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Tag: Drama

Twilight Saga: New Moon, The (2009)

Drama Rated PG-13

Robert Pattinson and his stomach cramps – I mean, aching unrequited love – are less oppressive in this sequel to Twilight, given that he has far less screen time. But the trade off is you’re now stuck with Taylor Lautner and his relentless shirtlessness. It’s not just Lautner – none of his werewolf friends feel

Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The (2010)

Drama Rated PG-13

“Forget romantic thriller; this is an abstinence thriller.

Please Give (2010)

Drama Rated R

“Holofcener explores the contemporary female experience with a camera that is at once empathetic and merciless.

Broken Embraces (2009)

Drama Rated R

Pedro Almodovar reteams with Penelope Cruz, and you have your review right there. Actually, Broken Embraces isn’t quite at the same level as the pair’s Volver, mostly because Almodovar is playing a bunch of meta moviemaking games (as he did in Bad Education). His protagonist is a blind director (Lluis Homar) who recounts the tragic

Julie & Julia (2009)

Drama Rated PG-13

Julie & Julia was largely criticized for its split format. Most people loved Meryl Streep as a fluttery, determined Julia Child, while hardly anyone wanted to spend time with Amy Adams’ narcissistic blogger, who chronicles her attempt to cook her way through Child’s famous recipe book in one year. Yet as unlikeable as the Adams

Bright Star (2009)

Drama Rated PG

Gorgeous and anchored by a flinty performance from Abbie Cornish, it’s a mystery as to why this Jane Campion period piece fades away rather than catches fire. Cornish plays Fanny Brawne, a seamstress who had a love affair with John Keats up to his youthful death. Campion beautifully weaves Keats’ poetry with her romantic imagery,

Red Shoes, The (1948)

Drama Rated NR

The Criterion Collection releases a new DVD of what may be the definitive Technicolor movie.

Wings of Desire (1987)

Drama Rated PG-13

How much Eurobabble are you willing to endure in exchange for a look at one of the cinema’s most ravishing and compassionate screen visions? Hopefully a lot, because Wings of Desire – the art-house landmark from Wim Wenders that has been rereleased on DVD by Criterion – has endless poetic yammering that belies its deep,

Dear John (2010)

Drama Rated PG-13

“…features tweens in grownups’ clothing.

Everyone Else (2010)

Drama Rated NR

This German import, from writer-director Maren Ade, made waves in the foreign-film world in 2010, but it struck me as a minor work. A navel-gazing mood piece with just enough Eurosex to keep you awake, Everyone Else follows a young couple on a Mediterranean vacation whose relationship comes to a tipping point. The couple was

Recent Reviews

The Blood of a Poet (1932)

Drama Rated NR

“A surrealist burst of artistic angst…”

If I Go Will They Miss Me (2026)

Drama Rated NR

“… creates a permeable world, in which unspoken fears and dreams seep into the mundanity of everyday life.”

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

Thriller Rated R

“Lee’s true gift is to make every moment feel plausible and palpable.”


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