Film

CLOONEY CONTINUES TO GET IT RIGHT It’s time to submit a definition of the George Clooney hero. He’s an aging professional who has grown smarter than the system to which he has indentured himself. The distance between his intelligence and the system’s need for myopy breeds cynicism and alienation. Finding himself the villain of his…

IT’S A ROMANTIC COMEDY. Â  ANY QUESTIONS? Director: Didn’t this thing just direct itself? One of the great things about useless romantic comedies is how easily they break down into question and answer form. Observe the Drew Barrymore-Justin Long long-distance get-together Going the Distance. Q: Is it funny? A: Eh, not bad. The leads dish out…

A TOWN CALLED ARNENE (Film Critic Kevin Bowen is visiting his hometown – El Paso, Texas – and attending the third annual Plaza Classic Film Festival. The festival, running from Aug. 5 to Aug. 15 features 70 classic films. Bowen will write sporadic reports on the classic films that he watches at the festival.) —…

EXPECT THE EXPECTED Is this all that I have to look forward to? Three or four decades of looking back to the good old days? While I remain at an age when I can effectively deny the presence of gray hairs, I’m still displeased with this future. When I’m 60, will I look back or…

CRITICAL EYE ON THE POSSIBLY QUEER GUY (Film Critic Kevin Bowen is visiting his hometown – El Paso, Texas – and attending the third annual Plaza Classic Film Festival. The festival, running from Aug. 5 to Aug. 15 features 70 classic films. Bowen will write sporadic reports on the classic films that he watches at…

NOTES ON A FESTIVAL ———— Film Critic Kevin Bowen is visiting his hometown – El Paso, Texas – and attending the third annual Plaza Classic Film Festival. The festival, running from Aug. 5 to Aug. 15 features 70 classic films. Bowen will write sporadic reports on the classic films that he watches at the festival….

FUNERAL ATTENDANCE (YOUR OWN) This is the thing about a movie with a deep dark secret. The payoff should be about equal to or greater than the buildup. Â  It certainly shouldn’t feel like a letdown or a cop out. It should not be a way to get a likable character with a checkered past off…

BRÜNO IST DA BOMB How will you know if Brí¼no is your type of film? Answer this question. How do you feel about a running gag involving an exercise bike converted for use as a super-dildo? Funny? Or obnoxiously revolting? Compared to Sacha Baron Cohen’s breakthrough in Borat three years ago, Brí¼no is more outlandish,…

NOT A BUFFET OF LAUGHS, BUT A MODEST HELPING The Hangover  opens from the desert around Las Vegas. A man bleeds from his lip as he speaks into his cell phone. He instructs a faraway bride to hang up her bridal gown. She’s not going to need it. They don’t know where the groom has vanished….

THE RETURN OF 70s NOSTALGIA After walking out of the auditorium, one of my friends with whom I saw Grindhouse asked me if I liked it. It was with hesitancy that I had to admit, “Yeah, I did.” “It sounds like you’re ashamed to admit it.” Well, perhaps, but, if so, it wasn’t the deep,…