New Nicholas Sparks adaptation is almost touching


Nicholas Sparks’ novels are formulaic, simple and cheesy, but girls love them. Adaptations of Sparks’ novels have the potential to be transformed for the screen into an epic love story, like The Notebook, but they can just as easily fizzle out into Razzy-worthy trainwrecks. The movie version of The Last Song was a giant “almost” […]

South Korean film finds humor in cruelty


Mothers are strange beasts. Their relationships with their children are far more complex and imperfect than most realize until they are parents themselves. Some women come to hate their children while others, like the older lady at the center of director Joon-ho Bong’s Mother, develop an unhealthy obsession with their offspring. Bong’s first South Korean […]

Burton presents new vision of old territory


For seasoned filmmaker Tim Burton, negotiating the fine line between his role as a sweetheart of Hot Topic patrons and a director exploring the boundaries of commercial viability is a full-time job. Alice in Wonderland’s wide release opening today marks the director’s most recent effort to darken the silver screen. In the film, Burton tells […]

Shutter Island is good, but not Scorsese’s best


Now, the question here isn’t whether or not Shutter Island is a good film — because it most certainly is. The question, given the director’s glowing repertoire and ’06 masterpiece, is whether or not Shutter Island is a great film. All things considered, Shutter Island finds Martin Scorsese sorely out of his element. Teddy Daniels […]

Unsophisticated ploys cheapen latest Polanski thriller


The Ghost Writer, controversial Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski’s newest film, was made under intense personal stress. Filmed in exile, edited under house arrest and released during complicated legal troubles, the resulting film is a claustrophobic, compelling thriller that feels only a little bit rushed. Some guys can’t write five-paragraph essays after their girlfriends break up […]

Chadha’s latest film is not so Wonderful


In 2002, British director Gurinder Chadha delved into the complex world of the Indian ethnic identity in present-day England. Bend It Like Beckham — a film about a talented young Indian woman living in London with impressive soccer skills — places the main character’s European-influenced social life against the strict religious expectations of her Indian-born […]