FullReviews Index

The Squid and the Whale
Noah Baumbach's uncomfortably autobiographical film about his parent's divorce in 1980s Brooklyn will make you laugh and squirm in your seat. Jeff Daniels deserves an Oscar nomination as caustic Bernard Berkman.

Rescue Dawn
Ten years ago, Werner Herzog made a documentary called Little Dieter Needs to Fly, about a German-born U.S. Navy pilot who was shot down in Laos during the beginning stages of the Vietnam war. Now, Herzog returns with a fictionalized version of the very same story starring Christian Bale.

Shortbus
A rave review of John Cameron Mitchell's much-anticipated sexually explicit film Shortbus.

The Science of Sleep
Marcy has one word for Michel Gondry's follow-up to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: charming. With Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

A Scanner Darkly
Mindwarping animation meets paranoid slackers from the future in Richard Linklater's adaptation Philip K. Dick's sci-fi novel. Starring Keanu Reeves as a schizophrenic undercover cop, Winona Ryder as dealer and love interest, and Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr. as drug-addled buffoons.

Thank You for Smoking
"Michael Jordan plays ball. Charlie Mason murders people. I talk." Meet Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), the top spokesperson for the tobacco industry and questionable hero of Jason Reitman's adaptation of Christopher Buckley's satire of spin. With Katie Holmes, Maria Bello, Robert Duvall, and William H. Macy.

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic
No taboo is sacred when Sarah Silverman jokes about rape, incest, religion, and race, race, race. Her new film "Jesus is Magic" documents her outrageous, merciless standup act. But for how long can you watch one person tell jokes?

Saving Face
Alice Wu makes her directorial debut with the lesbian Chinese-American romantic comedy "Saving Face." The funny and touching--if formulaic--film stars newcomers Michelle Krusiec, Lynn Chen and the still luminous Joan Chen.

Sin City
Robert Rodriguez stylish adaptation of Frank Miller's hardboiled comic book series is a cynical, violent film about murder and decapitation that happens to be beautiful to look at. Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Mickey Rourke, Elija Wood, Brittany Murphy and Jessica Alba are part of the star-studded cast, and Quentin Tarantino guest-directed a short sequence.

Sideways
Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt) heads west in his fourth feature, leaving middle America for the bright, sun-dappled California coastline. Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Sandra Oh, and Virginia Madsen star in this hilarious ode to love, loss, and fine wine.

Silver City
John Sayles takes steady aim at corporate influence just behind the façade of government and the media in the wonderful but deeply cynical "Silver City." The terrific ensemble cast includes Chris Cooper, Daryl Hannah, Danny Huston, Maria Bello, Richard Drefyus, Tim Roth, Mary Kay Place and Thora Birch.

The Woodsman
Kevin Bacon stars as Walter, a reformed pedophile returned to society after twelve year's incarceration in Nicole Kassel's acclaimed debut drama "The Woodsman."

Stage Beauty
American stars Billy Crudup and Claire Danes star in the latest British costume drama, Richard Eyre's "Stage Beauty." Pretty to look at and well-acted, the film is an utter failure: the plot is entirely implausible, the end anachronistic and positively offensive.

THX 1138
Six years before "Star Wars," George Lucas turned a student short into his first feature. In "THX 1138," a bald Robert Duvall tries to escape from an oppressive futuristic society. The digitally restored director's cut is now playing in theaters.

When Will I Be Loved
James Toback's new film teeters on the edge between overwritten indie noir and ludicrous soft porn, but Neve Campbell is always fun to watch as Vera, a cultured, contempible, New York rich girl. Peter Weller and Dominic Chianese co-star.

We Don't Live Here Anymore
Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Naomi Watts, and Peter Krause take turns suffering from fits of jealous rage and sexual ecstasy in John Curran's "We Don't Live Here Anymore." Based on the short stories of Andre Dubus.