A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

Apr 08, 2011 by Mr. Nau Dito Montiel, played by Robert Downey Jr, returns home to Astoria, New York, after 15 years away, to visit his dying father and reconnect with his old childhood friends. Wonderful acting performances permeate this autobiographical work, both in present day and in flashbacks to his adventurous adolescence in the [...]

Freakonomics (2010)

Mar 09, 2011 by Mr. Nau The authors of Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, narrate an adaptation of their best-selling book, in which economic theory is tested by experiment and examination, yielding unexpected results about incentivizing education, the economic impact of names, corruption in athletics, and how legalized abortion affected crime rates. Grade: B. [...]

Zombieland (2009)

Feb 22, 2011 by Mr. Nau Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin star in this hilarious, yet bad-assed comedy about a group of people trying to find a sanctuary in a zombie apocalypse. Harrelson’s character, Tallahassee, presents a set of rules for surviving zombies, which the film explores in side-splitting ways. Grade: [...]

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

Feb 19, 2011 by Mr. Nau In this tight engrossing crime thriller, two brothers in financial trouble decide to rob their parents’ jewelry store. After the event takes place, their father becomes obsessed with finding the culprits. The acting performances in this difficult piece are jaw-droppingly virtuosic, with moments of real pain and palpable menace. [...]

Mammoth (2009)

Feb 05, 2011 by Mr. Nau Director Lukas Moodysson’s critique on globalization centers around a New York family — a businessman who has to travel to Thailand, an emergency room surgeon, their young daughter, their Filipina nanny, and her family back home. The lead performances in this picture are beautifully realized, particularly Michelle Williams as [...]

Legends of the Guardians (2010)

Jan 31, 2011 by Mr. Nau In this animated feature, a group of young owlets are captured by a sinister group of slave-holding owls, mentored by an old slave owl, and seek out a group of the heroic Guardians of Ga’hoole. This feel-good story, mainly aimed at children, delivers lessons in perseverance against oppression. Grade: [...]

2012 (2009)

Jan 20, 2011 by Mr. Nau This picture is the result of what happens when special effects professionals decide to make a movie without the input of a single writer. John Cusack stars in this orgy of stupidity in which he’s trying to escape death as the filmmakers use lots of explosives to destroy the [...]

Cavite (2005)

Jan 17, 2011 by Mr. Nau In this forgettable low-budget thriller, Filipino expatriate Adam is informed by phone that his mother and sister will be killed if he doesn’t obey the captor on the other end of the phone, who seems to see and hear everything. We follow the desperate man through filthy squatter camps. [...]

Duck Season (2004)

Jan 06, 2011 by Mr. Nau Two best friends settle in for a lazy unsupervised Sunday of video games. They order, but refuse to pay for, pizza, and are invaded by the neighbor girl, who likes to bake. This charming character study delivers many endearing moments under the unbearable weight of boredom due to power [...]

Blue State (2007)

Dec 22, 2010 by Mr. Nau Breckin Meyer and Anna Paquin star in this low-budget independent comedy about a Democratic activist who makes a drunken promise to move to Canada if Kerry loses the 2004 election. With a poorly-researched story and mediocre acting, this picture is sometimes ridiculous but still delivers a few laughs. Grade: [...]

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