Kids find game. Kids play game. Game makes crazy, realistic, life-threatening things happen. Lessons are learned. Game ends. If this sounds familiar, that’s because Zathura: A Space Adventure, like 1995’s Jumanji, is one of three films created from the work of artist and children’s author Chris Van Allsburg. (The second, The Polar Express, shows [...]
Entries from May 2006
Zathura: A Space Adventure
May 29th, 2006 · No Comments
Tags: Family · Popcorn · Sci-Fi/Fantasy
De-Lovely
May 28th, 2006 · 1 Comment
With ambition often comes risk of failure, and De-Lovely is an extremely ambitious film, attempting to celebrate the creations of one of the greatest American composers of popular musicals while simultaneously telling the story of his adult life. The film begins with a bizarre premise evocative of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: an aging (and [...]
Tags: Biographical · Musical
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
May 17th, 2006 · 1 Comment
For reasons I can’t quite explain, I really didn’t care to see this film. So much so, that when the traditional Friday-after-Thanksgiving trip to the cineplex divided my extended family into two camps, I chose to abandon the high-minded adults in line for Pride and Prejudice and accompany my nieces and nephews to experience Chicken [...]
The Sword of Doom
May 17th, 2006 · No Comments
If you are a fan of the Kill Bill films and want to see a film that I suspect was one of Tarantino’s many inspirations, I highly recommend Kihachi Okamoto’s Sword of Doom. Be aware that the film does not end very satisfactorily. (Apparently the story — that of sociopath swordsman Ryunosuke and those left [...]
Tags: Action/Adventure · Foreign Language
On the Town
May 15th, 2006 · 2 Comments
This happens a lot: Maggie and I sit down over the weekend to watch a film on DVD only to discover that there does not appear to be a remotely uplifting candidate among the week’s Netflix arrivals. I try to be a good movie jockey and mix it up a bit. Really, I do. But [...]
United 93
May 9th, 2006 · 1 Comment
I have just returned home from seeing United 93. Although I am a bit behind at posting comments on a few of the films I’ve seen recently, I want to write this one now, while the experience is still fresh, in part because I think what I would write in a few days would be [...]
Tags: Biographical · Director · Ensemble
Eros
May 3rd, 2006 · 1 Comment
Wong Kar-wai is cheating, folks. It really isn’t fair how effective his filmmaking is at capturing a certain mood, often evocative of longing and long-suffering. He has found a recognizable formula for his elliptical storytelling: Christopher Doyle’s deft touch for lighting and camera placement; a lush score; beautiful period costumes; and otherwordly, dank settings. [...]
Tags: Director · Foreign Language · Romance · Short
Here are this morning’s Oscar-nominated films, alphabetically. The nominees for foreign language film and documentary feature are compiled at the end of the list. (Short format nominees are listed in a 
