Dirty Work

Another triumph of old-fashioned movie-making from the Czech authors of Kolya.

There are a lot of things wrong with Howard Deutch’s new film, The Replacements, beginning with the fact that it is a football movie and therefore, in my view, extremely limited in its scope for originality. But it is just about worth seeing. There are some good jokes — I especially liked the one where…

[See discussion under “My Diary” for July 16, 2014] Discover more from James Bowman Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email. Type your email… Subscribe

The now familiar practice of making machines into the heroes of our favorite technological romances has taken another leap forward.

Down to Earth, Chris Rock’s remake (directed by Chris and Paul Weitz) of Heaven Can Wait (1978)—itself a remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)—is a disappointment. Though there are some very funny things in it, its glib message about being oneself turns out to be a cover for being self-indulgent, in the style (I’m…

If what happens to Nicholas Cage happened to you, it might be enough to get you out of the confidence man’s game too — unless you can think of some other reason for being honest