With monkeys on her shoulders and unibrow affixed firmly in place, Salma Hayek conjures the spirit of bisexual Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in this stunning account of the artist’s life. A tragic bus accident at age 18 results in a lifetime of excruciating pain for Frida, but her real suffering comes via a tumultuous 25-year … Continue reading
Category Archives: Criticism
Friday After Next
Following their suburban adventures in Next Friday, clueless cousins Craig (Ice Cube) and Day-Day (Mike Epps) have moved back to the ‘hood. Now it’s Christmas Eve, and a burglar has just made off with their rent money. Threatened with eviction by their unpleasant landlady, the two take jobs as security guards at a local shopping … Continue reading
Gangs of New York
In 1862, Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns after a 16-year absence to a crime-ridden district of New York called Five Points to avenge the murder of his father (Liam Neeson). Instead, he’s taken under the wing of the man who killed him, the neighborhood’s ruthless leader, Bill “The Butcher” Cutting (a splendid Daniel Day-Lewis). But … Continue reading
Ghost Ship
Titanic meets The Haunting in this tale of a salvage crew that discovers a seemingly deserted luxury liner still drifting at sea forty years after it mysteriously disappeared. Although the film teases with a clever opening (which easily qualifies as one of the most gleefully gruesome in recent memory), the action quickly reverts to standard horror-flick frivolity. … Continue reading
Ghost World
Ghost World begins with the high school graduation of best friends Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson). Life (including a graduation ceremony sponsored by Tropicana and Dunkin’ Donuts) has left the girls decidedly cynical. Much too cool for school, they’ve decided to forego college in favor of finding jobs and moving in together. Ghost … Continue reading
Girls Will Be Girls
Anyone dumb enough to go to a movie starring drag queens hoping to find a first-rate story or award-winning dramatic performances deserves whatever disappointment he or she is certain to experience. Sure, there are the occasional pathos-infused drag flicks (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and, to a … Continue reading
Glitter
Poor, poor Mariah. First, after a string of chart-topping singles, she releases a song that can only claw its way to #1 by having its price slashed to 49 cents. Now, a movie guaranteed to get reviews that just might send her right back to her padded room in that undisclosed hospital. To be clear: … Continue reading
The Good Girl
“In every way, The Good Girl outclasses the many crudely-made, half-baked, out-of-focus films created under the “indie” banner these days.” Good Girls Don’t New film by Chuck and Buck creators explores the complexities of the human heart If life were fair, movies like The Good Girl would dominate Box Office Top Ten lists. And in a perfect … Continue reading
Good Housekeeping
“A hellish hybrid of Jerry Springer-style characters and COPS-like cinematography, Good Housekeeping boasts neither the outrageous unpredictability of the former nor the giddy, voyeuristic pleasure of the latter…” Not in My Front Yard Trashy Good Housekeeping really stinks There’s a good chance you haven’t even heard of Good Housekeeping, which opens this week at Two Boots Pioneer Theatre. … Continue reading
Gosford Park
In Gosford Park, director Robert Altman packs up his bag of tricks and heads across the pond for the first time in his career. Utilizing the techniques he’s famous for, including multiple storylines, overlapping dialogue and a huge ensemble cast, he’s created an old-fashioned whodunit, only in this case, we witness everything from the servants’ … Continue reading
Mike Rucker Writes 