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Interview: Woody Harrelson cops a plea for Rampart

Officer down
Woody Harrelson knows bad guys; Natural Born Killers and No Country for Old Men set the bar for charismatic villains.
By ED SYMKUS | February 15, 2012

The Oscars look back in languor in 2011

Golden oldies
This year, perhaps in hopes of diverting audiences with a different format, the Motion Picture Academy has again changed the number of Best Picture nominees.
By PETER KEOUGH | January 18, 2012

Review: The Iron Lady

Streep's not enough to save this one
Meryl Streep's two films with Phyllida Lloyd, Mamma Mia and this silly biopic, demonstrate that even when the world's greatest actress is at the peak of her powers — whether dramatic, comic, or musical — it's not enough.
By PETER KEOUGH | January 10, 2012

Review: Carnage

Claustrophobic close encounters
As befits someone with jail time hanging over his head, Roman Polanski does his best work in close quarters. From Knife in the Water , to Repulsion , to The Tenant and The Pianist , he's a master of claustrophobic close encounters, and as such has a good time adapting Yasmin Reza's play, God of Carnage .
By PETER KEOUGH | January 10, 2012

Review: The Divide

The horrors of human nature
Many a teleplay for The Twilight Zone threatened atomic Armageddon, and though Frontier(s) director Xavier Gens nukes New York in the opening shots of his latest thriller, he finds more inspiration in the horrors of human nature as seen in the old TV show's episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street."
By BRETT MICHEL | January 10, 2012

Review: Dreileben

TV trilogy from three German directors
Taking a cue from Kieslowski's Three Colors by way of the British Red Riding series, this TV trilogy from three German directors of the Berlin School starts out with a creepy aura of dread and mystery and ends with contrived and unsatisfying resolutions.
By PETER KEOUGH | January 10, 2012

Review: The Devil Inside

William Brent Bell's limp mockumentary
William Brent Bell's film opens with a disclaimer that "the Vatican does not endorse this movie." No kidding — the Catholic Church isn't exactly known for its sense of humor.
By ALEXANDRA CAVALLO | January 10, 2012

Review: Joyful Noise

Rafter-rocking gospel singing
There's not much joy but there's plenty of noise of the rafter-rocking gospel singing variety in Tony Graff's musical dramedy.
By TOM MEEK | January 10, 2012

Review: In the Land of Blood and Honey

Angelina Jolie's feature directorial debut
Jolie has loosely reworked the story of Romeo and Juliet in an infamous setting familiar from CNN but here seen from the inside.
By TOM MEEK | January 05, 2012

Hollywood offers botched operations and altered lives in 2012

Change of plans
Those who got a thrill last spring when the SEALS took out Osama bin Laden will have more of the same covert ass-kicking to look forward to in theaters as we enter 2012.
By PETER KEOUGH | December 28, 2011

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Review: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Alfredson tinkers with le Carré's spy classic
Aside from the obvious differences — a knack for Quidditch for example — George Smiley might be considered the Cold War equivalent of Harry Potter.
By PETER KEOUGH | January 04, 2012

Interview: Steve McQueen puts the MPAA ratings system to Shame

The X factor
Every few years a film challenges the stigma of NC-17.
By PETER KEOUGH | December 06, 2011

Film favorites to pass the Occupation with — no matter what side you’re on

Action! group
From the wealthiest stockbroker to the lowliest unemployed college grad, who doesn’t love a good movie?
By MICHAEL NEEL | December 07, 2011

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Review: The Muppets

A Muppets for our ironic age
It's tough when your brother Gary is played by Jason Segel and you're only three feet tall and made of felt.
By ANN LEWINSON | November 21, 2011

Review: My Week with Marilyn

Kiss-and-tell-memoir
The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) didn't distinguish the résumés of either Marilyn Monroe or Laurence Olivier. It did mark a highpoint in the life of 23-year-old Colin Clark.
By PETER KEOUGH | November 21, 2011

Review: Arthur Christmas 3D

Sarah Smith's revisionist Santa Claus
The diametric opposite of the Antarctica-set Happy Feet Two , or at least geographically, Sarah Smith's revisionist Santa Claus tale still delivers the same kind of offbeat holiday animation.
By PETER KEOUGH | November 21, 2011

Review: Happy Feet Two

Crack-brained morality tale
Lovely to look at despite the 3D, and sometimes bordering on the psychedelic, this crack-brained morality tale blends the sublimely weird and the cloyingly awful as it preaches once again the paradox that you should be true to yourself as long as you are in step with everyone else.
By PETER KEOUGH | November 15, 2011

Review: Jack and Jill

Easily Sandler's worst film
Director Dennis Dugan's second Adam Sandler vehicle of the year turns out to be even worse than Just Go with It.
By BRETT MICHEL | November 15, 2011

Review: The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby

Carl Colby documents his father's life
"My father lived in shadows," says filmmaker Carl Colby in voiceover. "He liked being invisible." His documentary is a valiant but ultimately futile attempt to understand William Colby, the ex-CIA head who died in 1996.
By GERALD PEARY | November 15, 2011

Review: Being Elmo

A moving portrait of an unheralded artist
Just in time for the release of The Muppet Movie on November 25 comes Constance Marks's look at the man behind the pilly-fabric Sesame Street character.
By PETER KEOUGH | November 15, 2011

Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone

Fishbone's quarter-century journey
Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler's documentary details Fishbone's quarter-century journey from musically-diverse South Central middle school classmates to becoming one of the most influential Los Angeles bands of the '80s.
By SCOTT FAYNER | November 15, 2011

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Review: Martha Marcy May Marlene

Helter shelter
As implied by the title of Sean Durkin's coldly confident, insidiously haunting first feature, personal identity can be a fragile thing.
By PETER KEOUGH | October 26, 2011

Documentary films get some love at a great Maine festival

Hello, Camden!
We've all had that irritating waitress who, asked what she'd suggest on the menu, answers cheerily, "Everything is great!" Thanks for the help — and what credibility!
By GERALD PEARY | October 07, 2011

Review: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

Eli Craig's morality tale
From Deliverance to the new Straw Dogs , elitist Hollywood hasn't shown rednecks any respect.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 27, 2011

A good festival becomes a great one in the Midcoast this weekend

Reel talk
Last year, the big stories out of the Camden International Film Festival were its newfound industry cachet and a very noticeable uptick in Portlanders making the trip up to Midcoast Maine's annual documentary showcase.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | September 28, 2011

Review: Straw Dogs

Rod Lurie's new version of the Peckinpah classic
Remaking, polishing, and in effect housebreaking what should've remained untamed and feral, Rod Lurie's new version of the Peckinpah classic follows the original's story beats closely, and so the devil is in the details.
By MICHAEL ATKINSON | September 20, 2011

Providence Community Library’s 16mm surprise

At the Movies
Behind the librarian's desk at the Knight Memorial Library in the Elmwood section of Providence, a narrow staircase leads to a three-level basement below.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | September 21, 2011