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Perhaps lumped in with the "Splat Pack" filmmakers ( Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, Alexandre Aja) for the sheer volume of gore that the sequels to their self-proclaimed thriller Saw unleashed, director James Wan and writer-actor Leigh Whannell will surprise audiences with the straight-faced camp and old-school spookiness of their maniacally enjoyable new film Insidious. Aaron Hillis chatted with Wan and Whannell about the film for a New podcast >> |
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In This Dispatch:
- What's New: Philip Morris, Casino Jack and more.
- What We're Watching: Made in Dagenham, Harvey Milk, Cool It.
- Explore: Meek's Cutoff; Source Code.
- Contests: Hanna giveaway; Jane Eyre winner.
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Glenn Ficarra's film is improbably based on a true story of a charismatic conman. "Less of a comedy than a hilarious tragedy," writes John Anderson in Variety, "I Love You Phillip Morris stars Jim Carrey in his most complicated comedic role since The Cable Guy." Adds Stephen Holden, "With his manic glare, ferociously eager smile, hyperkinetic body language and talent for instant self- transformation, Carrey has rarely been more charismatic on the screen. " |
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Feature and documentary filmmaker George Hickenlooper's final film lays bare the wild excesses and escapades of Jack Abramoff ( Kevin Spacey). "Though Casino Jack never lets its protagonist off the hook for his misdeeds," writes JR Jones, "it does underline the hypocrisy of those politicians who were content to take his money but then ran for cover in February 2004 when the Washington Post began to expose his fleecing of six different Indian tribes." Adds Roger Ebert, it is "so forthright, it is stunning." |
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With Saving Grace, Calendar Girls and now Made In Dagenham, director Nigel Cole proves that, with decent writing and a good cast, he can give us smart, topical, mainstream movies that will fill up American art cinemas -- at least briefly -- after which they will find their way to healthy ancillary profits. Cole's work gets better, film after film, and Dagenham is his strongest yet. This is a movie with a message that could hardly be more timely [see: Wisconsin]. Cole, and his team – including writer William Ivory, actress Sally Hawkins and an exceptionally fine ensemble, each of whom captures his/her character in delightful and very specific fashion -- takes us back to pre-Thatcher England, to... Read more >> |
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The ragged, powerful documentary The Times of Harvey Milk captures the beloved spirit and energy of San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk who was shot down and killed in 1978 -- along with mayor George Moscone -- by fellow supervisor Dan White. Astonishingly, thanks to the infamous "Twinkie Defense" -- in which he blamed his depression on too much junk food -- White was only convicted of manslaughter and served just five and a half years in prison... Read more >> |
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I hadn't heard of Bjorn Lomborg before I sat down to view Ondi Timoner's new documentary about Lomborg and his unorthodox but seemingly more intelligent (and probably infinitely more useful) approach to climate change and global warming than what we've been served up until now. Cool It is a smart title on several counts. It's swift and even a bit cute, while telling us not to get so worked up and apocalyptic about global warming and its results upon our tired and increasingly put-upon Mother Earth... Read more >> |
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