The Forgettable & Forgotten The Forgettable & Forgotten
Dispatches from adolescent territory reach me occasionally through my niece Michelle, who has moved into her teen years like the Wehrmacht hitting Belgium. Her most recent posting...
Jul 18, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Future Shock Future Shock
In Steven Spielberg's latest picture, a skinheaded psychic named Agatha keeps challenging Tom Cruise with the words, "Can you see?" The question answers itself: Cruise sees in ...
Jul 3, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Company Men Company Men
Although car chases are formulaic, they needn't be standard issue. One of the many substantial pleasures that The Bourne Identity offers is a thoughtful car chase, a loving car ch...
Jun 20, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
France: The Film Vote France: The Film Vote
Politics were never far from anyone's mind at this year's fifty-fifth Cannes International Film Festival, which unfolded in a France still reeling from the shock of far-right cand...
Jun 13, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Leslie Camhi
Global Rights: The Movies Global Rights: The Movies
As all reputable news outlets assure us, privatization benefits everyone--which is lucky, since these same outlets report that privatization is inevitable. We live out a happy fat...
Jun 6, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Sleepless in Nightmute Sleepless in Nightmute
You may recall Insomnia as a Norwegian film made on a modest budget--do I repeat myself?--about the inner life of a morally compromised police detective. The picture enjoyed a sma...
May 23, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
The Band’s Long Waltz The Band’s Long Waltz
When I first saw The Last Waltz in 1978, I almost walked out, although I was a fan of both director Martin Scorsese and The Band. I admit I was one of the folks whose tickets for...
May 16, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Gene Santoro
The First Webbie The First Webbie
Say what you will against the Hollywood event film, and you can say it twice about Spider-Man. Twice, because this movie has been so successfully pre-sold, mall-booked, cross-m...
May 9, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
The Days of May The Days of May
What date shall I assign to Chris Marker's magnum opus, A Grin Without a Cat? This rugged oak of an essay-film, whose gnarls trace the growth and withering of decades of leftis...
Apr 25, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
African Queen African Queen
Filmmakers in sub-Saharan Africa tend to divide their attention between city life today and village life once upon a time. This rule has its exceptions, of course; but if you're s...
Apr 11, 2002 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans