| Critic |
Review |
Quote |
Analysis |
This Week's Verdict |
Rob Nelson,
Village Voice |
American Cannibal |
"[American Cannibal's] Bialystock and Bloom — identified here as Dave Roberts and Gil Ripley of KanDu! Productions — come across as mere frat house hopefuls on a pledge-week dare to infiltrate the biz. Not even their pretensions stand up to scrutiny, as the oversized Godard poster in their office keeps falling behind the couch." |
Hands down the best review of American Cannibal. Rob Nelson deftly unmasks it as a gonzo The Producers for the new century. We're bracing ourselves for the inevitable musical and redundant movie remake.
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Stephanie Zacharek,
Salon |
Premonition |
"Smoking in the movies is being targeted by anti-smoking groups as if it were the equivalent of distributing heroin in kindergartens. [...] But smoking is sometimes part of life: As any former or current smoker will tell you, there are times when a cigarette can seem dearer than life itself. And there's something about the way Bullock holds that cigarette — at a remove, like something she feels guilty about but can't resist — that tells us Linda isn't a regular smoker. This cigarette is a last resort, a desperate hedge against the possibility of oblivion. It can't save her, but for a few moments, it wraps her in the illusion that it can." |
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but a cigarette can be an excellent excuse for a two-paragraph digression about the war on smoking. Not that we disagree, but we also sense Rebecca Traister isn't the only Salon writer who misses the sweet balm of nicotine. |
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Kevin Crust,
L.A. Times |
Premonition |
"That sinking feeling you had seeing the trailer for Premonition will get worse only if you take the bait and see the movie. Its biggest failing — and the ultimate one for a lightweight entertainment such as this — is that it's a deadly bore from start to finish." |
Crust uses two short opening sentences to save us both from seeing the movie and reading the rest of the review. Nice job. |
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Lou Lumerick,
New York Post |
Premonition |
"Bill Kelly's screenplay has the right ingredients for a thriller like this, but he doesn't play fair with the audience. Once you've set out the rules, no matter how far-fetched (see last year's Déja vu), you flout them only at your peril. Even when Kelly comes up with a neat twist — Bullock discovers hubby is planning to cheat on her with Amber Valletta and wonders if she should just let the creep die — he's undermined by Turkish-German director Mennan Yapo." |
Can't trust those sneaky Turkish-Germans — always undermining the rules. |
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Armond White,
NY Press |
The Wind That Shakes the Barley |
"[Loach] wants the emotional sway of The Wind — which should be an Irish version of Bertolucci's poetic/political epic 1900 — to be purely political. This results in many moments of sham realism (pompous British landowners, ignorant country matrons) as offensive as a Michael Winterbottom movie. Winterbottom is the contemporary filmmaker most guilty of distorting the realistic aesthetic Loach developed.
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Ken Loach was long the symbol of all that Armond White holds true and pure. Not so much anymore. Damn ye, Michael Winterbottom for perverting Ken Loach. Raining Stones and Land and Freedom ... now those were the days. |
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