Est. 1998
This remake of the 1945 Jean Dréville film “La Cage aux Rossignols” was seen by more than 7 million moviegoers in France, making it the biggest French hit of the year. It’s no surprise: rarely have I seen a film as drenched in good sentiment. At any moment I expected puppies and rainbows to burst out of the screen. “Les Choristes” takes place in the…
Andy Kaufman is a very particular showbiz phenomenon. He was a legend who inspired a whole generation of comics, yet he never really got the mainstream recognition he deserved. That is until today, with the release of a major picture based on his life. Jim Carrey, who might be the late 90s’ Kaufman, stars as the late “song-and-dance-man”, and you can believe the hype: this…
I love The Doors. I think they’re one of the greatest bands ever. Their music is haunting and their sound is unique. Jim Morrison is undoubtedly a genius, a poet with a really powerful voice. Oliver Stone co-wrote and directed this biography of the band, which takes us through their short career, from their amazing rise to success to their end, but it’s mostly about Morrison,…
When he’s got a halfway decent screenplay to work with, Tony Scott can direct a pretty entertaining flick (Enemy of the State for instance) and if said script is downright brilliant, he’s able to deliver a near- masterpiece like True Romance. Put Scott at the helm of a movie with a problematic script, though, and he’ll make it seem even more superficial and dumb. This is what…
“What is love anyway? And is it really that fleeting? It would be real easy for me to say that “Cashback” is so offensive, it will make you want to demand your precious cash back. Only that isn’t fair. Writer/Director Sean Ellis’s expansion of his 2004 Oscar nominated short film of the same name can be juvenile, unconvincing and entirely misogynistic, but it somehow manages…
Drug flicks have almost evolved into a genre of their own. Filthy apartments and strung out punks are practically familiar things now, and I bet even the squarest, most white-bread moviegoers have gained a pretty precise idea of how to cook and inject heroine just from watching films like “Pulp Fiction” and “Trainspotting”! Now comes “The Salton Sea”, most concerned with “tweekers”, i.e. speed users….
Death penalty is one of the most controversial issues there are. To make a movie fair to both ways of thought, without taking any side and letting the audience make its own mind is an achievement by itself. Writer-director Tim Robbins’ powerful film makes you care about its death row protagonist and the nun who wants to help him die with dignity, yet it never…
Rated R , for graphic crude and sexual behavior, violent images and strong language — all involving puppets What more do you need to know? “Team America: World Police” might be the most oddball concoction to ever grace thousands of movie screens. Who knew Jerry Bruckheimer flicks, marionettes and the War on Terror could combine into such a great film? There are no words to…
What’s in a chick flick? This is often a derogative denomination, but sometimes it’s just a descriptive referring to a genre. So many films revolve around men that when all the main characters are women, it does feel particular. Not that this also means only women can enjoy a so-called chick flick. In the case of “In Her Shoes”, it wasn’t even made by a…
Between the shooting and the release of “An Unfinished Life”, Lasse Hallström had time to direct a whole other film, “Casanova”, presented at the last Venice Film Festival. When a studio keeps pushing back the release date of one of its productions, it never inspires confidence. Then again, the Swedish filmmaker’s (next-to) latest isn’t particularly inferior to his previous work. Those who can’t stand the…