Film Reviews & Criticism by Nathan Weinbender

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31710457980711428782011-04-21T17:10:05.719-07:00Film Reviews & Criticism by Nathan WeinbenderI see movies so you don't have toNathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.comBlogger701100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-80446903144554131612009-04-28T17:17:00.000-07:002009-04-28T17:38:54.588-07:00The DVD Beat - April 28

PICK OF THE WEEK:The UninvitedThis one I wasn’t expecting. “The Uninvited” is not the gruesome supernatural horror film that was advertised in the trailers; it’s an absorbing psychological drama/Evil Stepmother thriller in which everyone’s sanity, including that of the protagonist, is thrown into question. Emily Browning plays Anna, who checks out of a mental institution after a botched suicide

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-3127550495295635252009-04-25T16:48:00.000-07:002009-04-27T16:22:26.883-07:00Down for the count

FightingReview by Nathan Weinbender“Fighting.” Some would say it’s too plain a title, but, considering how simple-minded and conventional this movie is, I can’t think of a better one. It follows the same basic formula that all films of this ilk are seemingly required to: Our hero is a tough, brooding, ruggedly handsome, down-on-his-luck kid who rises to a certain challenge and finds glory in (

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-21397239344855177532009-04-20T18:33:00.000-07:002009-04-20T18:41:53.815-07:00The DVD Beat - April 21

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK:The WrestlerEveryone has been labeling Mickey Rourke’s performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” as a comeback. I think of it more as a resurrection. Rourke has always been a terrific actor and a magnetic presence, but even he admits that he hadn’t appeared in a decent movie in a while. This film came along at just the right time: Randy “The Ram” Robinson not only fits

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-60052764342338448852009-04-18T23:59:00.001-07:002009-04-19T01:26:27.700-07:00Switched bodies, same tired formula

17 AgainReview by Nathan WeinbenderZac Efron appears shirtless within the first thirty seconds of “17 Again,” which tells you all you need to know about the film’s target audience.The thirteen-year-old girls who will like this movie are going to see it because Efron is dreamy and starred in the massively popular “High School Musical” series. They probably won’t realize that “17 Again” egregiously

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-35918689117505245692009-04-15T22:03:00.000-07:002009-04-17T21:00:24.302-07:00Paul Blart he ain’t

Observe and ReportReview by Nathan WeinbenderIf Ronnie Barnhardt has any likable qualities, it’s because he’s played by Seth Rogen. This character is maladjusted, bipolar, creepy, hateful, pathetic and aggressive—who was in charge of the psychological evaluations when this guy was made head of mall security?He takes his job very, very seriously. When a mall employee makes fun of a girl in a leg

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-13079072741128013272009-04-08T10:00:00.000-07:002009-04-08T10:16:03.135-07:00Love is like a roller coaster

AdventurelandReview by Nathan WeinbenderGreg Motolla, who directed “Superbad,” is responsible for the new movie “Adventureland,” and having seen his previous film, which was a crass (but sweet) laff-a-minute teen comedy, I’m surprised by the soft-spoken wistfulness of this one.The characters in “Superbad,” if you’ll recall, were high school seniors who were apprehensive about becoming grown-ups.

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-29447244964000712432009-04-04T20:02:00.000-07:002009-04-06T21:57:51.522-07:00Fast cars, slow script

Fast and FuriousReview by Nathan WeinbenderI love a great car chase, but the “Fast and the Furious” movies have never been about the chases; they are about the crashes. Once you’ve seen one car crash, though, you’ve seen them all, and if your idea of a good night out is watching car after impeccable, expensive car crumpled up like a used cocktail napkin, then this is the movie for you.Here we

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-81881246648678353842009-03-31T17:59:00.001-07:002009-04-01T18:25:33.806-07:00Monsters and aliens competing for whom is less interesting—it’s a draw

Monsters vs. AliensReview by Nathan WeinbenderJeffrey Katzenberg, the “K” in DreamWorks SKG, has been touting the company’s latest picture, “Monsters vs. Aliens,” as a watershed in 3-D technology. He calls digital 3-D the third great revolution in cinema. “The first came in the twenties when silent movies became talkies,” Katzenberg explained recently. “The second came in the following decade,

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-81969278161947223662009-03-25T12:03:00.001-07:002009-03-26T17:44:14.106-07:00Death by numbers

