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Tag: Drama

No Reservations (2007)

Drama Rated PG

As Kate Armstrong, a no-nonsense chef at a chic New York restaurant, Catherine Zeta-Jones crimps her lips and fastidiously straightens her apron, yet the mannerisms come off as yet another contrivance in a picture full of them. Equally annoying is Aaron Eckhart as Kate’s new sous chef. Blaring opera in the kitchen and talking to

Goya’s Ghosts (2007)

Drama Rated R

“…only captivates when Forman and his production designers echo some of the painter’s more famous tableaus.

Cashback (2007)

Drama Rated NR

"…focuses on a pervert who thinks he’s a romantic. The more sincere this guy gets about his leering, the more he creeps you out."

Demonlover (2003)

Drama Rated NR

When a movie’s press material spends as much time insisting that the film means something as the material for Demonlover does, it’s a pretty good indication that the picture in question is meaningless. Demonlover, from French director and critical darling Olivier Assayas, isn’t quite that empty. Its flimsy narrative thread – involving a pending merger

Door in the Floor, The (2004)

Drama Rated R

In this bitter, bracing drama, Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger – both excellent – play Ted and Marion Cole, a wealthy but miserable married couple struggling to survive the death of their young sons years earlier. She has sunk into a near-coma of grief, while he lashes out via repeated infidelities. It’s not a pretty

Dopamine (2003)

Drama Rated R

Is love anything more than a hormonal impulse? That’s the question posed by Dopamine, an independent drama about an emotionally skeptical computer animator (John Livingston) who won’t admit he may have met the girl of his dreams (Sabrina Lloyd). Perhaps I would have cared more about the answer if Dopamine had brought even an iota

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2003)

Drama Rated NR

Often fodder for lowbrow horror flicks, Bram Stoker’s classic tale gets the highbrow treatment here. Cult Canadian director Guy Maddin has adapted the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s interpretation of Stoker’s novel for the screen, resulting in a mixture of dance performance and Maddin’s signature, silent-movie style. Maddin’s ghostly black-and-white imagery – punctuated by occasional bursts of

Duane Hopwood (2005)

Drama Rated R

This unfortunate vehicle for former “Friends” star David Schwimmer, can never quite decide whether it wants to be a hard-hitting domestic drama or a quirky character comedy. Schwimmer – as the title alcoholic, who is in denial despite the threat of losing his wife and kids – seems capable of going both directions, but not

Elephant (2003)

Drama Rated R

Gus Van Sant makes Elephant an act of mourning – specifically over the Columbine shootings, and also over the loss of innocence that tragedy implied. Appropriately set during the fall, when things are dying beautifully, the film uses lyrical camera work to cast a spiritual glow on the most mundane of high school activities –

Ellie Parker (2005)

Drama Rated NR

This mostly works as a curious commentary on star Naomi Watts’ career. Her Ellie, a struggling Hollywood actress frantically running from one futile audition to the next, is a variation on Watts’ breakout role in Mulholland Drive, while one scene takes place at a zoo, where she goes gaga over gorillas. Sound familiar? The King

Recent Reviews

Mother Mary (2026)

Drama Rated R

“A collage of religio-goth gestures…”

The Great Dictator (1940)

Comedy Rated G

“Charlie Chaplin was not messing around.”

Sophie’s Choice (1982)

Drama Rated R

“Streep has what can only be called a commanding fragility.”


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