| Critic |
Review |
Quote |
Analysis |
This Week's Verdict |
Stephen Holden,
The New York Times |
Diggers |
"[Diggers] also demonstrates that a solid formula, no matter how frequently followed, can be refreshed if it is handled with affectionate care." |
Stephen Holden is pretty much stating the obvious here. Let's face it, how many distinctly separate storylines are there in the world, anyway?
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Armond White,
The New York Press |
Diggers |
"This is the kind of story You Can Count on Me oversentimentalized, and that Good Will Hunting ruined. Indie filmmakers tend to falsify the very tone of average life, but Diggers gets the nostalgic details right, such as the background TV footage of the Gerald Ford/Jimmy Carter presidential election that carries no discernable hidden judgment but simply an awareness of change." |
It appears Diggers was a pleasing enough paean to working-class heroism to elicit this restrained and eloquent Armond White review. To be sure White couldn't resist getting in one little dig at "indie filmmakers." In any case, Matt and Ben probably deserve it. |
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Stephanie Zacharek,
Salon.com |
Snow Cake |
"It feels a bit uncharitable to beat up on Weaver and on Snow Cake, a small picture that was obviously a labor of love. But the picture is so drab and listless that it often feels like punishment." |
Amazingly, even small, well-intentioned movies where hot and famous actresses dress down and get "serious" can be bad.
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Nathan Lee,
The Village Voice |
Zoo |
"How is chopping off a dog's balls (for his own good) less cruel than licking them (which is, you must admit, also for his own good)? There isn't a pet on the planet that has consented to surgery — or, for that matter, being kept in an apartment, fed (poisonous) Alpo, or dressed in funny little sweaters." |
This is actually a tangent in a fun review concerned with bestiality, but it's about time someone spoke out on the issue of dog clothing. Preach it, Nathan Lee. |
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Carina Chocano,
The LA Times |
Snow Cake |
"Mysterious as Alex remains throughout the movie [...] it's Maggie who turns out to be the hardest to fathom. Her isolation is willed and, it seems, slightly perverse. She refers to her romantic partners as 'gentleman callers' and doesn't feel the need to promote them to anything else." |
A woman who enjoys being alone and doesn't want to get hitched. Now that is hard to fathom. |
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