KnowingReview by Nathan Weinbender“Knowing” is equal parts ridiculous and engrossing, a cheesy sci-fi potboiler dressed up in million-dollar clothing. It concerns itself with many weighty subjects, including the order of the universe, the fragility of mankind and possible Armageddon, but it’s hardly physiologically complex; in fact, it’s mostly quite silly.Yet, almost in spite of myself, I found

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-81154016367476014732009-03-18T17:55:00.000-07:002009-03-18T18:11:17.318-07:00Bursts of violence, followed by the quiet pall of death

GomorrahReview by Nathan WeinbenderMatteo Garrone’s “Gomorrah” is a startling film—startling in its construction, startling in its execution, startling in its unswerving depiction of organized crime in Italy. It is a very good film, one that peers into a terrifying world and refuses to look away.The movie is a far cry from any gangster picture I’ve seen, as nothing here is eulogized or stylized:

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-51878098815095152242009-03-15T16:10:00.001-07:002009-03-15T22:30:20.790-07:00The Rock who went up Witch Mountain and came down as Dwayne Johnson

Race to Witch MountainReview by Nathan WeinbenderI really like the Rock. Oh, excuse me. I meant to say Dwayne Johnson, who, in his transition from pro wrestler to movie star, has discovered that one cannot maintain professionalism with silly nicknames. It’s probably for the best; just look at Hulk Hogan’s acting career.Johnson has filled the void that Arnold Schwarzenegger left when his

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-39134434821866255472009-03-07T18:02:00.000-08:002009-03-09T19:33:21.284-07:00Dawn of the superheroes

WatchmenReview by Nathan WeinbenderIn retrospect, Superman led a very simple existence. He was nearly invincible, he wore a flashy costume and had a beautiful girlfriend, and his main concern, other than saving the world from time to time, was keeping his real identity veiled behind a pair of horn-rimmed glasses.Today’s superheroes are much different: They’re dark and brooding, bundles of

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-6507047198197393912009-03-02T19:17:00.000-08:002009-03-06T19:56:43.809-08:00Withdrawn

The InternationalReview by Nathan WeinbenderI wonder what Alfred Hitchcock would have thought of “The International.” I can imagine him admiring the cinematography, greatly appreciating the orchestration of a handful of scenes and then furiously taking notes on how he could have made it a better picture.How could Hitchcock have improved the film? For one, he wouldn’t have broken the momentum of

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-54279729200242521572009-02-26T22:28:00.000-08:002009-02-26T22:31:42.631-08:00A few quick words

Boy, has it been an underwhelming year for movies so far.Actually, every year begins this way, with Oscar buzz dying down and the studios dumping its most unanticipated fare into multiplexes nationwide. But considering the weak offerings, January and February have been impressive in terms of box office intake, which is due more to the recession than the overall quality of films playing (

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-66511641126216184682009-02-22T10:33:00.000-08:002009-02-22T12:33:36.715-08:00Predicting the Oscars

The Oscars haven’t always been the best forecaster for a film’s longevity. Some Best Picture winners, like “Casablanca,” “On the Waterfront,” “The Godfather” and “Schindler’s List,” have truly cemented their classic status, while others—“Gandhi,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “The English Patient”—simply don’t hold up as well as the movies they beat (can you believe that “Dances with Wolves” won over “

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-51063811084170373912009-02-10T23:36:00.000-08:002009-02-14T13:16:49.555-08:00Not quite the exception

He’s Just Not That Into YouReview by Nathan Weinbender“He’s Just Not That Into You” was based on a popular dating advice book, and it shows. The script shoehorns so much self-help dialogue into the script that the characters never become believable human beings and, most problematically, we never come to care about their romantic woes.They only seem to care about are their love lives (their jobs

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-35255771493547131992009-02-07T15:47:00.000-08:002009-02-11T00:36:34.790-08:00I’m your pusher, man

PushReview by Nathan WeinbenderAn expository voiceover at the beginning of “Push” tells of a race of human who harness amazing psychic powers. We’re told that the Nazis utilized them in attempts to create super-soldiers that would be physically and mentally superior to mere mortals, and now a secret division of the government has taken the reigns of the shady experiments.Some of their

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-58605005335570002882009-01-28T22:43:00.000-08:002009-01-30T18:47:39.944-08:00‘Bloody’ awful in all three dimensions

