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 (2003). Perhaps spreading the canvas over three continents diminished its impact. The hyperlink form he uses breaks the narrative into smaller separate stories that link up in different […]

Untitled Document The new film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan has already outgrossed all other mockumentaries — fiction films, usually comedies, presented in documentary format. Mockumentaries have grown in popularity in recent years but until Borat the fanbase has been limited. This film completely defied expectations because of […]

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 great promise as it closely examines the inner workings of the Secret Service and its rigorous methods of protecting the president. Then it goes off track with […]

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 complaints of the abundance of Vietnam War films in the ’70s were growing, no one noticed that six times […]

Hollywood is not currently in its golden age of horror, and to compensate it is remaking the horror films of better days. An unusually high number of horror films from the ’70s have been remade in recent years, further fueling the exaggerated claims that Hollywood has run out of ideas. I’ve waded through numerous films […]

The Departed is being hailed as Martin Scorsese’s best film since Goodfellas (1990). The new film is a great, solid work that ranks among the director’s great achievements, but the comparison is a bit unfair. Why is Goodfellas, possibly Scorsese’s most overrated film, viewed as the yardstick of his career? Too much of the action […]

Jack Nicholson has reached a milestone with the release of The Departed. His career as a major star has now tied the incredible run of John Wayne. For those in doubt, let’s do the math. Wayne achieved stardom with the 1939 release of Stagecoach, and his final film, The Shootist, was released in 1976. Nicholson […]

The Guardian is a rare military movie in that it focuses on the Coast Guard, but ultimately it is also much different from other noncombat films. The absolute need for major conflict results in the same overused plotline, which can be boiled down to two words: basic training. Apparently the rest of military life isn’t […]

The Black Dahlia is the latest murder thriller from Brian De Palma, who has spent his long career trying to shake the label of Hitchcock rip-off artist. The fact that he has made many films in that genre merely suggests he should be considered its modern master. When I look over his list of thrillers […]

Murder is more fascinating when it is dressed up as a true Hollywood story, and two new theatrical releases dramatize a pair of legendary stories. Hollywoodland delves into the mystery of Superman star George Reeves’ reported suicide that many believe was actually a murder, and The Black Dahlia is a fictionalized account of the infamous […]

Jason Statham (pronounced “stay-thum,” with a hard “th”) is a different kind of action star. Unlike Schwarzenegger or Stallone, he speaks fluent English, although it is Cockney. Statham’s latest action vehicle, Crank, opened quite well despite his low level of recognition here. British crime-movie virtuoso Guy Ritchie discovered Statham when he was a model and […]