Konsum: Screeners
November 14th, 2007
Squinting past giant “PROPERTY OF” watermarks one screener at a time in the annual quest to catch up with potentially award-worthy releases.
Waitress
It’s awful what happened to Adrienne Shelly but hasn’t the statue of limitations on uncritically praising her last movie expired by now? Even Marcy was much too kind. Adrienne Shelly, 2007. *
The Namesake
Generic-soapy family saga did nothing for this here immigrant, but Marcy was pleased. Directed by Mira Nair and based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. Mira Nair, 2006. **
Great World of Sound
Inventive indie with hilarious & heartbreaking use of reality elements. We have a guest review by Jessica Pallington. Craig Zobel, 2007. ***
Talk To Me
Don Cheadle’s truth-talking DJ Petey Greene is one of the most ebullient characters on screen this year, and his duds are to kill for. Too slick and biopicky by half, though. Marcy dug it. Kasi Lemmons, 2007. ***
Bonus Viral Video
Neal Pollack’s The Landlord. “Do you understand what comedy is?”
Ocean’s Thirteen
September 19th, 2007
Counting Ellen Barkin and Mr. Soderbergh himself, more than a baker’s dozen of very talented people are completely wasted in this redundant bore. I get the idea all involved are having a blast making these movies, but by the second sequel of the first remake, the breeziness has turned smug and the exceedingly baroque casino-busting shenanigans have become tiresome. Who cares how Clooney & Co. get the remote-controllable magnetic ingredient into the factory that mixes the plastic which goes into the dice that an inhumanly tan self-parody of Al Pacino uses on his craps tables? Not even entertaining enough to while away the time on a transatlantic flight.
Ocean’s Thirteen. Steven Soderbergh, 2007. *
