How unexpected and lucky we all were to get two Johnny Depp/Tim Burton collaborations in three months (Author’s Note, 2017: My God, 2005 was a different place). And unlike in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Depp is really on fire in Corpse Bride, pretty impressive considering that he’s nothing but a voice. All of the […]

There aren’t many “small”movies any more – the ones without an ad push, or volumes of critical consensus, or festival awards. But I rediscovered today how amazing it can be to watch a movie totally without preconception when I saw Caterina in the Big City. An Italian film from 2003, finally making an incredibly low-key […]

There’s such a thing as too much good movie. Exhibit A: Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046, a film full of brilliant scenes and moments, and some of the most beautiful cinematography on cinema screens this year. A film in which almost nothing makes sense when put together. I hardly know where to start with the plot, so […]

The Constant Gardener is the kind of brainy thriller that one expects from an adaption of John Le Carré, noted British spy novelist and ennui expert. This might just be the best of all the Le Carré films I’ve seen: like all of them it evinces a frustration at the Proper British Way, but here […]