels The Last Samurai Produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and Cruise-Wagner Productions Directed by Edward Zwick Screenplay by John Logan Magisterial sea yarner Patrick...
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Exhibitionists
In the Cut Produced by Pathe and Red Turtle Productions Directed by Jane Campion Screenplay by Jane Campion and Susanna Moore Distributed by Screen Gems Shattered Glass Directed by Billy Ray Screenplay by Billy Ray from an article by Buzz Bissinger Produced by Cruise-Wagner Productions Distributed by Lions Gate Films Actors are exhibitionists. They feel...
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The Human Element
Intolerable Cruelty Produced by Alphaville Films and Imagine Entertainment Written and Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Distributed by Universal Pictures Lost in Translation Produced by American Zoetrope and Elemental Films Written and Directed by Sofia Coppola Distributed by Focus Features Intolerable Cruelty should by prosecuted for intolerable smugness, the besetting sin of...
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Quaint Honor
Thirteen Produced by Antidote Films and Michael London Productions Directed by Catherine Hardwicke Screenplay by Catherine Hardwicke and Nikki Reed Distributed by 20th Century Fox I am writing this review in my room at Hertford College in Oxford University, where I am attending the Evelyn Waugh centennial conference. Waugh studied at Hertford from 1921 to...
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The Well-Holstered Gun
Open Range Screenplay by Craig Storper from a novel by Lauran Paine Produced and directed by Kevin Costner The Western film genre has often been criticized for celebrating gun violence. But mainstream oateaters often have more in common with the peace-loving Jane Austen than with the blood-besotted Sam Peckinpah. My Darling Clementine, Shane, The Fastest...