28 Mar 2006

DVDs to Watch, and Watch Again: "The Squid & the Whale" and "The Dying Gaul"

By Mike Schulz

THE SQUID & THE WHALE and THE DYING GAUL

Before accepting his career-achievement prize at the Academy Awards this year, director Robert Altman - his voice-over accompanying clips from his works - explained his raison d'etre: "Stories don't interest me," he said. "Basically, I'm more interested in behavior." Considering his contributions to film, the admission made perfect sense - how do you adequately describe the story of M*A*S*H or Nashville or Short Cuts? But it also touched on something elemental about the movie-going experience, in terms of the emotional connections we often make with the characters on-screen. When these literally two-dimensional figures reveal themselves to be as complicated and unpredictable, as human, as we are - when we recognize their behavior with a laugh or a nod or a wince - "story" doesn't really matter a damn; the experience of watching characters just being can be its own spellbinding reward.

07 Mar 2006

Host with the Most: "Dave Chappelle's Block Party," "Madea's Family Reunion," "16 Blocks," "Running Scared," "The World's Fastest Indian," and "Doogal"

By Mike Schulz

DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY

Dave Chappelle's Block Party is teeming with something that has been sorely absent from 2006's movie crop: joy. In the late summer of 2004, Chappelle, fresh from signing his now-legendary - and currently defunct - $50-million contract with Comedy Central, spontaneously decided to throw a block-wide bash, and recruited a batch of rap and R&B performers (including Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Kanye West, Jill Scott, and Lauryn Hill and the reunited Fugees) to perform a day-long gig in Brooklyn; the resulting concert doc features highlights from the concert interspersed with scenes of Chappelle kicking back with the stars and the block-party attendees, and the movie, directed by Michel Gondry, is a giddy, oftentimes exhilarating spectacle. It's hard to determine who's having more fun - the musicians, whose on-stage performances are heartfelt and vital; the Brooklyn masses, whose enjoyment of the show is palpable; or the movie's audience.

28 Feb 2006

A Debuting Oldie and Some Old Newbies: "Transamerica," "Firewall," "Freedomland," "Date Movie," "Eight Below," and "Curious George"

By Mike Schulz

Jeez, you take one week off from regular movie reviewing and you fall so behind ... .

20 Sep 2005

"Murderball" Is the Best of Eight - and of the Year: Also, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," "Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees," "Lord of War," "An Unfinished Life," "The Constant Gardener," "Cry Wolf," and "The Man"

By Mike Schulz

MURDERBALL

I've seen a lot of sublimely satisfying documentaries this year, but none with the scope and passion of Murderball. Like last year's brilliant Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, the film's title and ostensible subject matter - quadriplegic rugby - are probably enough to frighten off the audiences who would love it the most, which I pray won't happen; Murderball, currently playing at the Brew & View Rocket, is, thus far, the most invigorating, fascinating, surprising, and deeply human movie of 2005.

12 Oct 2004

"Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" Transcends Metal and the Documentary: Also, "Shark Tale," "Friday Night Lights," and "Ladder 49"

By Mike Schulz

METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster has the sort of title guaranteed to repel viewers who might love it the most. This warts-and-all documentary, chronicling the two-plus years devoted to creating Metallica's St. Anger CD, is like the best episode of Behind the Music ever made, offering an intimate look at the relationship between guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and detailing the nightmare involved in getting the group recording again after a five-year hiatus. The movie will be Mecca for metal fans, yet its appeal isn't totally insular. Audiences who may be loath to sit through a doc on any heavy-metal group might not realize what directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky have fashioned here; Some Kind of Monster is one of the finest recordings of the collaborative artistic process ever committed to film, a hard-edged and endlessly fascinating look at the excruciating work that goes into the making of an album. And for those for whom documentaries are even less appealing than heavy metal, it must be said that the film is one of the funniest and most shockingly touching screen works of the year, This Is Spinal Tap with actual human beings at its core. It's a thrilling experience.