My Bloody Valentine 3-DReview by Nathan WeinbenderI stopped to look at the posters for “My Bloody Valentine 3-D” before I went into the theater. It shows a cinema filled with clean-cut teenagers, all wearing goofy 3-D glasses and orgiastic expressions of terror and glee. A giant pickaxe has broken through the screen and is swiping at the teens in the front row, no doubt an accurate representation

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-89865044000428356662009-01-27T18:04:00.000-08:002009-01-27T18:35:42.959-08:00Killer cops, killer beats, killer lips

The DVD BeatReviews by Nathan WeinbenderWHAT TO RENT THIS WEEKEND: Vicky Cristina BarcelonaWoody Allen is one of my favorite writer-directors, and the fact that I haven’t really admired anything he’s made since “Bullets Over Broadway” is distressing. But “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” although far from a masterpiece, is the best picture he’s made in a very long time. It’s a breezy romantic comedy,

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-19509203506300010282009-01-21T17:54:00.000-08:002009-01-21T18:15:00.252-08:00Performances that should be nominated...but won’t be

The Academy announces the 2009 Oscar nominations tomorrow morning, and I’ve decided to help them out a little bit by throwing out some names they may have not considered.While Mickey Rourke, Sean Penn, Meryl Streep and Heath Ledger will be locks in their respective categories (and have better chances of winning than almost anyone else), it’s important that the underdogs—either lesser-known actors

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-61573967042324001722009-01-21T12:37:00.000-08:002009-01-21T18:18:55.491-08:00You better get off his lawn

Gran TorinoReview by Nathan WeinbenderClint Eastwood is both the best and worst aspect of “Gran Torino.” Eastwood the actor is really terrific here, utilizing his legendary screen persona—leathery skin, squinty eyes, intimidating stature—to create a protagonist that at first seems like a broad caricature and slowly evolves into a fascinating human character.Eastwood the director, on the other

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-20413455551102028122009-01-09T21:53:00.000-08:002009-01-09T22:58:04.801-08:00The best films of 2008

2007 was such a great year for film, offering so many creative, surprising and intelligent pictures, that it was no shock that 2008 was a disappointing one.It was especially disappointing for American cinema. On my 2007 list, only two (“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and “Atonement”) were foreign productions; this year, half of the list is made up of films from countries other than the

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-78577945062312177072009-01-08T23:31:00.001-08:002009-01-09T18:47:41.308-08:00Up against the ropes

The WrestlerReview by Nathan WeinbenderSometimes a performance is so good that you can sense the actor throwing everything he has at the screen. You can see him putting his heart and soul and blood and sweat and tears into every line of dialogue and every nuance, and you are held captive by the very fact that an actor can convey such emotion.Such is the experience of watching Mickey Rourke in

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-14749193884268602842009-01-06T19:23:00.000-08:002009-01-06T19:57:13.131-08:00An ‘American Beauty’ by any other name

Revolutionary RoadReview by Nathan WeinbenderHas there ever been a normal suburban family in the movies? I don’t think so; the happy ones are only reserved for sitcoms and ads for Wonder bread and laundry soap.The family in Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary Road” is one of the most self-destructive I’ve seen on film: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet play a husband and wife who look to be the very

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-55297400988902404722008-12-28T00:17:00.000-08:002008-12-30T23:51:48.915-08:00A few late Christmas gifts

Bedtime StoriesIt’s nice to see that Adam Sandler has softened over the years. He has yet to outgrow his penchant for silly voices, but you can’t always get what you want. “Bedtime Stories” is his first PG-rated family movie, and it finds a happy medium between cute and ribald, although it’s never all that funny or enchanting. Sandler plays a hotel handyman who discovers that elements from the

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-11189745409502872762008-12-25T12:08:00.000-08:002008-12-26T22:51:12.398-08:00Running out of lifelines

Slumdog MillionaireReview by Nathan WeinbenderDanny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” is virtuoso filmmaking. It is a wonderful romance of old-fashioned Hollywood storytelling and Bollywood sensibilities, and it is a superb movie, even though you’ve no doubt seen the story—a resourceful orphan defeats the odds, makes it big in the world and falls in love with a beautiful woman—worked over before in

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-25587451851570839382008-12-15T22:54:00.000-08:002008-12-16T19:25:51.896-08:00Sci-fi at a standstill

