Royal Tenenbaums, The
Wes Anderson’s new film lives up to the high standard he set for himself in Rushmore (1998) and Bottle Rocket (1996). A must-see rating.
Affair of the Necklace, The
Hilary Swank should never have left Nebraska — especially not for 18th century France.
Business of Strangers, The
A paean to tough women is perhaps not the best way of exploring feminine vulnerabilities, but a portrait of a psycho-bitch is always something that will find a market.
Ocean’s Eleven
. . .and the bad guys live happily ever after with their ill-gotten gains. Ho-hum. What a cliché this is becoming.
America in Peril from Boy Scout Militarism
Liberals feel guilty for being white, male, heterosexual, even liberal, but Jay Mechling feels guilty for being an Eagle Scout.
— from The Wilson Quarterly
Behind Enemy Lines
Hollywood’s wars are still with the same enemy they have been fighting for 30 years — the Pentagon. But there are signs of growing pro-Americanism.
In the Bedroom
Todd Field’s In the Bedroom is not all that it is cracked up to be, but it is still well worth seeing.
Amélie (Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s movie is not so good as its record breaking box office receipts in France would suggest, but Audrey Tautou is irresistible
After the Terrorists, the Worryists
The media may be worrying themselves to death but, all the same,
they’re returning to normal.
—from the December New Criterion
Shallow Hal
The Farrelly brothers aren’t impressed by shallow, skin-deep beauty
like Gwyneth Paltrow’s. Not much they aren’t.
The Warden of English
H.W. Fowler was one of the most influential English-speakers of the last century. So why don’t we have a better biography of
him?
— from The Washington Times