A New York City subway dispatcher draws on his extensive knowledge of the subway system in order to outsmart a dangerous criminal mastermind who’s hijacked a subway train in this remake of the 1974 thriller inspired by John Godey’s best-selling book. Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) was drifting through his daily routine when he received word […]
Movies
Posted inArts & Culture
The Hangover
Two days before his wedding, Doug and his three friends drive to Las Vegas for a blow-out bachelor party they’ll never forget. But, in fact, when the three groomsmen wake up the next morning, they can’t remember a thing. For some reason, they find a tiger in the bathroom and a six-month-old baby in the […]
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Terrible teens
Untitled Document Many recent films about troubled youth remind me of Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit, in which hell is other people. The biggest problem facing teens today, according to these films, is other teens. Alpha Dog (2006) is a powerful indictment of today’s youth, but its brute honesty hindered its commercial potential. Watching the […]
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Fab Four on film
Untitled Document Forty years ago the Beatles changed music for the second time with the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and it still tops lists as the greatest album ever recorded. I would choose The White Album as their greatest, but Sgt. Pepper is nothing to scoff at. The Beatles, in their […]
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Mr. Costner
Untitled Document Kevin Costner needs no introduction, but he seems to need a reintroduction. Audiences mistakenly think that they know what to expect from him. His taking on the role of a serial killer in Mr. Brooks certainly has surprised many of his fans. Costner is generally viewed as the strong all-American actor of the […]
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Hurricane Billy is back
Untitled Document Bug may have been drowned in the current flood of sequels, but it has great cinematic significance. The intense psychological-horror thriller marks the return to form of director William Friedkin. He hasn’t been this good in decades. Ashley Judd gives a fearless performance as a troubled waitress who lets a strange drifter (Michael […]
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The cult of Jodorowsky
Untitled Document His is hardly a household name, but the influence of Alejandro Jodorowsky goes beyond name recognition. His best-known film is El Topo (1970), which translates to The Mole, a cult classic that created the midnight-movie phenomenon of the 1970s. He was the world’s premier director of weird cinema before David Lynch stole his […]
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All is Welles
Untitled Document The Third Man (1949) is the greatest Orson Welles movie Welles didn’t direct. It is a testament to the greatness of this film that many people assume that Welles did direct it. Criterion has preserved this classic thriller on a new two-disc special-edition DVD. Joseph Cotten stars as an American who is invited […]
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Full house
Untitled Document Perhaps it’s a personal thing, having a grandfather who was a professional gambler during the Depression, but few occupations are as cinematically fascinating. Apparently I’m alone on this, with Lucky You folding at the box office despite its relatively realistic portrait of the game of poker and its players. Eric Bana […]
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Neverending wars
Untitled Document May 1 marked the four-year anniversary of President George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” photo-op debacle, and the Iraq War rages on. Just as Hollywood avoided confronting the Vietnam War while it was in progress, we aren’t likely to see anything significant representing Iraq until it comes to an end, whenever that may be. […]
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Rising star
Untitled Document Every new generation has its rising star, and the newest is Ryan Gosling. Fresh from his first Oscar nomination, he can be seen in the murder thriller Fracture. Gosling plays a hotshot prosecutor who never loses a case, but he is frustrated trying to prove the guilt of Anthony Hopkins, who has confessed […]
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Big Dam road show
Untitled Document The emergent Young Springfield Professionals Network takes a cue from the Young Professionals of Quincy: a short film festival highlighting 18 movies from around the country. The best entries from Quincy’s Big Dam Film Festival, each clocking in at less than 20 minutes, unspool this weekend in Springfield. A few YSPN members traveled […]