06 Apr 2004

Gentler Smith Fails to Score with "Jersey Girl": Also, "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed," "Home on the Range," and "Shattered Glass"

By Mike Schulz

JERSEY GIRL

Theoretically, there's nothing wrong with Kevin Smith momentarily eschewing his predilection for what he terms "dick and fart jokes" in favor of more honest, heartwarming fare, but good God, don't we Smith fans deserve better than Jersey Girl? In previous films, Smith presented us with a woman who screws a dead man, the Almighty in the personage of Alanis Morissette, and a lesbian who switches teams for Ben Affleck, yet I found his latest work the least believable in his oeuvre, a movie so brazenly phony and audience-pandering that I wanted to hide my face.

13 Jan 2004

Holiday Fare a Depressing Lot: "Peter Pan," "Mona Lisa Smile," and "Cheaper by the Dozen"

By Mike Schulz

Are mainstream movies, in general, becoming more and more stale? The question arose a couple of weeks ago when an acquaintance asked if I'd seen anything good recently. After a pause I was finally able to reply, "Uh ... Return of the King?"

"Well, of course that. Anything since then?"

21 Oct 2003

"Mystic River" Stands as Eastwood's and Penn's Best Work: Also, "The Magdalene Sisters" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"

By Mike Schulz

MYSTIC RIVER

It's tempting to say that in Mystic River, Clint Eastwood's complex, heartbreaking adaptation of Dennis Lehane's terrific murder mystery, Sean Penn gives the most nuanced approximation of grief to be found anywhere in modern movies.

07 Oct 2003

"School of Rock" One of the Year's Biggest and Best Surprises: Also, "Never Get Outta the Boat," "Lost in Translation," "Under the Tuscan Sun," and "Luther"

By Mike Schulz

SCHOOL OF ROCK

I've seen Sidney Poitier do it. I've seen Robin Williams do it. I've seen Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Edward James Olmos ... hell, I've seen Dame Maggie Smith do it. But I have never seen an actor playing The Inspirational Teacher connect with his students as believably, and oddly beautifully, as Jack Black does in The School of Rock.

23 Sep 2003

New Woody Film Marks a Return to Form: "Anything Else," "Secondhand Lions," "Cold Creek Manor," and "Cabin Fever"

By Mike Schulz

ANYTHING ELSE

As a lifelong fan of Woody Allen's cinematic oeuvre, the last five years have been rather painful. Sure, Small Time Crooks was a lot of fun and Sean Penn delivered a truly inspired performance in Sweet & Lowdown, but The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, though intermittently amusing, felt pretty stale, and Celebrity and last year's Hollywood Ending were just plain awful. (Part of being a true fan includes admitting when your heroes fail, and feeling somewhat heartbroken when they do.)

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

River Cities Reader #1015 -... by River Cities Reader

Tagged Content

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Amy Alkon Advice Goddess, Real Astrology, Red Meat cartoon and RCR Crossword every week?)

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Get 12 issues mailed monthly for $48 per year.

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Search form

DVDs to Watch, and Watch Again: "The Squid & the Whale" and "The Dying Gaul"

Host with the Most: "Dave Chappelle's Block Party," "Madea's Family Reunion," "16 Blocks," "Running Scared," "The World's Fastest Indian," and "Doogal"

A Debuting Oldie and Some Old Newbies: "Transamerica," "Firewall," "Freedomland," "Date Movie," "Eight Below," and "Curious George"

"Murderball" Is the Best of Eight - and of the Year: Also, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," "Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees," "Lord of War," "An Unfinished Life," "The Constant Gardener," "Cry Wolf," and "The Man"

"Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" Transcends Metal and the Documentary: Also, "Shark Tale," "Friday Night Lights," and "Ladder 49"

Gentler Smith Fails to Score with "Jersey Girl": Also, "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed," "Home on the Range," and "Shattered Glass"

Holiday Fare a Depressing Lot: "Peter Pan," "Mona Lisa Smile," and "Cheaper by the Dozen"

"Mystic River" Stands as Eastwood's and Penn's Best Work: Also, "The Magdalene Sisters" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"

"School of Rock" One of the Year's Biggest and Best Surprises: Also, "Never Get Outta the Boat," "Lost in Translation," "Under the Tuscan Sun," and "Luther"

New Woody Film Marks a Return to Form: "Anything Else," "Secondhand Lions," "Cold Creek Manor," and "Cabin Fever"

Pages

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

Tagged Content

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Click this link to Subscribe now.