Argo

Ben Affleck directs this entertaining thriller about an unbelievable-but-true mission to extricate American hostages from Iran in 1980.

"...cover of a location-scouting expedition for a schlocky science fiction movie called Argo. To help him make this notion..."

Oct. 12, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Imposter

This documentary about a bizarre case of identity theft is a puzzle of lies, duplicity, and suppositions.

"...Truth is stranger than fiction, and sometimes vice versa. But when the elements of..."

Aug. 17, 2012 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Extraterrestrial

Spanish filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo cloaks this romantic comedy within the promise of a science-fiction story.

"...a romantic comedy within the portentous promise of a science-fiction story. And though the film’s alien invasion looms without..."

July 13, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Prometheus

In his return to science fiction, Ridley Scott's stunning, ambitious visuals are waylaid by his quasi-metaphysics.

"...a dead star, Ridley Scott's much-anticipated return to science fiction and, more specifically, the mythos he created in 1979's..."

June 8, 2012 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

My Way

This South Korean epic is a gory and realistic portrait of the horrors of war.

"...splattered though it may be), My Way tells a stranger-than-fiction story of two men who initially meet as rival..."

May 4, 2012 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Bernie

Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, and Matthew McConaughey star in Richard Linklater's latest film – an East Texas true-crime story with a comic touch.

"...Texas gothics. As ever, truth proves itself stranger than fiction and the human heart (which is stranger and more..."

April 27, 2012 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

So Fab

New Fiction Confab snags Ben Marcus, Heidi Julavits, and more

"...The New Fiction Confab has developed a reputation for bringing stellar literary..."

March 28, 2012 Books Post by Kimberley Jones

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Even though it's primarily a cautionary ecological tale, this animated film is fun and visually pleasing.

"...Seuss' 1971 children's classic comes across like cautionary science fiction for the prepubescent set. Colorful and visually delightful, the..."

March 2, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

New Year's Eve

Did you see Garry Marshall's last all-star movie Valentine's Day? This is the same silly claptrap, just a different holiday.

"...plain half-assedness, and New Year's Eve – a flimsy fiction to start with – can't even muster the strength..."

Dec. 9, 2011 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

7 Aum Arivu

New Tamil film.

"...press time. This is said to be a Tamil science-fiction thriller in which a "supermachine" is brought to India...."

Oct. 28, 2011 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Source Code

These strangers on a train are players in a gripping science fiction roundelay.

"...gritty, dark, and very entertaining slice of near-future science fiction that on the surface plays like a claustrophobic, marginally..."

April 1, 2011 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

I Saw the Devil

A serial killer meets his match – and then some – in this nasty revenge drama from South Korea that's nevertheless executed with superlative style and wit.

"...or the dark pop poetry of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. But, no, it’s just part of our stark introduction..."

March 25, 2011 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Endhiran (Robot)

This extravagant Indian/Tamil production is an apocalyptic science fiction rom-com with elaborate dance set-pieces and music by A.R. Rahman.

"...traditional Kollywood tropes colliding head-on with a supremely effects-driven science-fiction melodrama. The storyline – often a stumbling block for..."

Feb. 25, 2011 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Action Replayy

This Bollywood film mixes science fiction and romantic comedy.

"...reviewed at press time. This Bollywood film mixes science fiction and romantic comedy as a young man goes back..."

Nov. 5, 2010 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Robot

A Telegu science-fiction film.

"...Aishwarya Bachchan. Not reviewed at press time. This Indian science-fiction film with a score by A.R. Rahman is set..."

Oct. 1, 2010 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Virginity Hit

This faux documentary chronicles the efforts of a 17-year-old kid to lose his virginity.

"...I couldn’t care less either way – fact or fiction, The Virginity Hit is repugnant...."

Sept. 10, 2010 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

The Killer Inside Me

Director Michael Winterbottom makes some fatal storytelling miscalculations in this screen adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel that stars Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, and Kate Hudson.

"...title role and the misinterpretation of the term “pulp fiction” to mean something on the order of beating all..."

July 30, 2010 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Hip Lit

The New Fiction Confab

"...card binds the writers gathering at this weekend's New Fiction Confab, but still, put together, they mark some of..."

April 16, 2010 Books Feature by Kimberley Jones

A Perfect Day for Talking About Bananafish

Austin's hip lit gathers to pay tribute to J.D. Salinger

"...upcoming tribute presented by the HRC and American Short Fiction...."

Feb. 16, 2010 Books Post by Kimberley Jones

Gentlemen Broncos

With this new film, Jared Hess elicits none of the naive charm or flagrant silliness of his earlier movies, Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre.

"...lines. Angarano stars as Benjamin, a home-schooled teen and science-fiction writer who lives with his mother (Coolidge) in a..."

Nov. 6, 2009 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

10,000 Anime Strong Throng at Project A-Kon

Dallas hosts the longest-running anime convention in North America

"...shows. In Japan, it encompasses all genres, especially science fiction and fantasy. It is this cross-genre nature of anime..."

June 18, 2009 Screens Post by Frederick Stanton

Dark Streets

A collection of blues originals by the likes of Aaron Neville, B.B. King, and Etta James lightens this otherwise dreary exercise in modern film noir.

"...than a stylized regurgitation of creaky film-noir clichés and crime-fiction conventions … but its streets are undeniably dark. As..."

Dec. 12, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Hell Ride

This grindhousey biker film, executive-produced by Quentin Tarantino, is a convoluted, overly snazzy-looking tale of bad blood between even worse people.

"...enough at the best of times in our post-Pulp Fiction world, but Hell Ride – a grindhousey biker flick..."

Aug. 8, 2008 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Under the Same Moon

The film's parallel stories of a mother and son seeking each other across geographical divides is never more than one small step away from mawkishness and cliché – but as a sociological study, it’s fascinating.

"...reunite with his mother. As a work of dramatic fiction, Under the Same Moon isn’t anything to ring bells..."

March 21, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Starring Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and Jason Bateman, and directed by the writer of Stranger Than Fiction, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium has whimsy coming out of its ears.

"...is writer/director Helm, the creator of 2006’s Stranger Than Fiction, which was also whimsical but had the common decency..."

Nov. 16, 2007 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Love in the Time of Cholera

Funny when it’s supposed to be serious and awkward when it’s supposed to be romantic, every twist in this Gabriel García Márquez adaptation is a near miss, except for the performance of Javier Bardem.

"...both one of the most romantic heroes in modern fiction (Florentino Ariza in Love in the Time of Cholera)..."

Nov. 16, 2007 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

Martian Child

Only in Hollywood can a movie about alien children be boring, although the terrific performances of John Cusack and Bobby Coleman help redeem this predictable mush.

"...film follows David (Cusack), a widower and successful science fiction author who decides to adopt a 6-year-old boy (Coleman)...."

Nov. 2, 2007 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

Day Watch

The second in a Russian science-fiction trilogy is a fantastic sight to behold, but don't try explaining the plot.

"...Galina Tyunina, Victor Verzhbitsky and Dima Martynov. This Russian science-fiction film is the middle work in a planned trilogy..."

June 15, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Other Conquest

This amazing-looking Mexican epic is a work of historic fiction by a first-time filmmaker, and focuses on the aftermath of the takeover in 1519 of the Aztec empire by Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortés.

"...Conquest (La Otra Conquista) is a work of historic fiction that focuses on the brutal aftermath that followed the..."

May 11, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Last Mimzy

Solid performances elevate this mild but hardly magical children's sci-fi story.

"...state-of-the-art visual voodoo and are likely to disappoint the science-fiction aficionados. Curiously, The Last Mimzy is directed by New..."

March 23, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

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