The Day the Earth Stood StillReview by Nathan WeinbenderThey’ve been showing the original version of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” on TV a lot recently, most likely to cash in on the release of the new remake.It’s a great film—the one from 1951, that is—but, if the new film’s producers are responsible for its heavy rotation on television, they should be aware that it was a counter-productive

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-79606642516415550762008-12-13T20:27:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:13:14.741-08:00The life and death of a martyr

MilkReview by Nathan WeinbenderGus Van Sant has been trying to get “Milk” made for the last fifteen years, and in that span of time various actors—Robin Williams, Richard Gere, James Woods—have been considered for the role of Harvey Milk, a San Francisco city supervisor who was the country’s first openly gay public official.But now that the film has been made, it’s impossible to imagine anyone

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-20185617455200843252008-12-10T19:08:00.001-08:002008-12-10T22:07:22.746-08:00The notties of 2008

The Worst Films of the YearReviews by Nathan WeinbenderBefore I announce my picks for the best films of the year, let us reflect on the worst. The following are the ten biggest bombs of 2008, in alphabetical order.88 MinutesThis may be the worst film Al Pacino has ever made, and, yes, I’ve taken “Cruising” into consideration. “88 Minutes” plays like a bad made-for-cable thriller, and it probably

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-60893930020270869642008-12-09T21:06:00.000-08:002008-12-09T21:32:49.195-08:00Death-defying high-wire acts

The DVD BeatReviews by Nathan WeinbenderTwo of the year’s best movies are being released on DVD today. One is the biggest blockbuster of the last ten years; the other is a modest documentary that played in limited release earlier this fall. They couldn’t be more dissimilar, but they both represent pinnacles of their genres—an action movie with a brain and a non-fiction film that plays like a

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-28035546049368184042008-12-07T13:15:00.000-08:002008-12-07T13:24:54.803-08:00An antidote to ‘Twilight’ fever

Let the Right One InReview by Nathan WeinbenderI’ve just seen a movie that will bowl you over. It’s called “Let the Right One In,” and it is a masterpiece. It is a Swedish import about the relationship between a twelve-year-old boy and a vampire, and it is lovely, tender, heartbreaking. If you have not seen it, find a way.Do not be scared away by the fact that the movie is about a vampire. It is

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-81863306055492065572008-12-02T21:32:00.001-08:002008-12-10T22:08:03.558-08:00A screenwriter for every Christmas

Four ChristmasesReview by Nathan WeinbenderIt took four people to write the script for “Four Christmases”—one guy to watch every holiday comedy ever made, another guy to note every cliché of the genre, a third guy to assemble those clichés into a story, and a fourth guy to put it all into screenplay format. I’m guessing they took turns typing.The movie stars Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-60314785038890204722008-12-01T21:16:00.001-08:002008-12-01T21:17:38.608-08:00They come from the Land Down Under

AustraliaReview by Nathan WeinbenderBaz Luhrmann’s “Australia” wants very much to be a great film, which may be the reason it never attains greatness. But it is a good film, one that sets out to be an everlasting love story and ends up being an old-fashioned diversion with ambitions that exceed its grasp.The movie fondly remembers a time when Hollywood specialized in grand, sweeping epics, when

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-11969200835000046652008-11-27T11:25:00.000-08:002008-12-01T21:16:10.477-08:00Always a bridesmaid, never a bride

Rachel Getting MarriedReview by Nathan WeinbenderJonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married” has so much life in it. It feels so real, so honest. As a portrait of a troubled family playing emotional pick-up sticks, it is sometimes bitterly funny and always brutally frank, and it is candid to the point that I think a lot of people will be made uncomfortable by it.The film, written by Jenny Lumet, is

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-33976375702421873272008-11-23T13:06:00.000-08:002008-12-07T13:21:58.589-08:00Falling in love is hard on the fangs

TwilightReview by Nathan WeinbenderLet me address something right up front: I am not a 15-year-old girl. If I was, however, I think I would have enjoyed “Twilight” a lot more than I did.I can make this assumption because I saw it on a Saturday afternoon with an audience comprised mostly of 15-year-old girls. They liked the movie. I could tell because they were squealing with delight.There were

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-54110950891243069762008-11-18T18:32:00.000-08:002008-11-18T21:43:10.784-08:00Journeys to both ends of the Earth

