A gift from beyond the horizons of time The plot of this movie is relatively simple: twelve massive spaceships suddenly appear at various points…
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
(Mira Nair, 2013)
In our globalized and pluralistic world, opposing views of life and reality can collide, resulting in distrust, and even, sadly, violence. How I see…
The Barbarian Invasions
(Denys Arcand, 2004)
This Academy Award winning film (Best Foreign Language, 2004) is quirky, surprising, well-crafted, and designed to prompt discussion, if not sharp debate. The story…
Into the Wild
(Sean Penn, 2007)
Some movies are like cotton candy, others like granola. Some are sweet but vacuous; others more demanding but more nutritious. Sean Penn’s cinematic adaptation…
Valkyrie (Bryan Singer, 2008)
Last fall my friend Adam was discussing The Counterfeiters with a German grad student, who asked, “Why is it you’re watching so many German…
Funny People (Judd Apatow, 2009)
Apatow and Aristotle on Friendship I went into the theater expecting to love Funny People. I’d been pleasantly surprised by the way Judd Apatow’s…
Heavy Metal In Baghdad (VBS.TV, 2007)
The Right to Thrash in Post-War Iraq Despite the enthusiastic fan base (albeit small) heavy metal is not a welcome musical style in Iraq.…
Atonement (Joe Wright, 2008)
In The Death of Satan: How Americans have lost the sense of evil Andrew Delbanco puts a new spin on an old problem: A…
Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008)
There’s a scene in the middle of Gus Van Sant’s Milk that, for me, captures the heart of the movie. The apartment Harvey Milk…
The Way, Way Back (Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, 2013)
Trivia The writer-director team of Nat Faxon and Jim Rash play ‘Roddy’ and ‘Lewis’ who work at the Water Wizz pool-park In an interview,…