Screen
The Midnight Family
Mexico City is home to 9 million souls, but the government operates fewer than 45 ambulances to aid them in times of need. To...
Carano lacks punch
In terms of its title, Haywire doesn’t quite go there; it’s more “Haywire-ish.” But it’s eccentric, and the on-screen violence is sharp and exciting — brutal without being either subhumanly sadistic or superhumanly ridiculous...
Through the looking glass
Lewis Carroll’s immortal story Alice in Wonderland has been brought to the big screen many times, notably 1951’s animated Disney classic. That’s an intimidating challenge, especially for Tim Burton, who generally tackles new stories that can be crafted in his own ...
Can you see it now?
I bet the person in charge of marketing Colossal named the ulcer they developed “Nacho.” Writer/director Nacho Vigalondo’s latest is nigh-impossible to categorize and misleading...
Solid cast helps ‘2012’ overcome flaws
Nothing like a dandy evening's apocalypse to take the edge...
A smooth crossover
Compared to so much American animation, which seems hell-bent on putting a global audience of addled kids in a paradoxical manic stupor, the work of Japan’s Studio Ghibli sets its own pace, establishes its own, meticulously observed realms of the fantastic and ...
Mama, have mercy
Horror films are often peppered with moments in which you wish your protagonists were just a little more bright or had planned things out a little better — “Don’t go into that basement” and “Don’t open that door.” Even the beloved Shining leaves moments of, “Damn it...
Where the coconuts are
Zama — the latest from Argentinean writer/director Lucrecia Martel — opens with a parable: There is a fish, a long-suffering fish, which spends its...
Tolerable levels of cute
We’ve all been there, that moment in time when destiny knocks on the door, and we’d rather just yell “Go away, I already have plans!” So it’s easy to identify with E.B., the drum-playing rocker in the lead role of Hop. His destiny? He has to take over for his dad as ...
A snapshot, somewhat blurry, of ‘New York’
The simplest thing you can say about the movies is that they take you places, geographically, emotionally, hypnotically, and the ongoing “Cities We Love” project that began three years ago with Paris, je t’aime continues its global exploration with New York, I Love ...
