Search

211-240 of 1,000 results, sorted by relevance | sort by date
A Woman in Berlin
This is that rarest of wartime dramas: an intimate, sorrowful glimpse into the heart and loins of the hellish aftermath of war when sex is used as a weapon.
"...its own nightmarish tales to tell or acts of violence to experience. The mostly nameless Russian victors – exhausted,..."

Oct. 9, 2009 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Loud, abrasive, and featuring performances seemingly calibrated to be heard over the cacophonous roar of Travolta's mad, bad overacting, this is an unnecessary and ill-advised remake.
"...its use of the casual (but still shocking) urban violence which marked much of Seventies filmmaking, and almost indescribably..."

June 12, 2009 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail
Just what's needed in the big house – Perry's pistol-packing granny.
"...who is a lifelong victim of sexual and emotional violence. It’s as if Perry took Big Momma’s House, slapped..."

Feb. 27, 2009 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Taken
Call it the last cinematic gasp of the Bush era.
"...and David Warshofsky. Taken begins with an act of violence against an American. Ninety minutes and dozens of fights,..."

Feb. 6, 2009 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Defiance
In this true story, Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber play two Jewish brothers who escape into the forest to elude capture by the Nazis and wind up birthing a small village of escapees.
"...speeches, ethical quandaries, lessons about tolerance and humanity, and violence against Nazis. And who better to mine that gold..."

Jan. 16, 2009 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

El Paso Council Wants to End the War on Drugs
El Paso council is calling for an honest discussion on how to end the failing War on Drugs
"...were murdered last year -- and condemns the ongoing violence there, much of it related to the illegal drug..."

Jan. 12, 2009 News Post by Jordan Smith

Punisher: War Zone
Marvel Comics' Frank Castle again comes to the screen as a one-man vengeance machine in this stylishly violent and gory opus.
"...is virtually indestructible: Sure, he can dish out the violence, but he can also withstand anything that comes at..."

Dec. 5, 2008 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Dukes
Character actor Robert Davi directs and co-stars with Chazz Palmintieri in this movie about a former doo-wop group that tries to recapture its glory days.
"...genial project, a light comedy almost entirely free of violence or even anger. I can’t see inside the man’s..."

Nov. 28, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

JCVD
Jean-Claude Van Damme is the JCVD of the title, and in this career-adjusting film, the Muscles From Brussels advances from laughingstock to smart, respectable action-film star.
"...his five marriages, a custody dispute, and legendary drug, violence, and money problems have been the stuff of international..."

Nov. 21, 2008 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

RocknRolla
Director Guy Ritchie once more delivers a kinetic and consequence-free tribute to the criminal lifestyle.
"...the herky-jerky MTV editing, the sequences of extended cartoon violence set to the sounds of Eighties ska music, the..."

Oct. 31, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Appaloosa
Ed Harris takes a turn behind the camera again in this Western in which he co-stars with Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, and Jeremy Irons.
"...a suitable slow burn punctuated by sudden acts of violence; it fairly oozes off the screen like bloodied molasses,..."

Oct. 3, 2008 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Burn After Reading
The Coen brothers may be masters of black comedy, but there are times when there’s no point in taking them seriously.
"...extortion, infidelity, espionage, paranoia, and random acts of graphic violence; if they’re performed by cartoons and not people, it’s..."

Sept. 12, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Babylon A.D.
Vin Diesel stars as a mercenary hired to escort a woman with a dangerous virus out of Russia.
"...director has referred to the release cut as "pure violence and stupidity … like a bad episode of 24,"..."

Sept. 5, 2008 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Hell Ride
This grindhousey biker film, executive-produced by Quentin Tarantino, is a convoluted, overly snazzy-looking tale of bad blood between even worse people.
"...Suicide Girl wannabes, and crazed displays of overly art-directed violence. But you don't say it because of all of..."

Aug. 8, 2008 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Tell No One
The many pleasures of this riveting psychological thriller from France derive more from the perplexing questions it raises than the discovery of the answers.
"...obsession as motivating forces; crooked cops; back-alley gangsters; random violence; not-so-random torture; at least one top-notch foot chase; and..."

Aug. 1, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Funny Games U.S.
Michael Haneke comes to the U.S. to remake his tortuous German film about psychological terrorism with Naomi Watts and Tim Roth.
"...TV." It's an (arguably) nonexploitive, nightmarish vision of random violence that goes exactly where you don't want it to..."

