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Calling The 400 Blows a "coming-of-age story" seems somehow inadequate. The label, while accurate, does not indicate either the uniqueness or the cinematic importance of this motion picture. These days, the average coming-of-age story tends to be...

Is it possible to have more fun in a movie theater than with 8 Women, one of the most uplifting and delightful films to have come along this year? The product of French director François Ozon, 8 Women offers as much delicious enjoyment to the vie...

Admission is a serviceable, sporadically entertaining motion picture that has been aggressively developed for mainstream consumption. Infused with an almost relentless blandness, it's defined by soft comedy (a few laughs here and there), flaccid dr...

If nothing else, Alien Resurrection emphasizes something that became apparent five years ago with Alien 3 -- the series hasn't only run out of steam, it's getting thin on new ideas. No one seems willing to take any chances with the franchise, ...

Years ago, while watching Delicatessen (in 1992) and The City of Lost Children (in 1995), I wondered which of the co-directors, Jean-Pierre Jeunet or Marc Caro, was more responsible for the films' quirky tone and striking visual style. Although Ca...

What is the world coming to when the film community is remaking John Carpenter movies? Admittedly, Assault on Precinct 13 isn't the best example of Carpenter's expert craftsmanship, but it was the picture that got him noticed, and that notice enab...

Sometimes movies don't have to be complicated. They don't have to "say" anything or espouse a particular philosophy. There doesn't have to be a deeper meaning beyond exploring slices in the lives of several unpretentious characters. Such is the c...

Can a great work of literature change a person's life? Whether or not you believe so, writer/director Dai Sijie, adapting his own novel (How many filmmakers can make that claim?), clearly does. The problem with the movie Balzac and the Little Chi...

Despite some solid laughs and a feel-good ending, Michael Gondry's Be Kind Rewind exists far from the mainstream and its appeal will be limited to those who embrace the kind of awkward quirkiness that defines the production. This comedy/fantasy/dra...

Deep within the cloistered confines of a convent, a young nun becomes embroiled in an intensely erotic lesbian affair while using her wiles to advance and maintain her position. While this might easily be the synopsis of a porn movie, octogenarian...