Joy

Jennifer Lawrence rises above family dysfunction in this comic biopic

"...The road to self-realization is a bumpy one in the uneven Joy, the..."

Dec. 25, 2015 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Killing Them Softly

Some great performances punctuate the odd pacing in this adapatation of George V. Higgins' Cogan's Trade, set within the criminal underworld.

"...election. The portrait of the crime-world underbelly as a self-sustaining, self-policing society remains the same, and Dominik’s screenplay adaptation..."

Nov. 30, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Seven Pounds

Will Smith stars in this dramatic film about a man who whose melancholia compels him to devise a unique plan to redeem what remains of his life.

"...years, however, Smith the actor has begun to reassert himself, pushing Smith the dazzling, larger-than-life, box-office phenomenon into the..."

Dec. 19, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

I Defy You, Ira Glass

"...shows. For example, This American Life, with its clever, self-deprecating little tales of white, middle-class foibles and monotone nostalgia,..."

Oct. 16, 2008 Screens Post by Josh Rosenblatt

Tropic Thunder

Instead of entering the jungle to find the heart of darkness, Ben Stiller goes in to take aim at the Achilles' heel of Hollywood: its utter pomposity and self-importance.

"...the Achilles' heel of Hollywood: its utter pomposity and self-importance. Stiller’s barbs have not been this sharply pointed since..."

Aug. 15, 2008 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Girls Rock!

"How do you teach a teenage girl how to like herself?" is the key question that drives Portland, Ore.'s Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, as well as this documentary survey of the experience.

"...do you teach a teenage girl how to like herself?" Because girls rock camp isn't just a five-day immersion..."

March 21, 2008 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days and 30 Nights – Hollywood to the Heartland

Back in September 2005, Vaughn decided to try his hand at the impresario game and Gathered together four young stand-up comedians for a 30-day bus tour of the heartland.

"...to celebrate the career of Vince Vaughn in bizarre, self-indulgent displays: He called Justin Long (Accepted) up onstage to..."

Feb. 8, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Secretary

"...the freedom to explore personal boundaries and limits. Internalized self-hatred and external disapproval are the enemies here; personal freedom..."

Oct. 18, 2002 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Lovely & Amazing

"...grow up feeling lovely and amazing. Yet neuroses and self-doubt have a way of creeping in, perhaps a result..."

July 19, 2002 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Scream 3

"...charm in the concluding (maybe) chapter of Wes Craven's self-referential (and self-reverential) teen slasher series. As per the rules..."

Feb. 11, 2000 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Edge of Seventeen

"...songbook of Eighties nostalgia that informs Eric's journey to self-acceptance. While Eric's increasingly out-there sartorial changes testify to the..."

Aug. 13, 1999 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Tesla Recalls Nearly All Vehicles Due to Autopilot Failures

Tesla disagrees with feds' analysis of glitches

"...National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into its partially self-driving Autopilot system...."

Dec. 13, 2023 News Post by Lina Fisher

Poor Things

Emma Stone thrills in this Frankenstein-inspired satire of self-actualization

"...Self-actualization is a complicated, chaotic, exhilarating thing. We all stumble..."

Dec. 8, 2023 Movie Review by Alejandra Martinez

Honey Boy

Shia LaBeouf's autobiography is more than a therapy session

"...The line between self-indulgence and a work of art that truly and bravely..."

Nov. 22, 2019 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

A Wrinkle in Time

Ava DuVernay's adaptation of the children's classic rarely soars.

"...because of its heroine, the preteen Meg Murry, a self-described oddball, messy and angry and unsure of herself. That..."

March 9, 2018 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

A stellar entry into the beloved franchise

"...Luke Skywalker (Hamill), determined to drag him from his self-imposed exile. Instead, the last remnants of the Resistance fleet..."

Dec. 15, 2017 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Colossal

Toxic masculinity melds with a monster movie

"...made a snarly, bizarro-world female empowerment film that takes itself and its characters – along with their self-destructive life..."

April 14, 2017 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Learning to Drive

Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley drive a tale of unlikely friendship

"...what will become a composed, ultimately cheering picture of self-reinvention and unlikely camaraderie. These jagged edges don’t square with..."

Sept. 4, 2015 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Clouds of Sils Maria

Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, and Chloë Grace Moretz mix wonderfully in this drama

"...in the corridor of the moving train, and Maria self-absorbed in her partially written acceptance speech and details of..."

May 1, 2015 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Gambler

Mark Wahlberg has one of his juiciest roles ever as a creative-writing professor by day and a compulsive gambler by night.

"...a cocksure attitude, a million-dollar wardrobe, and enough curdled self-loathing to make John Cassavetes flinch. Early on, we see..."

Dec. 26, 2014 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

This Is the End

Be mindful when partying at James Franco's house: You could get stuck there for the apocalypse with Seth Rogen and Co.

"...in recent years. For all its celebration of weed, self-absorption, and phallocentric humor, This Is the End also seeks..."

June 14, 2013 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Reincarnated

In this documentary, Snoop Lion goes to Jamaica to cut a reggae album and reinvent himself – and smoke the ganja, too.

"...a Facebook status update. Calvin Broadus Jr. once transformed himself into the rapper known as Snoop Dogg; now the..."

March 15, 2013 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Man on a Mission: Richard Garriott's Road to the Stars

This film is a behind-the-scenes document of Richard Garriott's quest to be the first second-generation astronaut in space and the actual journey.

"...A self-made gaming mogul with a flair for theatricality buys himself..."

Jan. 20, 2012 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Outrage

The objective of this documentary by Kirby Dick is to out closeted gay and lesbian policymakers, whose hypocrisy harms the GLBT community.

"...in public office who are closeted or otherwise in self-denial and who consistently vote or act against the interests..."

May 29, 2009 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

A 'Topsy-Turvy' Take on Life

How we live our lives and how we live our movies

"..."The self-help gurus have it all wrong: We don’t become better,..."

Oct. 16, 2008 Screens Post by Kimberley Jones

Grizzly Man

This documentary reveals how Timothy Treadwell, the popular grizzly bear preservationist, may have needed the bears more than they needed him.

"...barrier-free tactics he used, which he often does in self-filmed monologues to the camera. Throughout Grizzly Man, Herzog also..."

Aug. 19, 2005 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Overnight

Cautionary tales about the pitfalls of indie filmmaking don’t come more searingly truthful or sober-minded than this.

"...the dangers of ego run amok, the power of self-delusion, the need to get all contractual agreements in writing,..."

Dec. 10, 2004 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Love the Hard Way

"...glam of New York City, in a world of self-illusion where everyone is clamoring to be someone they are..."

June 20, 2003 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Satin Rouge

A dutiful Tunisian widow and mother of a teenage girl is awakened to self-actualization through the allure of belly-dancing.

"...and/or husband and then suddenly awakens to her dormant self. The Hollywood films usually conclude before the joys of..."

Oct. 25, 2002 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

ABCD

"...of cinematic language -- and ABCD fails to distinguish itself in any notable way. With one major exception. Unlike..."

Dec. 14, 2001 Movie Review by Russell Smith

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