March 14, 2008 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

City of Men
This Brazilian followup to the award-winning City of God tells a new story but continues its look at gangster life and the cycle of poverty in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.
"...and oftentimes quite graphic in its depiction of the violence that permeates their lives. Yet Morelli's City of Men..."

Feb. 29, 2008 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Semi-Pro
If basketball must be mocked, it deserves to be mocked well, and unfortunately, Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro isn’t up to the challenge.
"...shout profanities into microphones; engage in random acts of violence against himself and others; and generally make a spectacle..."

Feb. 29, 2008 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

The Signal
The Signal is an audacious horror film that nonetheless veers on occasion into surreal black comedy.
"...is the source of the sudden explosion of random violence, but (as in George Romero's Dead films and his..."

Feb. 22, 2008 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Apocalyptic monster mash makes big crash.
"...misunderstood) Aliens vs. Predator is an orgy of mindless violence, a random collection of bloody bodies, alien misanthropy, and..."

Dec. 28, 2007 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

The Brave One
Jodie Foster might be good at playing a master of vengeance, but The Brave One turns out to be little more than an upscale B-movie about getting even.
"...set in motion by a senseless act of horrendous violence: Erica Bain (Foster), the host of a New York..."

Sept. 14, 2007 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Severance
This British horror comedy ricochets from violence to vengeance to outright survivalism, with comedy – some brilliant, some less so – underlying it all.
"...unfaultable, and the film moves along quickly, ricocheting from violence to vengeance to outright survivalism, with comedy – some..."

June 8, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Adam's Apples
Pitting a skinhead against a priest, this Danish comedy, like most of that country's dramas, is dark, dark, dark.
"...subversively sly narrative mixed with bursts of sudden, sharp violence and goofy slapstick. A commercial hit in Denmark, Adam's..."

June 1, 2007 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

28 Weeks Later
This continuing story of a populace that fears infection from a "rage virus," forges ahead with panic-paced sequences of graphic, random violence.
"...Weeks Later, with its panic-paced sequences of graphic, random violence and a narrative thrust that rockets along just shy..."

May 11, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Hoboken Hollow
This Texas-made slasher film draws on the early Eighties Ellebracht slave-ranch case in Kerr County for its story, but like the real thing, it's a bloody mess.
"...one-dimensionally and unsympathetically that their fates don't resonate; the violence is empty and ineffective, senseless and not the least..."

Feb. 2, 2007 Movie Review by Shawn Badgley

Flicka
Girls and their horses. They're grist for this new update of Mary O'Hara's beloved novel My Friend Flicka.
"...of emotionally true moments. But Bello (A History of Violence) is way better than this. Did she lose a..."

Oct. 27, 2006 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

Over the Hedge
Canny casting and a sly anti-consumerist message give this animated feature extra adult appeal, but like a lot of animated fare it’s overly busy and splashy.
"...“mild comic action” is a sort of Acme-Laboratories slapstick violence, and there’s a scaryass bear (voiced by Nolte) who..."

May 19, 2006 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

The Hills Have Eyes
This remake ratchets up the gore while subtly rewiring some of the characters, but it never manages the nagging subtexts Craven so handily injected into the original horror film.
"...their “civilized” mirror image to ever-more subhuman acts of violence, thus obliterating the line between “us” and “them.” Craven’s..."

March 10, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Longest Yard
Sandler and Rock keep the ball in play for this old prison football gem, although they fail to score any new points.
"...the original’s freewheeling (and hilarious) vulgarities and grim prison violence, director Segal and star Sandler acquit themselves with, if..."

May 27, 2005 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Bad Guy
Early film from South Korea's enfant terrible Kim Ki-duk is a coarse and distubing drama about obsessive love.
"...tale that uses minimal dialogue, striking imagery, and vivid violence to weave a depressing portrait of obsessive love and..."

March 4, 2005 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

« 1    BACK    3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12     NEXT    34 »
One click gets you all the newsletters listed below

Breaking news, arts coverage, and daily events

Keep up with happenings around town

Kevin Curtin's bimonthly cannabis musings

Austin's queerest news and events

Eric Goodman's Austin FC column, other soccer news

Information is power. Support the free press, so we can support Austin.   Support the Chronicle