The DVD BeatReviews by Nathan WeinbenderThe Pick of the WeekWALL-EWALL-E is an amazingly expressive character, yet he doesn’t speak. He communicates in blips and bleeps and other sound effects, but he has a wonderfully animated pair of eyes that resemble binoculars and convey just about every emotion. I suppose it would be more appropriate to refer to WALL-E as an “it,” not a “he,” but he—yes,

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-67590500416446207362008-11-15T14:34:00.000-08:002008-11-15T18:39:11.134-08:00A view to a spill

Quantum of SolaceReview by Nathan WeinbenderPeople will flock to a James Bond movie no matter what. Not even an obtuse title like “Quantum of Solace” will keep them away. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’re going to like this one all that much.This is 007’s 22nd adventure, and the follow-up to 2006’s brilliant “Casino Royale,” which jump-started the withering series and inaugurated Daniel Craig

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-40497052875879879522008-11-14T19:57:00.000-08:002008-11-14T20:03:32.014-08:00High hopes

Happy-Go-LuckyReview by Nathan Weinbender“Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” — J.M. BarrieYes, but is that sunshine always welcome?Poppy, the heroine of Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky,” certainly cannot keep her sunshine to herself, but she is so aggressively upbeat and unflinchingly optimistic that her sunshine can often turn into a storm cloud.She

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-46677134660767758952008-11-08T16:47:00.000-08:002008-11-08T16:51:39.699-08:00The title says it all

Zack and Miri Make a PornoReview by Nathan WeinbenderThe Weinsteins supposedly green-lit Kevin Smith’s new film based solely on its title. No script, no cast, just the title. Well, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” does have a certain ring to it.Zack is played by Seth Rogen, Miri by Elizabeth Banks. They’ve been best friends since grade school, and they live together in a rundown Pennsylvania

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-62292016333022991282008-11-06T18:20:00.000-08:002008-11-08T16:52:50.461-08:00A mother’s intuition is never wrong

ChangelingReview by Nathan WeinbenderClint Eastwood’s “Changeling” is a film about faces. In a movie filled with strong performances, its most effective moments come when the actors contemplate their predicaments quietly and allow their facial expressions to do the talking.It stars Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins, a switchboard operator in 1928 Los Angeles who comes home to find her

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-69685083375245214042008-10-31T18:42:00.001-07:002008-10-31T19:18:11.076-07:00“It’s Halloween. Everyone’s entitled to one good scare.”

HalloweenReview by Nathan Weinbender“Halloween” is the essential American horror film. No other movie in its genre has been as influential, as effective, as brilliantly realized.Very few thrillers have ever been as economical as “Halloween,” and it serves as proof that carnage was not always at the heart of horror pictures. When so many directors focus one what horrible creatures will leap from

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-35840705807465459362008-10-22T15:47:00.000-07:002008-10-23T00:01:01.710-07:00Two Liv Tyler movies in one day? Count me in!

The DVD BeatReviews by Nathan WeinbenderThe Incredible HulkIn 2003, Ang Lee made a noble effort to adapt “The Incredible Hulk” comic book series onto the big screen. The film’s visual style was remarkably good, but the story was dull, the drama turgid and the Hulk itself unimpressively rendered—it looked more like a Lump than a Hulk.Now we have this sequel-of-sorts, which replaces the cast and

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-28325590276344991052008-10-20T20:10:00.000-07:002008-10-20T21:17:06.115-07:00It stands for “whatever”

W.Review by Nathan WeinbenderYou never know what you’re going to get with Oliver Stone. He’s a gambler, a conspiracy theorist, a political revisionist, a provocateur. He’s also a hit-or-miss filmmaker, and his movies always carry a certain level of suspense: Will his tendencies to gleefully incite controversy work wonders, or will they blow up in his face?Stone’s newest picture is “W.,” a biopic

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-36913522347938438482008-10-07T19:33:00.001-07:002008-10-07T19:40:52.913-07:00To the beat of a different drum

The DVD BeatReviews by Nathan WeinbenderThe Pick of the WeekThe VisitorEarlier this year, “The Visitor” slipped in and out of theaters with very little fanfare. It is now being released on DVD, and it is terrific. It stars Richard Jenkins (most recently seen in “Step Brothers” and “Burn After Reading”) as stuffy, unapproachable English professor Walter Vale. His wife has just passed away, and he

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-81481949962612455662008-10-07T18:56:00.000-07:002008-10-07T19:02:10.201-07:00In the land of the blind

