The Dilemma

Ron Howard's latest is a decidedly honest comedy-melodrama about love and friendship.

"...and confidant to the high-strung Nick (James); together, they design greenish electro-car stuff for Detroit, but their company hasn't..."

Jan. 14, 2011 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Twelve

The private-school kids on New York's Upper East Side are definitely not all right in Joel Schumacher's sordid tale of young promise gone wrong.

"...its young protagonists and how vapid its ersatz production design seems. The focus of this latest film by Schumacher..."

Aug. 6, 2010 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Inception

Nolan's first film since The Dark Knight is a heist picture with an inventive twist.

"...a unique kind of corporate espionage in which they design a dreamscape, then trap, say, a CEO into said..."

July 16, 2010 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Too bad this sumptuously appointed film unfolds on a screen instead of a catwalk.

"...and Grigori Manoukov. Perhaps it’s no surprise that French designer Coco Chanel, with her penchant for a dominant black-and-white..."

July 16, 2010 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Jonah Hex

The disfigured Weird Western Tales antihero gets his own movie, which mixes elements of the Western and the supernatural.

"...Hex does succeed is in the intensely detailed production design that especially re-creates the look and feel of a..."

June 25, 2010 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Ghost Writer

Polanski is back in the saddle with his new political mystery thriller, which stars Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan.

"...is drawn into its all-consuming vortex. The film’s production design plays a major role in creating the story’s overall..."

Feb. 26, 2010 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Up in the Air

The director of Juno and Thank You for Smoking is back with another film that is perfectly in touch with the times.

"...J.K. Simmons, Sam Elliott and Danny McBride. Either by design or default, Reitman has customed a film perfectly in..."

Dec. 18, 2009 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Until the Light Takes Us

This music documentary chronicles the history, ideology, and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal.

"...illustration of the subject matter fits its overall sound design effectively, while the filmmakers’ lean overview of the 1980s-born..."

Nov. 20, 2009 Movie Review by Raoul Hernandez

Saw VI

Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood. Promises, promises.

"...terms of the series’ relentlessly downbeat and run-take-a-shower art design, as artfully constructed as anything that's come before. This..."

Oct. 30, 2009 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Brothers Bloom

Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo are cast as the best con men in the world whose current swindle involves an eccentric heiress (Rachel Weisz) in this sophomore effort by the writer/director of Brick.

"...mood he’s conveyed here – via costume and art design, a jazzy retro score (by cousin Nathan Johnson), and..."

May 29, 2009 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Terminator Salvation

Despite a couple of good action sequences, Terminator Salvation is loud, talky, and entirely lacking any sort of soul or sense of good old summer-matinee fun.

"...human hand, is terrifically dull, full of ear-searing sound design and much yakkity-yakking about the fate of humanity but..."

May 22, 2009 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Tokyo!

This triptych of short films by directors Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho is a gorgeous, sprawling mess.

"...to the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Gondry's segment, “Interior Design,” is more whimsical and in keeping with the elegiac,..."

April 10, 2009 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

City of Ember

Despite some inventive production design and a comically villainous turn from Bill Murray, this film based on a young-adult novel never really picks up much steam.

"...this film, which, despite boasting a splendidly inventive production design and a comically villainous turn from a thoroughly engaged..."

Oct. 10, 2008 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Mirrors

Spooky stuff crosses over from the mirror world to the real world, and it places Kiefer Sutherland in a world of hurt.

"...victims, making for an unsatisfying tale. An effective sound design enhances several of the film's sudden frights, and Sutherland,..."

Aug. 22, 2008 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Mist

There's "something in the mist," and it's not only the beasts that bite but also the dark things that reside within.

"...the mist (credit visual-effects supervisor Everett Burrell and creature design and make-up-effects artist Greg Nicotero) come out to prey...."

Nov. 23, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I is back for seconds in this melodramatic sequel that emphasizes how the Virgin Queen lusted in her heart.

"...costumes and decor add to the film's delicious production design. Despite good performances all around, particularly the ever-brilliant Blanchett,..."

