A Thousand Acres (1997)

Apr 30, 2010 by Mr. Nau Jason Robards, Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jennifer Jason Leigh play the Cook family in this reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, set around a farm in Iowa. Strong acting performances and a unique script make this a decent rental, but most viewers won’t understand the Bard’s connection to this […]

Contact (1997)

Apr 29, 2010 by Mr. Nau Jodie Foster is perfect in this adaptation of the Carl Sagan novel. She is Eleanor Arroway, an eccentric astrophysicist who discovers a powerful alien signal. With a perfect screenplay and a talented cast, including David Morse, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, and John Hurt, this engrossing film is an unforgettable […]

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Apr 18, 2010 by Mr. Nau Nia Vardalos pens this romantic comedy about a frumpy Greek-American girl from a huge tight-knit family who falls for a non-Greek man. The outrageous antics in the preparation for their unlikely wedding and the highly caricatured family members make this culture shock character study a harmless distraction. Grade: B. […]

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Apr 18, 2010 by Mr. Nau Mia Wasikowska is Alice, a plucky young girl who falls down a rabbit hole into Wonderland, in this cartoonish Tim Burton adaptation of the Lewis Carroll novel. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, and Anne Hathaway round out a talented cast, with beautiful special effects and off-kilter sets. […]

A Sunday in the Country (1984)

Apr 12, 2010 by Mr. Nau In this Golden Globe-nominated French film, an aged painter gathers his family at his manor in the country. His son, Gonzague, brings his wife and kids, and his daughter, Irene, is an overcommitted socialite. This quaint character study, directed by Bernard Tavernier, is based on a Pierre Bost novel. […]

Neal Stephenson – Snow Crash (1992)

Apr 07, 2010 by Mr. Nau Hiro Protagonist, a swordfighter, and YT, a young female skateboard Kourier, team up to investigate Snow Crash, a virtual reality narcotic. Full of rich symbolism and cues from ancient Sumerian mythology, this chaotic novel has an absurd tone, linguistic virus, and a rich menagerie of characters, groups, organizations, and […]