BlindnessReview by Nathan WeinbenderWhat exactly is the point of “Blindness?” I am at a loss for an explanation. It purports to be a number of things, but it is dreadfully obvious as an allegory, turgid as a melodrama and nearly comatose as a thriller.The film, based on a novel by Nobel laureate José Saramago, is one of ambiguity. It is set in a city that, as far as we know, has no name. None of

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-36332650318894171122008-10-03T20:06:00.000-07:002008-10-03T20:35:13.720-07:00‘Choke’ bites off more than it can chew

ChokeReview by Nathan Weinbender“Choke” is a movie with some very good ideas, but it needed some more—and I cringe as I write this—restraint. I cringe mostly because the film was clearly made with the intention of being cheerfully unrestrained and unapologetically raunchy. It was, after all, adapted from a novel by cult (the ads use the word “incendiary”) author Chuck Palahniuk, whose last book

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-66277119407597799042008-09-30T18:19:00.000-07:002008-09-30T18:28:22.715-07:00Life on thin ice

Frozen RiverReview by Nathan WeinbenderThe first time we see Ray, she is sitting in her car smoking a cigarette. She’s in the passenger-side seat with the door open, her feet in the snow, wearing a bathrobe and slippers. Her hands are shaking. It is in extreme close-up: Her face fills the screen, wearing an expression of heartbreak and neglect, and we can see the deep lines in her face and the

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-14923665842595525142008-09-30T12:46:00.001-07:002008-10-03T20:36:02.481-07:00Now on DVD: Robert Downey Jr. and Jason Segel are Stark, naked

Iron ManReview by Nathan Weinbender“Iron Man,” based on the long-running Marvel comic book series, is a very good superhero film, and the key to its success is the ever-dependable Robert Downey Jr. Yes, the movie’s special effects are impressive. Yes, the action sequences are thrilling. Yes, it features a foreboding villain, a pretty girl, a devastating crisis of worldwide proportions that needs

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-3108722711397368882008-09-27T16:23:00.000-07:002008-09-28T12:56:06.518-07:00Par-annoy-a

Eagle EyeReview by Nathan WeinbenderThis has to be some kind of record. “Eagle Eye” marks the second film so far this year in which a bomb is set to detonate during a big concert attended by the President. The first movie to use this contrivance was “Get Smart,” and the explosion was to come as the final notes of “Ode to Joy” were played. Here, the Capitol Building will be destroyed when the

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-39732497329121357642008-09-26T19:12:00.001-07:002008-10-23T20:14:33.518-07:00The dead need love, too

Ghost TownReview by Nathan Weinbender“Ghost Town” doesn’t play a note that we haven’t heard before, but it works nonetheless. It is predictable, yes, but it finds charm and warmth in its predictability, and its performances are so good that I imagine they could brighten even the densest script.It is a Capra-esque comedy starring British comedian Ricky Gervais as Bertram Pincus D.D.S., the very

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-28527706624516785832008-09-23T17:57:00.000-07:002008-09-23T18:10:04.695-07:00Now on DVD: Fatboys and Leatherheads compete in hit-or-miss comedies

LeatherheadsReview by Nathan WeinbenderIt’s clear that George Clooney studied screwball comedies from the ‘30s and ‘40s before he plopped down into the director’s chair for “Leatherheads.” He more than likely wanted the audience to watch his film and remember the rat-a-tat dialogue of Preston Sturges, the polish of Frank Capra, the slapstick nonsense of the Marx brothers.And he no doubt wanted us

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-15525990500206407342008-09-18T21:03:00.000-07:002008-09-19T18:43:42.756-07:00Now on DVD: The winter of our discontent

Snow AngelsReview by Nathan WeinbenderDavid Gordon Green’s “Snow Angels” is a movie that buzzes with tension and importance. It begins with two gunshots, heard off in the distance, and then works backward until we discover the origin of those shots, and the personal history behind them.As the picture plays out, its conclusion seems foregone, but Green pulls back the layers of his story, and of

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-47574046694487085632008-09-13T01:07:00.000-07:002008-09-13T03:09:19.120-07:00The Idiot Plot done right

Burn After ReadingReview by Nathan WeinbenderThe plot of “Burn After Reading,” the newest from Joel and Ethan Coen, resembles a cat’s cradle, with strands twisting and turning and colliding every which way.It’s a goofball espionage comedy in which all of the characters are either bumblers or fumblers, and the Coens send their story off in so many different directions that they’ve included scenes

