RDN on the 2011 Oscar crop
I saw great movies in 2010 and some of them were given minor awards at the Oscars. But the big winners probably weren't all that wonderful.... Read more...
On movies.
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“Surrogates” (2009)
Can't stand sci-fi? Allergic to blockbusters? Try this great big blockbuster sci-fi movie.... Read more...
Claire Denis and “White Material”
This stunning movie is a blend of Conrad's The Heart of Darkness (or Apocalypse Now) and Karen Blixen's Out Of Africa (book and movie). Swirl in some Lord Of the Flies and you've sort of got the picture. Goodness knows why the right-ons love it. Read more...
Ghost: Creepily excellent in so many ways
Roman Polanski's movie is an excellent account of Robert Harris's book. But it is even more of a post-modern experience. Read more...
I Am Love: Flawed masterpiece
For long stretches of I Am Love, I was bowled over in much the way I imagine the movie-makers intended. It had risible patches which didn't quite shake the wheels off the wagon. Read more...
The Last Station: Poor Sofia Tolstoy
This rather good-looking film was surprisingly tiresome, but I could not be quite sure why until I read some stuff about the last days of the Tolstoy marriage. Read more...
The Hurt Locker: Gritty, sure. But realistic?
The courage of EOD - bomb disposal - staff is well worth celebrating and Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker does it brilliantly. Still, this is perhaps not all that accurate an account of the trade. Read more...
A Single Man: Surprisingly simpatico
Everything about the buzz surrounding Tom Ford's film led one to expect the worst. To overstate the case, one expected a sort of style fascism. Read more...
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll: 6 out of 10
S & D & R & R has a lot going for it, but it's a little lame in some departments. Read more...
Revolutionary Row: Gorgeous but thin
Sam Mendes is a very good director but he has a track record of disliking capitalism and isn't a lot better about human relations. Revolutionary Road makes these points almost as well as American Beauty did. Read more...