Sam Peckinpah's WWII message movie, set in the Nazi trenches outside Stalingrad, is not exactly anti-war (under fire, the infantrymen learn to cultivate profound, soul-searching eye contact), but it is explicitly anti-officers. In one of their unending bunker debates, the aloof, aristocratic commandant asserts that all men of quality come …
Detroit streetball plus Sunday sermon. The scale of operations -- the volume of wagers, the population of cheerleaders -- is preposterous to begin with, and the climactic grudge match is nonsensical. With Anthony Mackie, Wesley Jonathan, Wayne Brady, Kristen Wilson, Alecia Fears; written and directed by Preston A. Whitmore II.
Amiable little backstage musical about a handsome salsa singer in East Harlem (Ruben Blades, who also co-wrote the script and the music), who wants to hit it really big: "Who the fuck do you think you are? Julio Iglesias?" The general structure is as weather-beaten as can be (singer gets …
Ry Cooder, a lifelong Californian who has cut a sort of musicological path through blues, jazz, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, and heaven knows where all, is responsible for the (very good) country-blues soundtrack here, and is also a sort of soul mate to the hero. The latter (Ralph Macchio) is a Long …
Dramatic acting debut of Britney Spears, that Pied Piper of Girl Power. It definitely gives the pop star more latitude than her Pepsi commercials, to which homage is paid when she sashays past the vending machine at a gas station. But that's just another way of saying more rope with …
The story of three childhood friends, Lucy (Britney Spears), Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning), who, after eight years apart, rediscover their friendship on a cross-country trip. With barely a plan, practically no money but plenty of dreams, the girls catch a lift with Mimi's handsome friend Ben (Anson …
The story of three childhood friends, Lucy (Britney Spears), Kit (Zoe Saldana) and Mimi (Taryn Manning), who, after eight years apart, rediscover their friendship on a cross-country trip. With barely a plan, practically no money but plenty of dreams, the girls catch a lift with Mimi's handsome friend Ben (Anson …
Ang Lee's hommage to the martial-arts fairy tales of his heritage, especially perhaps to the splendrous period pieces of King Hu, is a beautiful bore. The costumes, the sets, the scenery, the wide-screen photography, the mature leading lady, the China-doll ingénue -- beautiful. The talky script, the uninflected unpunctuated narrative …
Didactic, moralistic, blaringly metaphorical character study of a would-be serious writer who loses himself in the job of a casino dealer. (Fertile ground for themes of chance, risk, cheating, betrayal.) A little thin in atmosphere and opaque in plot, but highly creative in its voice-over narration, the hero relating events …
The comic-book fantasy during the filming of which Brandon (son of Bruce) Lee was shot to death with a prop pistol. We have been assured that the fatal accident has been left out of the final cut, but that doesn't eliminate the ghoulishness of the thing. It's an essential element …
An office worker deals with the simple joys and tragedies of married life. (silent film)
Lakeith Stanfield has been inching his way toward stardom with memorable work in Short Term 12, Snowden, and Miles Ahead. Crown Heights affords him more screen time than he’s ever had before, but while he’s superb in the lead, the actor’s time would have been better spent on something besides …