Kevin Spacey

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Review: Margin Call

Dumbed down
The financial crisis of 2008 awaits its Social Network; until then we have Margin Call, which zaps its credibility from the get-go when a downsized risk analyst (Stanley Tucci) openly passes a flash drive to an underling (Zachary Quinto) as he's escorted him from the building by security.
By ANN LEWINSON | October 18, 2011

Review: Horrible Bosses

Overplayed quirks
After two comedies, it's clear Seth Gordon is good at making . . . documentaries.
By BRETT MICHEL | July 12, 2011

Love might be awarded at this year's Sundance Festival, but anger holds sway

Hope and fury
When you step back from Sundance 2011 and its 110 films that hit the dozen screens over the 10 days ending January 30, what you come away with is the year of Angry Men.
By HARLAN JACOBSON | February 02, 2011

Review: Casino Jack

Not to be confused with the insightful documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money by the prolific Alex Gibney, this docudrama is nonetheless a fitting bookend.
By TOM MEEK | January 06, 2011

By | January 01, 0001

Updike does death, R. Crumb does God, Vanity Fair does Proust

Gift books to savor
Trying to reach as broad a range of tastes and pocketbooks as possible, we this year scavenged everything from the front pages of the Onion to R. Crumb's genesis, to valedictory Updike. Stuff to read, stuff to look at, glossy pages and matte. Remember: be careful not to nick the pages or spill eggnog on them before you wrap. Happy holidays!
By PHOENIX STAFF | December 08, 2009

Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

Bleating hearts tame Goats
Here’s a subject that really could have used a Stanley Kubrick or a John Frankenheimer or a Robert Altman. But are there any great cinematic satirists left, auteurs with the knack for black comedy and cold-blooded irony?
By PETER KEOUGH | November 06, 2009

October lite

The outlook is still gloomy, but film finds time for childish things
We expected the vampires, the werewolves, the zombies, and the homicidal maniacs. Same thing with the android doubles, the alien abductors, the sexually abused pregnant teenager, the Apocalypse, and the post-Apocalypse. But kids' movies?
By PETER KEOUGH | September 17, 2009

Review: Shrink

A pastiche of derivative movie pitches devoid of human feeling
Dr. Henry Carter (Kevin Spacey), the psychiatrist-to-the-stars of the title, has written a bestselling book on how to be happy. But — go figure — he isn't happy himself.
By PETER KEOUGH | July 28, 2009

Smack downer

Hip-Hop Misogyny: It Ain’t What It Used To Be
I haven’t come hereto academically justify West Coast credos about assimilating hoes into housewives. Instead I’ve come to mourn the commercialization of misogynistic rap lyrics.
By CHRIS FARAONE | July 23, 2009

The Accidental Billionaires

The founding of Facebook: A tale of sex, money, genius, and betrayal
In this nonfiction account of the Harvard origins of the social-networking phenomenon, the author boils down the essence of why Facebook — orginially called thefacebook — was created and the root of its power: nerds obsessing over sex. In this excerpt, undergrads Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg begin to realize that Facebook is indeed their golden ticket.
By BEN MEZRICH | October 04, 2010

Review: Moon

Duncan Jones's debut is more alienation than Alien
Duncan Jones begins his first feature with an infomercial for "Lunar Industries, Ltd" that celebrates Lunar's solution to global warming: strip-mining the surface of the moon for "Helium 3," an isotope that can provide a limitless source of non-polluting fuel.
By PETER KEOUGH | June 19, 2009

Towelhead

A grosteque and unbelievable adaptation
Towelhead is the type of tripe that poses as enlightenment in “important” Oscar winners like Crash and American Beauty .
By BRETT MICHEL | September 17, 2008

Smoke screens

Does a surge of stoner movies mean America is going to pot?
What does it say about America that marijuana movies are a hot genre right now, perhaps hotter even than in the heyday of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong’s 1978 Up in Smoke ?
By PETER KEOUGH | August 18, 2008

Double down and Hollywood up

Playing the facts against the fiction of 21
Sometimes Hollywood gets it right; sometimes Hollywood . . . ah, elaborates .
By BRETT MICHEL | March 26, 2008

21

A novel transformation
An Asian leading man is, it seems, too big a gamble for Hollywood’s myopic big players.
By BRETT MICHEL | March 25, 2008

Spring brakes

Spring Arts Preview: Some diversions before the summer onslaught
Funny how spring movies can mirror the options of spring break.
By PETER KEOUGH | March 10, 2008

Fred Claus

Bad Santa ripoff
As for infusing the ol’ ho-ho-ho, the most Christmasy moments for this reviewer arose whenever a nearby critic groaned, “Oh Christ!”
By ALICIA POTTER | November 08, 2007

War zones

Fall films face terror at home and abroad
The party’s over. Time for the lessons to begin.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 12, 2007

Dough

Maverick Square rises
One of the most fantastic views of the Beantown skyline is from East Boston’s Maverick Square waterfront.
By PHIL AMARA | May 18, 2007

Triumphant Returns

Bryan Singer’s Superman soars
Does the world need Superman? Super vision: Bryan Singer on casting the Man of Steel . By Peter Keough
By PETER KEOUGH | February 20, 2007

Super vision

Bryan Singer on casting the Man of Steel
For director Bryan Singer, the eyes were always the key to Superman. Triumphant Returns : Bryan Singer's Superman soars. By Peter Keough Lex marks the spot: Kevin Spacey sets his sight on Superman Returns. By Mike Cotton Reinventing the steel: A behind-the-scenes report from Superman Returns. By Mike Cotton
By PETER KEOUGH | June 28, 2006

Dots and dashes

The career of David Morse
Just about any list of the greatest character actors working today would include David Morse. And with good cause.
By RYAN STEWART | June 22, 2006

Lex marks the spot

Kevin Spacey sets his sight on Superman Returns
What makes Lex Luthor tick? ThePhoenix.com interviews Superman’s newest enemy. Reinventing the steel: A behind-the-scenes report from Superman Returns. By Mike Cotton
By MIKE COTTON | June 14, 2006

Reinventing the steel

A behind-the-scenes report from Superman Returns
Lex Luthor, dressed like a pimp, is chasing Superman around in a golf cart — and they aren’t even on the set yet. Lex marks the spot: Kevin Spacey sets his sight on Superman Returns. By Mike Cotton
By MIKE COTTON | June 14, 2006

Apocalypse now and then

Doom, damnation, and other summer fun
With Snakes on a Plane and World Trade Center opening on the same day, this summer won’t be offering the usual escapist fare.
By PETER KEOUGH | May 03, 2006

The ultimate SALESMAN movie

Movies . . . one profession at a time
Ruthless sharks, dumpy schlubs, or a combination of the two: Hollywood loves its pitchmen.
By RYAN STEWART | March 13, 2006