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Movies From Boston.comStories Checked for Students of English by Jamaby *** 3In the 30-plus years Ridley Scott has been making films, he's covered all manner of subjects, from fencing to replicants, the Crusades to the drug trade. In his new film "Body of Lies," Scott examines the role of the CIA in the war on terrorism. (Boston.com) An actor lured by western promise TORONTO - The surprising thing about Viggo Mortensen is how talkative the guy is. Seriously: The smolderingly still presence of "Eastern Promises," "A History of Violence," and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy turns out to be a regular Chatty Cathy in person. (Boston.com) **** 4In family, screenwriter sees true colors of connection NEW YORK - You'd think an interracial wedding in a staid Connecticut suburb might be noted in conversations there. Discussed, even. In "Rachel Getting Married," which opens Friday, it doesn't muster a mention. (Boston.com) Terrifying film on abducted kids is a must-see The most terrifying part of "Have You Seen Andy?" the Emmy-winning documentary by Boston's Melanie Perkins, happens midway through the film. A home movie discovered by police in the van of child molester Wayne Chapman begins to play, and though the images are out of focus and the children's faces intentionally blurred, Chapman's words are chillingly clear. They are pure ... (Boston.com) ***** 5Subject of 'Genius' was brilliant and brusque It's too bad that Greg Kinnear couldn't have played Robert Kearns in real life. That thought went through my mind while watching Kinnear's performance in "Flash of Genius," a new drama based on the story of the cantankerous Detroit engineer who successfully sued Ford and Chrysler for a combined $30 million for infringing on his patent designs for the intermittent ... (Boston.com) 'The Pool' reaches impressive depths "The Pool" begins with Venkatesh, an 18-year-old janitor at a hotel in Panjim, India, making his daily pilgrimage to a hilltop bungalow whose prime attraction, to Venkatesh, is its unapproachable pool. One day, the bungalow's owner (played by Bollywood legend Nana Patekar) spots Venkatesh and hires the teenager as his yard boy. Venkatesh accepts the job in order to get ... (Boston.com) 'Appaloosa' covers western territory "Appaloosa" is a warmly made, slightly offbeat movie about friendly devotion. It also happens to be a western, and every man in it is grizzled or wizened or both. They could all be in contention for a Civil War postage stamp. The exception is Virgil Cole, the marshal-for-hire played by Ed Harris, who co-wrote and directed "Appaloosa." Virgil has almost ... (Boston.com) A woman's journey of self-discovery "Traveling With Pets" is a Russian nesting doll of a movie. Within its depressive depiction of post-Soviet rural life is a tough, deadpan-funny fable of feminist self-awareness; within that is a tone poem about the movement of trains; and within that is a glowing testament to the renewal of earth, seasons, and a woman's life. At the very center is ... (Boston.com) The fast, colorful rise of an '80s art dynamo Through his vibrant, linear art, Keith Haring gave warm-and-fuzzy feelings a hip, pulsating appeal in 1980s New York. As that blithe decade recedes, he shines ever brighter as one of its most likable products. (Boston.com) You may find this hard to believe, but there was a time when people fed up with politics as usual took to the streets and protested. Then again, there really wasn't much good to watch on TV back then, so what else were they going to do? Part animation, part archival footage, and all righteous fury, the film "Chicago 10 ... (Boston.com) Paul Newman made a second career of responding to his movie stardom with a self-effacing shrug and the occasional raspberry. (Hardly anyone agreed with him; those who did usually came around after seeing the movies.) In his comments to the press, though, you could glimpse a canny, cantankerous survivor who preferred taking on the business from the outside. (Boston.com) Never, won't, and can't are magic words for Simon Pegg. Whenever the British actor makes an unlikely, even ridiculous prediction, it seems the opposite occurs. (Boston.com) 'Fireproof' sounds the alarm for a marriage in trouble (Boston.com) I am about to tell you that until a few days ago I had never seen all of the second "Godfather" movie. And I saw the first one in its entirety only a year ago. The occasion for both the confession and the deflowering was another edition of Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy - "The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration," a breathlessly ... (Boston.com) Typically with Spike Lee, you don't have to wonder what's on his mind. Earlier this year, he accused Clint Eastwood of whitewashing WWII in "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima," his double-sided pair of films from 2005. A lot of attention was paid to Lee's charges (where were the black soldiers?). More was paid to Eastwood's response. ... (Boston.com) About those "Nights in Rodanthe": They're about as steamy as a cup of tea. But it's not for a lack for trying. Paul Flanner (Richard Gere) meets Adrienne Willis (Diane Lane), the temporary proprietress at his bed and breakfast, gives her his heart, and love letters ensue. Sample: "Was it the storm, the wine, or the way you looked at ... (Boston.com) 'Lucky Ones' brings military service home "The Lucky Ones" is as close as a movie about three Iraq war soldiers should come to mediocre TV comedy. (Boston.com) 'Flow' taps into global worries about water It's tempting to glibly dismiss "Flow: For Love of Water" as this week's entry in the Environmental Apocalypse agit-doc genre. Like "An Inconvenient Truth," "The Unforeseen," and other recent documentaries, it wants to terrify us into action, in this case over the privatization of and misuse of our planet's water supply. Like many of those films, "Flow" preaches to the ... (Boston.com) 'Choke' fails to go far enough "Choke" is disappointing not for what it is but what it could have been. It's watchable enough and at times quite engaging, but that's the problem: A story about a sex addict who works as a colonial re-enactor when he's not feigning choking to death at expensive restaurants should be more than just watchable. It should be as transgressive as ... (Boston.com) The last time D.J. Caruso directed Shia LaBeouf, the movie was called "Disturbia," and the most disturbing thing about it was the obviousness with which everyone involved was ripping off Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window." How obvious? The owners of the short story on which "Window" was based are currently suing, citing "Disturbia" as an unauthorized remake. (Boston.com) Festival screens 'Killer Poet' NEWBURYPORT - You may have stopped at the strip mall on Route 1 in Saugus lately to buy a pair of Skechers or a Starbucks coffee. But on Sept. 29, 1960, the site was home to a Robert Hall clothing store where a clerk named John "Jackie" Pigott was murdered in an armed robbery. Norman Porter fired the shotgun. (Boston.com) |
