Hollywood Films
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra—yet another celebration of militarism and war
By Christie Schaefer and Hiram Lee, September 5, 2009
Based on a popular toy and cartoon franchise, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a film that does little more than glorify militarism and war.
Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino goes to war
By Hiram Lee, September 1, 2009
Director Quentin Tarantino’s latest film is another sadistic revenge tale, this time set during the Second World War.
Funny People: Requiem for a paperweight
By Tom Horton, August 14, 2009
Funny People, producer-director Judd Apatow’s bid for recognition as a serious filmmaker, serves instead as the first major theatrical failure since his string of hits began in 2004.
Public Enemies and a pivotal moment in American history
By Joanne Laurier, July 11, 2009
Based on material in Bryan Burrough’s Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34, Michael Mann’s new film chronicles John Dillinger’s spectacular and short...
Karl Malden: a serious actor
By David Walsh, July 3, 2009
Malden first made his name in the New York theater as part of a generally left-wing group of writers, directors and performers and later enjoyed a long career in Hollywood extending from the postwar y...
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3: A tale of two movies
By Alan Whyte, July 2, 2009
A remake of the 1974 film, the new version of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 retains the same plotline: a gang of criminals hijacks a single New York City subway car and attempts to extort cash from city ...
Six pre-Production Code films from William Wellman: an uneven but welcome collection
By Charles Bogle, June 22, 2009
In one astonishing 12-month period, 1932 to 1933, American filmmaker William Wellman directed 13 movies, 6 of which are included in this, the third volume in Turner Classic Movies’ “Forbidden Holl...
Lymelife: How filmmakers look at recent American life
By David Walsh, May 30, 2009
Lymelife, directed and co-written by Derick Martini (along with his brother Steven), takes place in a New York City suburb in the late 1970s or early 1980s. The film has its share of clichés, but it ...
Duplicity: The essential unseriousness of it
By David Walsh, March 27, 2009
After the relatively critical edge of Michael Clayton, filmmaker Tony Gilroy appears to offer an olive branch to Hollywood in the form of the trivial, unengaged Duplicity.
Watchmen and Hollywood’s advanced state of decay
By David Walsh, March 13, 2009
Films are only going to get worse before they get better, if Watchmen and the noisy, bombastic trailers accompanying it are any indication.
Behind the times: the nominees for the 81st Annual Academy Awards
By Hiram Lee and David Walsh, January 23, 2009
The nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards were announced on Thursday. In general, it’s a poor showing of films not up to the task of treating real life with any complexity.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Too little made of a life led in reverse
By Kevin Martinez, January 6, 2009
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button concerns itself with the fate of an individual who ages in reverse. Born a shriveled old man, Benjamin Button experiences the natural aging process backward.