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-70942605469214699352008-08-25T22:23:00.000-07:002008-08-25T22:44:44.665-07:00Better than your average reality show

American TeenReview by Nathan Weinbender“Who were you?” asks the trailer for the new high school documentary “American Teen.” The Jock? The Geek? The Princess? The Rebel? The Heartthrob?Who was I? Well, I certainly wasn’t a Jock, nor was I, by any stretch of the imagination, a Heartthrob. Certainly I wasn’t a Princess, and, although I wasn’t a conformist, I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-8443997254011721232008-08-24T16:11:00.000-07:002008-09-26T19:49:27.612-07:00What Would Jesus Watch?

Two new films approach religion from very, very different anglesReviews by Nathan WeinbenderHamlet 2The title “Hamlet 2” is funny. That it is the name of a high school play that inspires riots, protests and First Amendment arguments is funnier. “Hamlet 2,” the movie, alas, is not quite as hilarious as its concept, or as its title, suggests. It’s an affable comedy, weird and goofy and occasionally

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-8552800976971493322008-08-17T16:47:00.000-07:002008-08-17T23:30:41.658-07:00Steamy love quadrangles courtesy of a 72-year-old nebbish Jew

Vicky Cristina BarcelonaReview by Nathan WeinbenderLike Three Dog Night, I’ve never been to Spain, but having seen Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” I’ll be on a plane tomorrow. If “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan” were love letters to New York, this movie is a love letter to the city of Barcelona. It features so many landmarks and attractions that it plays almost like a travelogue video, both

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-68164362911441277422008-08-16T10:28:00.000-07:002008-08-17T16:42:59.118-07:00Welcome to the jungle

Tropic ThunderReview by Nathan WeinbenderYou’ve no doubt heard the horror stories from the set of “Apocalypse Now.” Francis Ford Coppola’s epic about the horrors of war is one of the greatest American movies ever made, but he had a hell of a time getting it finished—star Martin Sheen nearly died of a heart attack, a typhoon destroyed the sets and filming rambled on for over two years as the

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-16212719416632408552008-08-09T00:23:00.000-07:002008-08-14T21:20:51.131-07:00From dope to dopey

Pineapple ExpressReview by Nathan Weinbender“Pineapple Express” combines elements from ‘70s stoner comedies and ‘80s action flicks and approaches them with the no-nonsense practicality and pseudo-intellectual rhetoric of Judd Apatow movies. Here’s proof that we have come a long way since Cheech and Chong, but perhaps that’s not saying much. Perhaps that’s not saying anything at all.Now, it’s true

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-72537634700869207092008-08-02T23:18:00.000-07:002008-08-05T18:15:39.983-07:00Dead and buried

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon EmperorReview by Nathan WeinbenderMovies like “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” should be seen (if they have to be seen at all) on Saturday afternoons when you have nothing better to do and the theater’s ticket prices are reduced. It’s as disposable and brainless as you might expect, but it’s not even all that fun, just a lot of hackneyed action sequences and

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-45255501000168677512008-07-30T20:24:00.000-07:002008-07-30T20:44:06.798-07:00Under the Radar: Satisfaction, indeed

Shine a LightReview by Nathan WeinbenderThe greatest rock band in the world has teamed up with the best American director working today, and the result is one of the most electric music documentaries ever.Martin Scorsese’s “Shine a Light” exists as a testament to the longevity of great music, and we see the Rolling Stones, who have been performing for more than 45 years now, as headstrong,

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-72769428934975843432008-07-26T17:49:00.000-07:002008-07-27T23:24:56.662-07:00Men will be boys

Step BrothersReview by Nathan WeinbenderYou’d think it would be impossible to make Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly totally unfunny, but “Step Brothers” does it. They play middle-aged men with the mental capacities of twelve-year-olds, and although the movie thinks their arrested development is amusing, I found it creepy and annoying. It’s mean-spirited, too: Ferrell and Reilly have played

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-59096017305830161012008-07-18T15:29:00.000-07:002008-07-20T17:35:59.600-07:00Gotham City nights

