All Drama Reviews

Tarantino's trademark "trunk" shot

Inglourious Basterds.

September 18th, 2009

Watching a Quentin Tarantino movie can be like listening to classical music: pleasant in a vague sort of way, but mostly a reminder of how uncultured you are. It can also, as with “Inglourious Basterds”, be exhilarating.


Cloves and marriage: Meryl Streep as Julia Child

Julie & Julia.

September 4th, 2009

Nora Ephron’s movies, though insightful in a pop-psychology kind of way, are never particularly complicated. “Julie & Julia,” without being subtle or exceptional, leaves a rich, dreamy aftertaste.


Alone again, supernaturally

The Time Traveler’s Wife.

September 1st, 2009

“The Time Traveller’s Wife” provides a commentary on the modern middle-class marriage, with two careers and two cars and one too many evenings spent at the office.


Racism by any other name just as rancid

District 9.

August 17th, 2009

“District 9″ is an instant science-fiction classic, taking its place in the galaxy of “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), “Star Wars” (1977), “Alien” (1979) and “Blade Runner” (1982).


The maddening joy of making art

The Soloist.

July 21st, 2009

“The Soloist” is mainstream American filmmaking at its ambitious best—where oversized budgets meet oversized imaginations—the story of four isolated men, each with grander delusions than the last.