17 Oct 2007

The Toxic Avenger: "Michael Clayton" and "Across the Universe"

By Mike Schulz

George Clooney and Sydney Pollack in Michael ClaytonMICHAEL CLAYTON

There's a spirit of fatalism and dread that hangs over nearly every scene in Tony Gilroy's legal thriller Michael Clayton, and the miracle of the movie is that its grimness doesn't equal torpor; for a work drenched in both literal and figurative darkness, it's exquisitely, robustly entertaining. Like the films in the Bourne franchise (all of which Gilroy scripted), Michael Clayton is a smart, knotty diversion that keeps your senses, at all times, alert, and happily, the movie's ecologically minded plotline - involving an agricultural chemical company being sued for poisoning communities - doesn't have sanctimonious intent. The movie isn't designed to be Good for Us; it's just designed to be good. And it's very, very good.

08 Aug 2007

Heroes Aren't Made; They're Bourne: "The Bourne Ultimatum"

By Mike Schulz

Matt Damon in The Bourne UltimatumTHE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

There's a lot of plot in The Bourne Ultimatum - all manner of clandestine meetings and hidden motivations and governmental conspiracies - but the story can be neatly summed up by the titular fugitive himself: "Someone started all this," Bourne tells the brother of his murdered lover, "and I'm gonna find him." Nothing else is really germane here, and the exhilaration of this third entry in the spy-thriller franchise is that, with as visceral a filmmaker as Paul Greengrass at the helm, nothing else needs to be.

14 Jun 2005

"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" Is Criminally Enjoyable: Also, "The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D"

By Mike Schulz

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. & Mrs. SmithMR. & MRS. SMITH

If it accomplished nothing else, Mr. & Mrs. Smith would easily nail a primal attraction for going to the movies: Getting to spend two hours staring at people who are infinitely better-looking than we are.

27 Jul 2004

"Super Size Me" Funny and Scary, but Far from Perfect: Also, "The Bourne Supremacy"

By Mike Schulz

Morgan Spurlock in Super Size MeSUPER SIZE ME

At its best, Morgan Spurlock's hit documentary Super Size Me plays like an adaptation of Eric Schlosser's exposé Fast Food Nation: smart, funny, well-researched, and scary as hell.

03 Jun 2003

"Finding Nemo" Close to Miraculous: Also, "The Italian Job" and "Lost in La Mancha"

By Mike Schulz

Finding NemoFINDING NEMO

Fish, by nature, aren't the most expressive of species, but try telling that to the loopy geniuses at Pixar. In the studio's latest computer-animated adventure, Finding Nemo, director Andrew Stanton, his wizardly animators, and the vocal talent contribute such breathtaking life and range of emotion to sea dwellers that you leave the movie dizzy with happiness.

13 Aug 2002

A Late-Summer Bumper Crop of Crap: "XXX," "Blood Work," "Martin Lawrence's Runteldat," and "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams"

By Mike Schulz

Asia Argento and Vin Diesel in XXXXXX

Put simply, Vin Diesel's action thriller XXX, directed by The Fast and the Furious helmer, Rob Cohen, succeeds competently at its intentions, which are to make a loud, ass-kicking, summertime blockbuster and kickstart a new, James-Bond-playing-extreme-sports movie franchise.

18 Jun 2002

Director and Damon Create a Distinctive "Identity": "The Bourne Identity," "Windtalkers," and "Scooby-Doo"

By Mike Schulz

Matt Damon in The Bourne IdentityTHE BOURNE IDENTITY

I have a lower threshold for international spy thrillers than most people, yet I must admit that I found The Bourne Identity, based on Robert Ludlam's 1980 bestseller, pretty damned enjoyable.

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