Movie review by Greg Carlson Gus Van Sant cleverly links past and present in “Milk,” a sturdy, carefully crafted biopic of the martyred gay rights activist. The past is represented by frequently integrated archival footage that the director combines with the fictionalized dramatizations of Harvey Milk’s political failures and triumphs. The present finds parallels between […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson From “The Village Voice” to “Variety,” reviews of Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” (co-directed with Loveleen Tandan) compare its inhabitants to the colorful street urchins and the cruel tormenters and exploiters of Charles Dickens. For anyone familiar with “Oliver Twist” or “David Copperfield,” the similarities are hard to ignore, and offer […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson An almost absurdly reductive outline that dramatizes the best-known highlights of the short life of Christopher Wallace (known better as the Notorious B.I.G.) while skipping over any real opportunity to explore the mind of one of hip hop’s greatest artists, “Notorious” will appeal to many viewers too young to have […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson An occasionally stimulating, often perplexing treatment of the nature of guilt, redemption, and the responsibility taken (or not taken) for one’s actions, “The Reader” is the kind of film designed to entice award season kingmakers.  Two of the film’s producers – Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack – died prior to […]

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Movie review by Greg Carlson With the release of “Seven Pounds,” superstar Will Smith earns the distinction of appearing in two of the year’s worst films. Along with “Hancock,” “Seven Pounds” makes a strong case that the charismatic performer has been taking ego-inflation lessons from pal Tom Cruise. Even so, Smith did not attain his […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Robert Wise’s 1951 “The Day the Earth Stood Still” is a touchstone of the science fiction genre. A smart, well-paced movie that has managed to transcend the handful of elements that are now outdated (in particular, the “gee whiz” dialogue of Billy Gray’s precocious Bobby Benson), the film boasts solid […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Longtime admirers comfortable with Baz Luhrmann’s “more is more” approach to filmmaking will roll with the sweeping pageantry of “Australia,” an expansive romance that wears its heart on its sleeve in every scene.  “Australia” is a long-winded pastiche of classic Hollywood cinema, aping significant chunks of revered titles from “The […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson It is no secret that most youth-oriented film franchises are created for and marketed to teen boys, so the idea of a wildly popular series aimed at girls of the same age makes “Twilight” a little easier to swallow than its tepid construction might otherwise merit. Based on the inaugural […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson “Quantum of Solace” is several notches below “Casino Royale,” but Daniel Craig continues to demonstrate that his James Bond is arguably the best.  Directed by Marc Forster, whose eclectic choices behind the camera can be hit or miss, “Quantum of Solace” manages a noteworthy pair of Bond statistics: it is […]