Dec 21, 2011 Cinema Web Exclusive

Based on the first book of the immensely popular Millennium trilogy by the late Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson, the English-language The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo comes on the heels of the Swedish film version, which was a global blockbuster before reaching the States in a limited but long-running theatrical release last year. More

Dec 09, 2011 Cinema Web Exclusive

Even an ensemble cast of a very high pedigree can't overcome a plot that's been compacted into near-incomprehensibility. John Le Carré's bestselling Cold War thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was previously adapted as an acclaimed seven-part BBC miniseries. More

Dec 09, 2011 Cinema Web Exclusive

Andrea Riseborough, a chameleonic English actress who earned a BAFTA nomination for her lead performance in the 2008 BBC film, Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley, is bewitching as Wallis Simpson in Madonna's second directorial effort. More

Dec 02, 2011 Cinema Web Exclusive

In English director Steve McQueen's second feature film, co-written by McQueen and Abi Morgan, Michael Fassbender plays Brandon, a well-to-do New Yorker whose looks, stylish wardrobe, and piercing stare can, we're led to believe, bring pretty women to near ecstasy on the subway. The catch is that Brandon is a sex addict who collects porn and can't maintain relationships with women. More

Nov 18, 2011 Cinema Web Exclusive

Director Alexander Payne made ripples in the indie landscape with his superb 1999 film Election, which struck a terrific balance of flippant irreverence and tender pathos. His returns have been nearly equally as impressive since, highlighted by 2004's sublime Sideways and 2002's underrated idiosyncratic oddball About Schmidt. His newest film The Descendants finds Payne veering towards a more conventional Hollywood style, which isn't a bad thing, as he proves here to be damn good at it. More

Nov 18, 2011 Cinema Web Exclusive

Into the Abyss is subtitled "A Tale of Death, A Tale of Light," but director Werner Herzog has been steadfast in his insistence that the film isn't a condemnation of the death penalty. More

Nov 11, 2011 Cinema Issue #38 - 10th Anniversary Issue

Coming off the unfairly maligned and deeply polarizing Antichrist, director Lars von Trier's Melancholia returns to the plot devices of his earlier classics—most notably the notion that women are in complete control, even in martyrdom, and men are largely craven dolts. More

Oct 28, 2011 Cinema Web Exclusive

There are those in life who have to grow up all too fast, but only a select few like Norman Long can appreciate the experiences in between. More

Oct 19, 2011 Cinema Web Exclusive

When the former Governator developed those "Find Yourself Here" commercials to jumpstart California's tourism, chances are it wasn't an accident he forgot to include Bombay Beach. More