Latest from The Spokesman-Review

• Review: Clunky at times, but a rich story is told in ‘Privilege’

  February 27, 2011 in City on Page B7 One of the biggest surprises about “Privilege,” the funny and thought-provoking Paul Weitz play at Interplayers, is that most of it isn’t about privilege – it’s about nonprivilege. The story …

• Dining experience hits the jackpot at Masselow’s

  February 2, 2011 in Food on Page C1 Dining at Masselow’s Restaurant at Northern Quest Resort and Casino is all in the approach. If you aren’t staying at the hotel, but want intimate fine dining, here’s my advice: …

• Actor Caine shines in ‘Harry’

  August 6, 2010 in Features on Page D4 “Harry Brown” lets Michael Caine show us his action-hero side one more time in a film that Charles Bronson would have been proud to call his own. This British “Death …

• ‘Step Up 3D’ mixes hot effects, cold clichés

  August 6, 2010 in Features on Page D2 “Step Up 3D” is, in one significant respect, a step up. That is, in contrast to the recent spate of post-production 3-D conversions (“The Last Airbender,” “Clash of the Titans”), …

• Film gets close to Rivers

  August 6, 2010 in Features on Page D4 What makes Joan Rivers run? Take your pick: relentless drive, switchblade wit, ever-simmering insecurity, anger, lust for attention and a lifestyle that would bankrupt an oil sheik. “Joan Rivers: A …

• ‘Other Guys’ gives old tale new twists

  August 6, 2010 in Features on Page D2 If the mismatched-buddy cop movie seems egregiously overdone, the idea of a parody of that genre would seem especially needless – which is what makes “The Other Guys” such a …

• ‘Terribly Happy’

  July 30, 2010 in Features on Page D4 Years of moviegoing have familiarized us with tales of city folk waylaid in country towns – quirky Southern backwaters and dusty desert holes. “Terribly Happy,” the Danish foreign film submission … 1

• ‘Charlie St. Cloud’ a journey out of despair

  July 30, 2010 in Features on Page D2 Zac Efron and the rest of the crew behind “Charlie St. Cloud” want their movie to be weepy, soulful, inspirational, cathartic, ethereal, life-affirming and who knows what else on the …

• ‘Kids Are All Right’ smart, funny

  July 30, 2010 in Features on Page D3 “The Kids Are All Right” is a smart, cheerful, character-driven relationship comedy. In other words, it’s a miracle. Imagine: a boldly funny film that doesn’t trade in meet-cutes and laugh-track …

• French farce remake weird, interesting

  July 30, 2010 in Features on Page D2 There’s a lot less bite in “Dinner for Schmucks” than there was in the classic French farce that was its inspiration. Whereas “The Dinner Game” (“Le Diner de Cons”) was …

• New ‘Coco Chanel’ elegant, passionate

  July 30, 2010 in Features on Page D3 “Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky” opens with the fierce and furious premiere of the Russian composer’s “The Rite of Spring” in a Paris concert hall in 1913. The audience’s animated …

• ‘Cats & Dogs’ sequel lacks laughs

  July 30, 2010 in Features on Page D2 Yeah, that’s Shirley “Goldfinger” Bassey singing over the opening credits of “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.” Kids won’t get it, though parents may chortle at the reference …

• ‘Salt’ may try to shake you, but it’s really just a sham

  July 23, 2010 in Features on Page D2 “Salt” is, quite literally, a shaggy dog story. Despite the cryptic ads that pose the question, “Who Is Salt?” and regardless of the various twists and turns designed to throw …

• Story of ‘Ramona and Beezus’ is truly ‘terrifical’

  July 23, 2010 in Features on Page D2 If Ramona, the spirited third-grader at the center of “Ramona and Beezus,” gave a one-word review of the movie about her love/hate relationship with her big sister, Beatrice, she would …

• Swinton in ‘Love’

  July 23, 2010 in Features on Page D2 Luca Guadagnino’s “I Am Love” is like a lavish Italian opera in which nobody sings, unashamedly melodramatic and gloriously over the top. There’s something about the film’s juicy, stirring close-ups …

• Review: ‘Waking Sleeping Beauty’

  July 9, 2010 in Features on Page D4 Oh, what simpler times they were when Disney was trotting out movies like “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lion King.” Those bright, colorful animations, arriving annually like clockwork, defined the …

• ‘Predators’ gets lost in chaos

  July 9, 2010 in Features on Page D2 They are dropped from the sky, with only a parachute to save them. They land in a lush green jungle whose topography seems to resemble no known place on Earth. …

• ‘Despicable Me’ funny, sweet

  July 9, 2010 in Features on Page D2 “Despicable Me” is this year’s “Up,” a film that has far more heart than the advance promotions suggest. It never reaches the heart-tugging levels of “Up,” but its serious side …

• Cruise shines in ‘Knight’

  June 25, 2010 in Features on Page D2 “Knight and Day” introduces us to an exciting new talent: Tom Cruise. Sure, we know Cruise after his three decades in the business. We know way too much about him, …

• ‘Grown Ups’ rolls without form, drive

  June 25, 2010 in Features on Page D2 There’s a practice among stand-up comedians called “emptying the notebook.” It’s a housecleaning exercise in which they get together, read off the jokes that didn’t fly and toss away the …

• ‘Mother and Child’ shows how we love and bond

  June 25, 2010 in Features on Page D2 Rodrigo Garcia’s “Mother and Child” considers what happens when those who don’t want babies get pregnant and those who do can’t. To the women in this poignant and exceptionally acted …

• ‘Toy Story 3’ shines, if not as brightly

  June 18, 2010 in Features on Page D2 This is what happens when you’re good at your job: Everyone expects excellence from you, and anything even slightly short of that feels like a letdown. “Toy Story 3” is …

• ‘Jonah Hex’ is too short, just terrible

  June 18, 2010 in Features on Page D2 Critics always gripe that movies are too long and could stand some pruning. Then you get the occasional movie, like comic-book adaptation “Jonah Hex,” that’s too short – so short, …

• ‘8: The Mormon Proposition’

  June 18, 2010 in Features on Page D4 Gay marriage — and California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure that stated only marriage between a man and a woman would be valid and recognized — are topics fraught …

• Gentle humanism enriches ‘Please Give’

  June 18, 2010 in Features on Page D2 In the comedy “Please Give,” Manhattan’s most generous woman lives next door to the planet’s most ungrateful old lady. Kate (Catherine Keener) isn’t a large-scale philanthropist, but that’s only because …

• ‘Get Him’ arc a joyous experience

  June 4, 2010 in Features on Page D2 “Get Him to the Greek” is hormonal, anarchic fun. It’s a Judd Apatow production, a sort of sequel to “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” the raunchy romantic comedy where we first encountered …

• ‘Splice’ explores tension between science, humanity

  June 4, 2010 in Features on Page D2 Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) are two rebellious young biochemical engineers – and we know they’re rebellious because they wear T-shirts in place of lab coats, listen to …

• ‘Marmaduke’ would appeal only to little kids

  June 4, 2010 in Features on Page D2 Wouldn’t it be great if 7-year-olds could drive themselves to the movies? You could give them some money for Junior Mints or whatever, send them on their way and never …

• Highly styled ‘SATC2’ offers little substance

  May 28, 2010 in Features on Page D2 “Sex and the City 2” is so over-the-top ridiculous, it plays like a parody of what a sequel to the 2008 hit movie would be. You can just imagine how …

• ‘Prince’ looks, feels like a slow video game

  May 28, 2010 in Features on Page D2 Watching “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” must be what it’s like to ride a camel across the desert: slow, plodding and predictable. It gets the job done but …

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