Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, January 4,2007

The lighter side of spies

Plenty of spoofs about spooks

Untitled Document The Good Shepherd presents a realistic view of the Central Intelligence Agency, but sometimes it is difficult to take the world of spying seriously. Movies have

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, December 28,2006

Sly's comeback

We might not need another Rocky, but Stallone does

By Marc Sigoloff

Do we really need another Rocky movie? Apparently Sylvester Stallone does, as a means of resuscitating his dying career. There are three methods of regaining public attention: One is to try a gimmick,

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, December 21,2006

Queen Helen

Mirren rules as Elizabeth -- and in everything else she does

By Marc Sigoloff

Helen Mirren appears to be headed for her first Oscar, for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen. So far she has swept the critics’ awards for her introspective performance of the stoic qu

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Friday, December 15,2006

Neo-noir

The purists say it can’t be color, but you be the judge

By Marc Sigoloff

Film noir is a style of filmmaking that characterized Hollywood detective and murder thrillers in the 1940s and ’50s. The name essentially means “dark cinema,” and its influences are

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Wednesday, December 6,2006

Buy this Bond

Casino Royale joins the short list of best-ever James Bonds

By Marc Sigoloff

Every now and then the James Bond films need to scale back to a sense of reality. The Roger Moore Bonds became a bit too spacey, but the Timothy Dalton cure didn’t take hold. A fine actor, Dalto

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Wednesday, November 29,2006

Rest in peace, Robert Altman

Director’s passing one of the cinema’s great losses

By Marc Sigoloff

The recent passing of Robert Altman is one of the greatest losses to the world of cinema. My high regard for his work should be apparent from past columns, including the one last week, which was writt

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Tuesday, November 21,2006

Hyperlink movies

Breaking up the narrative is hard to do well

By Marc Sigoloff

Babel completes Alejandro González Iñárritu’s trilogy of fate. His global thriller towers over Amores Perros (2000), but it falls short of the emotional power of 21 Grams (2

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, November 16,2006

Mockumentaries

Spoof documentaries have been around a long time

By Marc Sigoloff

Untitled Document The new film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan has already outgrossed all other mockumentaries — fi

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Wednesday, November 8,2006

Political thrillers

In Hollywood, it’s all about scandal, assassination, and spying

By Marc Sigoloff

In Hollywood, the struggle for political power seldom has to do with electoral contests; instead, politics frequently revolve around scandal, assassination, and spying. The Sentinel (2006) begins with

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Wednesday, November 1,2006

The war of our fathers

Why Hollywood keeps fighting World War II

By Marc Sigoloff

World War II was the big one, and Hollywood must agree. More footage has been devoted to WWII than to all other wars combined. Even in the modern era WWII continues to outpace other wars. While compla