No Concessions »
No Concessions: Decider-in-Chief (“W.”)
George W. Bush says he is content to let history judge him. But he misunderestimated Oliver Stone, whose W. puts our departing president on the cinematic cutting board just weeks before the next election.
Read More »No Concessions: Darkness and Light (“Body of Lies” and “Happy-Go-Lucky”)
Body of Lies didn’t have to do much to impress me. It’s the first movie I’ve seen since becoming a dad, and the switch from explosive poops to plain old explosions was a comfort.
Read More »No Concessions: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (“Choke” and “Obscene”)
Warning: this week’s column is going to get ugly, and fast. We start with Choke, an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, which is also a love letter to its star, Sam Rockwell — one
Read More »No Concessions: Ten Fall Movies You Should See (Then Tell Me About) Before You Die
Management has given me a cruel task: preview fall cinema. Now, this was not so difficult back in April, when I pontificated on the summer schedule. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. But that
Read More »No Concessions: A Moving “Elegy” as Summer Movie Season Draws to a Close
Outside of a few odds and ends, the summer movie season pretty much concludes today. Throw the tarp over the pool, recondition the leaf blower, it’s done. If you’re willing to lay down cash
Read More »No Concessions: Seventies Highs — “Pineapple Express,” “Man on Wire,” and Patti Smith
If I ever run for office, and someone asks the drug-use question, I can honestly say I didn’t inhale. While pop-music critics are a Dionysian lot, snorting coke off groupies’ breasts, film critics are
Read More »No Concessions: Summer Shorts — “Baghead,” “Brideshead,” Etc.
Maybe I’ve been overthinking things. Worrying too much about the corrosive effects of superheroes on the cinema and all that. I did 1,500 words on The Dark Knight last week, and I’m sticking to
Read More »No Concessions: “The Dark Knight”
Watching a superdeluxe presentation of The Dark Knight unfold across the eight-story-tall IMAX theater in Manhattan, I had a nagging question: why was the mayor of Gotham City wearing eyeliner and mascara? The movie
Read More »No Concessions: “Hellboy II” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth”
Like the humans who misjudge or underestimate the big red lug on the big screen, I must apologize to Hellboy. Our first encounter, in 2004, was not a happy one. His debut film lurched
Read More »No Concessions: Let’s Talk About Sex
Sex. You know you want it — and I know you’re not getting it from the movies. And I know you’re not because I’ve been looking myself, and coming up empty. Wanted teases with
Read More »