The Dark KnightReview by Nathan Weinbender“The Dark Knight” is more an ensemble drama than a superhero film, more a brooding morality play than an action saga. Yes, it features Batman, the Caped Crusader of yore, but the movie is, surprisingly, not really about him: It’s about a metropolis in turmoil, a civilization on the brink of despair; the forces of evil trying to breach the city’s walls,

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-49489334575863064502008-07-13T15:43:00.000-07:002008-07-14T20:06:10.609-07:00Family sci-fi double feature: Take the kids on a 3-D ‘Journey,’ but stay unacquainted with ‘Dave’

Journey to the Center of the EarthReview by Nathan Weinbender“Journey to the Center of the Earth” is being presented in 3-D, which is the only reason I can think of to rush out and see it in the theater. It’s a crummy B-movie dressed up in a $50 million outfit, and it has clearly been made with the optimism that its perilous action set-pieces will go on to inspire theme park rides and video

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-12511784509163558842008-07-11T21:10:00.000-07:002008-07-18T15:34:43.485-07:00Raising a little hell

Hellboy II: The Golden ArmyReview by Nathan WeinbenderThere is a scene in “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” where two of the central characters stop amidst all the mayhem, relax in their study and sing along with a Barry Manilow song. It’s funny, it’s charming and it’s original, and it’s moments like this that elevate the “Hellboy” movies above typical superhero fare. Like “Iron Man” before it, this

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-53187827642559955322008-07-02T17:21:00.001-07:002008-07-03T13:32:22.691-07:00Superman with a drinking problem

HancockReview by Nathan WeinbenderHere’s a brilliant premise: What if L.A. had a resident superhero? He’s amazingly strong, impervious to bullets, has the ability to fly. But let’s say his job requirements get to be too taxing, and he becomes withdrawn and unreliable, a homeless sadsack with a drinking problem.And as played by Will Smith, one of the best mainstream movie actors working today, “

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-77107451760068819502008-06-30T18:33:00.000-07:002008-07-07T17:42:53.807-07:00Great actors playing below their abilities

The DVD BeatReviews by Nathan WeinbenderNothing much to recommend this week.Drillbit TaylorOwen Wilson deserves better than this. “Drillbit Taylor” is so predictable, so mediocre and so old-fashioned that it hardly exists at all. He plays a resourceful homeless guy who’s hired to be the bodyguard for a tormented trio of high school nerds (they very much resemble the protagonists of “Superbad,”

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-33455419102196142812008-06-28T16:27:00.001-07:002008-06-28T18:12:43.352-07:00Blood, guts, bullets, octane and a thousand exploding rats

WantedReview by Nathan WeinbenderPardon me for liking “Wanted.” I was not expecting to and was sort of ashamed that I did, but I can’t deny that it has a certain twisted, bloody charm.Here is a film that unabashedly defies common sense and bastardizes the basic law of physics, all in the name of action and violence, and it creates a palpable universe that comfortably exists somewhere between

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-780728098695807572008-06-24T16:16:00.000-07:002008-06-27T11:41:57.173-07:00Shoe-phoning it in

Get SmartReview by Nathan WeinbenderI wanted very much to laugh at “Get Smart,” and I did, but not very often. This is the type of movie that assembles all the ingredients for a solid comedy but never employs them properly. Much like Maxwell Smart, the film has some impressive weapons in its arsenal, but it just ends up shooting itself in the foot.Smart, the bumbling private eye who is always a

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-85382512788322616612008-06-24T14:29:00.000-07:002008-06-27T01:31:19.903-07:00Cavemen, hitmen and ladies’ men

The DVD BeatReviews by Nathan WeinbenderThe Pick of the WeekPersepolisMost animated films are animated because they defy the real world. Animators can put whatever they want on a blank canvas; they have free reign over their creations. Do you think “Kung Fu Panda,” for instance, have been made using human actors? Probably not, and the same could be said for just about every cartoon, from “The

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3171045798071142878.post-54949554130994552762008-06-22T00:13:00.000-07:002008-06-24T21:19:37.461-07:00Bad karma

The Love GuruReview by Nathan Weinbender“The Love Guru” is an abysmal comedy, and it’s made all the more depressing because it has Mike Myers at its helm. Here is the case of a funny, intelligent writer trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator, wallowing in cheap scatological gags and scummy bathroom humor that, as far as I can tell, only a fourteen-year-old boy could appreciate.What

Nathan Weinbenderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01465154444914399179noreply@blogger.com0