Neither the comedian nor his audience knew the full extent of Nazi atrocities; if they had, The Great Dictator either wouldn’t have been made or wouldn’t have succeeded. Still, its takedown of Hitler (not to mention Mussolini, Goebbels, and Goering) is relentless and blistering, even if it’s Read More …
The Big Lebowski showcases the best of the Coen brothers’ comedic talents—lovably ridiculous characters, hilarious echolalic wordplay, and delightful sight gags—making this one of their most successful pure comedies. But just as effectively, Lebowski functions as Coen brothers wisdom literature. If A Serious Man is their Book of Job, then Read More …
In The Fisher King, a disgraced shock-radio DJ (Jeff Bridges) discovers that when you hit rock bottom, you can find revelatory discoveries there. Jack finds another lost soul named Parry (Robin Williams), a reckless homeless man who, in order to cope with a severe trauma, fantasizes Read More …
Remy is a French rodent who aspires to be one of the great Parisian chefs, and cooking happens to be a metaphor for the artistic process. Anton Ego is a renowned acerbic critic, who, against all odds, admires Remy’s handiwork (in fact, it brings him Read More …
Ulysses Everett McGill persuades two naïfs from his prison chain gang to help him reclaim a stolen treasure, although his definition of this treasure is much different from that which he truly seeks. Fraught with the perils of blind seers, sirens, and cyclops in a Read More …
Existential awe and wonder before the sublime are not common notes in a Hollywood cartoon, but Andrew Stanton’s WALL-E defies expectations and easy categorization: a post-apocalyptic slapstick comedy; a lyrical sci-fi love story and a savage Swiftian satire. Incipit vita nova, Dante wrote upon glimpsing Beatrice: “Here begins Read More …
Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan distinguishes itself above most other comedies by simultaneously taking great joy in humor for its own sake and by being “about a lot more than detachable collars.” Watching this film will convince you that one of the most amusing things in the world can be something Read More …
The surface of Finding Nemo is a supreme visual delight, a kaleidoscopic tidal-wave of color and invention. It has bad puns, slapstick, and deft wit; surfer-dude turtles, sharks in a twelve-step program, and the unforgettably forgetful Dory. But like all the best family films, Nemo has deeper waters: themes Read More …
In a matter of ten minutes, we fall in love with Carl and Ellie’s romance as it springs up, blooms, and then withers under the winter of death. A grieving Carl sets off on a journey with young stowaway Russell in order to fulfill the Read More …
The premise of Lars and the Real Girl—Lars (Ryan Gosling) buys a blow-up doll and tells everyone “she” is his girlfriend—doesn’t sound particularly spiritual, and a lesser creative team would have mined the material for innuendo and cheap laughs. But screenwriter Nancy Oliver and director Craig Read More …