Oct. 12, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Illegal Tender

A throwback to the Eighties crime dramas and Seventies blacksploitation films, this Latino action thriller about family ties and blood feuds rarely transcends clichés.

"...seems to have been paid to things like the design of Gonzalez's sideburns. Filmmaker John Singleton serves as the..."

Aug. 31, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Transformers

What matters most about Transformers isn't subtext (this is Michael Bay after all), but what happens when big, loud, heavy things bang into other differently colored big, loud, heavy things.

"...and the full-bore, whining, grinding, whirring, and screeching sound design of Erik Aadahl, which transforms what could have been..."

July 6, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Lee Leffingwell Makes a Splash

Council member named Conservationist of the Year

"...only one part of Leffingwell's comprehensive system of recommendations, designed to cut Austin's water usage by 10% in 10..."

April 10, 2007 News Post by Wells Dunbar

The Namesake

Mira Nair's complex meditation on family, relationships, and identity traces the saga of two generations of an Indian-American family, as outlined in Jhumpa Lahiri's bestselling novel.

"...winter. The beautiful cinematography (by Frederick Elmes), vibrant production design (by Stephanie Carroll), and gently moving performances ignite this..."

March 30, 2007 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

Mixed Use Meeting Tonight

"...of several inform meetings regarding the recently passed Commercial Design Standards Ordinance, and its centerpiece, the Vertical Mixed Use..."

Dec. 13, 2006 News Post by Wells Dunbar

Dreamland

This ensemble piece set in a rural mobile-home park has a solid emotional center despite some dramatic mood swings.

"...pedigree and confident execution – as well as nifty design, down to its Hammond-organ Photek soundtrack and desert chic..."

Dec. 1, 2006 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

The literal and figurative institutionalization of Austin music and art legend Daniel Johnston is analyzed from many angles in this perceptive film profile.

"...The locations, sound design, and even the simplest mattes – pictures, postcards, a..."

May 5, 2006 Movie Review by Raoul Hernandez

Silent Hill

Eerie but ultimately unengaging film adaptation of Konami's smash series of video games has a pitch-perfect score and unnervingly nightmarish imagery.

"...image of Silent Hill's impressive art direction and production design. Now imagine it scored by German proto-industrialists Einstürzende Neubauten..."

April 28, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Failure to Launch

This date movie is dude-friendly by design, but all its attention to hairdos and cute outfits does not make up for its lack of romantic spark.

"...bitten frequently by animals). The film is dude-friendly by design, and while this approach invites cynicism (McConaughey gets two..."

March 10, 2006 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Memoirs of a Geisha

Well, we’re not in Chicago anymore, or even its soundstage approximation, but that hasn’t stopped Oscar-nominated director Rob Marshall from fashioning another epic spectacle out of two squabbling women in (a sort-of) show business.

"...other chief pleasure – the spectacular set and costume design – exits as well, as the pesky arrival of..."

Dec. 23, 2005 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

The Brothers Grimm

Terry Gilliam's skewed fantasy is pure jabberwocky.

"...the film becomes a showcase for Gilliam’s elaborate artistic design, which is, at times, mesmerizing. However, the effects come..."

Aug. 26, 2005 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Burton and Depp's screen version of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book is truer to the source material and generally splendid, artful, and often sinister, yet it doesn't completely displace the earlier screen version.

"...the film, which dazzles outright with its gob-stopping production design from Alex McDowell and Deep Roy’s unsmiling Oompa Loompas,..."

July 15, 2005 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Paheli

The Hindi megastar Shahrukh Khan and the arthouse director Amol Palekar combine forces for this new Bollywood fable.

"...and a dancehall beat), a gone-cuckoo-for-the-color-wheel costume and set design, and a truly bang-up camel race. Now that’s entertainment...."

July 1, 2005 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Thankfully, the dark tone of the beloved childrens books is carried over to the screen, and the terrific performances and production design provide extra lift.

"...the sinister Count Olaf (Carrey), a wannabe actor with designs on the Baudelaire fortune; the film then ambles through..."

Dec. 17, 2004 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

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