More Articles By Irv Slifkin

• The Jane Austen Book Club
  SONY Street: Feb. 5 Prebook: now > Lightweight adaptation of hit book boasts solid cast, romance and laughs. Adapted from the bestseller by Karen Joy Fowler, this chick flick by Memoirs of a Geisha screenwriter Robin Swicord has enough names, witty banter and bittersweet entanglements to attract a sizable audience in its home video incarnation. More
  
• The Comebacks
  FOX Street: Jan. 29 Prebook: now > A sporadically funny send-up of sports movies. In the mold of Airplane!, The Naked Gun and Scary Movie comes this spoof of sports movies, referencing such titles as Invincible, Radio, Miracle, Rocky, Bend It Like Beckham, Hoosiers, Remember the Titans, et. al. As with most movies of this type, it’s a hit-or-miss affair in which some jokes connect and... More
  
• Right At Your Door
  LIONSGATE Street: Jan. 29 Prebook: Jan. 2 > Small-scale terror tale works despite its obvious limitations. What would happen if Los Angeles was targeted by terrorists with dirty bombs? As one could imagine, it wouldn’t be pretty, and this shocker takes the premise, ratchets up the tension several notches and personalizes the story. More
  
• Feast of Love
  MGM/FOX Street: Feb. 5 Prebook: Jan. 9 > A look at the complications of love offers more effective nudity than drama. From Oscar-winning director Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer, The Human Stain) comes this Robert Altman-like multiple character study of various Portland, Ore., residents’ tangles with love of different varieties and intensities. More
  
• The Nines
  SONY Street: Jan. 29 Prebook: Dec. 27 > Metaphysical suspenser showcases Ryan Reynolds and co-stars in multiple roles. Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy get an opportunity to strut their acting stuff in this Twilight Zone-like feature debut from John August, the A-list screenwriter of Sweeney Todd and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. More
  
• King of California
  FIRST LOOK Street: Jan. 29 Prebook: Dec. 18 > Name cast will boost interest in this offbeat heist dramedy. This intriguing shaggy dog story features Michael Douglas as Charlie, a man who has just been discharged from a mental hospital. Upon his release, he reunites with teenage daughter Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), a high school dropout working double shifts at McDonald’s to make ends ... More
  
• Rocket Science
  HBO/WARNER Street: Jan. 29 Prebook: Dec. 18 > An uneven affair that could win over fans of off-kilter rom-coms. The first narrative film from Jeffrey Blitz (director of 2002’s spelling bee documentary Spellbound) focuses on Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson), a shy New Jersey high school student with a serious stammer. More
  
• The Ten
  CITY LIGHTS Street: Jan. 15 Prebook: Dec. 18 > Mostly funny anthology farce based on the 10 Commandments. From the creators of Wet Hot American Summer and members of comedy troupe The State comes this irreverent, sometimes hilarious, often silly comedy based on the 10 Commandments. Taking its cue from Krzysztof Kieslowski’s The Decalogue (1989) and no-frills sketch flick The Groove Tu... More
  
• Illegal Tender
  UNIVERSAL Street: Dec. 18 Prebook: now > Explosive actioner with Latino cast will fare well in urban markets. Mix a little Scarface with a lot of Carlito’s Way and you get this Hispanic crime saga from producer John Singleton, director of Boyz N the Hood and producer of Hustle & Flow. Years after her drug-dealing husband is killed, Millie DeLeon (Wanda De Jesus), her college stude... More
  
• Joshua
  FOX Street: Jan. 8 Prebook: Dec. 12 > Highly effective, subtly crafted scare show should draw thriller fans. The Bad Seed meets Rosemary’s Baby by way of The Omen in this atmospheric exercise in psychological terror. This indie effort finds Abby Cairn (Vera Farmiga) and her trader husband, Brad (Sam Rockwell), welcoming new daughter Lily into the family. More
  
• Smiley Face
  FIRST LOOK Street: Jan. 8 Prebook: Dec. 4 > Stoner comedy boasts a superb comic turn from Anna Faris. A smart “dumb comedy” from the often serious indie auteur Gregg Araki (The Doom Generation, Mysterious Skin), Smiley Face stars Anna Faris as Jane, an aspiring actress who loves to smoke pot. More
  
• Once
  FOX Street: Dec. 18 Prebook: Nov. 21 > Winning indie romance propelled by lovely music and bright performances. Made on a miniscule budget by a first-time filmmaker who was working with an inexperienced cast, Once has gone on to find a strong following and make a tidy profit (which it’s still doing in limited theatrical release). More
  
• Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
  STARZ Street: Nov. 13 Prebook: now > Exceptional overview of ’60s and ’70s cult films is loaded with clips, interviews and more. In this breezy retrospective of six films that made their reputations unspooling at midnight screenings around the country, writer/director Stuart Samuels (co-director of classic cinematography documentary Visions of Light) gets it right, perfectly mix... More
  
• The Rocket
  PALM/VIVENDI VISUAL Street: Dec. 11 Prebook: Nov. 13 > Compelling biopic on hockey great Maurice Richard scores on all levels. An inspiring, exciting and historically accurate depiction of the life of hockey legend Maurice “The Rocket” Richard, this expertly realized project stands well next to Slap Shot and Miracle, considered the two best hockey films ever. More
  
• First Snow
  SONY Street: Nov. 27 Prebook: now > Guy Pearce shines in this intriguing, modern film noir indie. Set in and around Albuquerque, N.M., this contemporary tale with noirish elements centers on Jimmy Starks (Guy Pearce), a slick flooring salesman with few moral values, whose life is turned upside down when he visits a roadside fortune teller (J. More
  
• Angel-A
  SONY Street: Nov. 20 Prebook: now > Unusual otherworldly fable from Luc Besson will enchant some and confuse others. After a 10-year absence from directing, which he spent producing and writing action flicks (The Transporter), comedies (the American version of his Taxi) and even animated films (Arthur and the Invisibles), prolific French filmmaker Luc Besson calls the shots once again in th... More
  
• Skinwalkers
  LIONSGATE Street: Nov. 27 Prebook: Oct. 31 > Slick-looking teen werewolf opus has more bark than bite. Reminiscent of the recent DVD release Blood & Chocolate and the more graphic Underworld films, Skinwalkers tells of two factions of werewolf groups at war with each other. One group—the good lycanthropes—includes half-breed 12-year-old Timothy (Matthew Knight) and his mothe... More
  
• The Namesake
  FOX Street: Nov. 27 Prebook: > Indian filmmaker Mira Nair returns to her roots for one of her most accomplished films to date. After a mixed reception to Reese Witherspoon-starrer Vanity Fair, filmmaker Mira Nair (Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding) returns to her roots with this touching, sumptuously produced effort. More
  
• Waitress
  FOX Street: Nov. 27 Prebook: Oct. 31 > Whimsical romantic sleeper should charm home audiences. One of the sweetest movies of the year, Waitress is a genuine delight. This charmer stars Keri Russell as Jenna, a server in a small-town Southern diner whose specialty is making scrumptious pies. As sweet as her life is in that respect, things are sour at home, especially after her newly discover... More
  
• Paris, Je T'Aime
  FIRST LOOK Street: Nov. 13 Prebook: Oct. 9 > Arthouse anthology has strong crossover appeal thanks to name cast and directors. A collection of 18 short films from world-class directors all set in and around Paris, this unusual project's already healthy following should expand on DVD. The anecdotal nature of the film may turn off some less adventurous viewers, but others will likely show str... More