All articles by Tim Grierson, Senior US critic – Page 76
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Reviews
Crossing Over
Dir/scr: Wayne Kramer. US. 2008. 113mins.Trying to put a human face on the plight of undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles, Crossing Over is an unsteady balancing act of bleeding-heart melodrama, crime thriller, and multi-thread ensemble piece in the vein of Crash or Babel. Writer-director Wayne Kramer's ambitious third feature has ...
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Reviews
The Uninvited
Dir: The Guard Brothers . US. 2009. 87 mins. A pedestrian horror enlivened by some better-than-expected performances, The Uninvited doles out its scares and twists in a rather predictable narrative template. Respected actors Elizabeth Banks and David Strathairn give it an added gravitas, but this umpteenth remake of an Asian ...
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ReviewsManure
Dir:Michael Polish. US. 2008. 105 mins.The visual richness of director Michael Polish’s Manure is so striking that many moviegoers may simply forgive the film’s lack of an equally sumptuous story. After dipping their toes into the Hollywood studio-system with their last effort, The Astronaut Farmer (2007), Michael Polish and his ...
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ReviewsThe Winning Season
Dir/scr: James C. Strouse. US. 2009. 98 mins.Transporting The Bad News Bears into the world of high school girls basketball, The Winning Season is no slam dunk, but stars Sam Rockwell and Margo Martindale score enough points to make the game somewhat interesting. In a dramatic ...
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ReviewsThe Greatest
Dir: Shana Feste. US. 2008. 98mins.The Greatest charts the uneasy journey people must undertake in the face of grief, but first-time filmmaker Shana Feste can’t quite fully bring this emotionally delicate drama to fruition. A tearjerker about a middle-aged couple coping with the loss of their ...
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ReviewsThe Killing Room
Dir:Jonathan Liebesman. US. 2008. 93mins.Unremittingly gripping and unnerving, The Killing Room transforms a simple premise into a almost unbearably tense experience. As a departure from his gory 2006 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, director Jonathan Liebesman squeezes every little ounce of mind-game intrigue from the ...
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Reviews
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Dir: Steve Carr . US. 2009. 87mins. A depressingly strained comedic riff on Die Hard, Paul Blart: Mall Cop mixes fat jokes, a sappy romantic subplot and hostages-in-a-mall action elements without much verve or wit. As his first starring vehicle after playing second-fiddle to bigger box-office names in recent films, ...
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Reviews
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Dir: Scott Derrickson. US. 2008. 105 mins.Rarely has an alien invasion (or the possible eradication of humanity) seemed less gripping than in The Day The Earth Stood Still, a sluggish reboot of the 1951 science-fiction classic starring Keanu Reeves as an ambassador for the invading extra terrestrials. Updating the 'message' ...