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reel timeReel TimeRunning thoughts on movies and their makings.2NA=1154&NC=1210&DI=4098&PS=83498&PI=7315reeltimefalsefalsespacernotembeddedreel timeBlood From StonesDavid EdelsteinRiches in The Family Stone and  wretchedness in The Producers.noBlood From StonesBlood from Stones.nospacer205150The Family Stone yields a holiday gem Click image to expand.The Family Stone yields a holiday gemfalse1/123125/2108044/2112416/2131791/051216_RT_FamilyStoneTN.jpghttp://img.slate.com/mediayesStandardImage1/123125/2108044/2112416/2131791/051216_RT_FamilyStoneTN.jpg205150http://img.slate.com/mediafalse2008101863235PMSaturdayOctOctober1810/18/2008 10:32:35 PM6335995155542428882008101863235PMSaturdayOctOctober1810/18/2008 10:32:35 PM6335995155542428882008101863235PMSaturdayOctOctober1810/18/2008 10:32:35 PM633599515554242888false2005121660747PMFridayDecDecember1812/16/2005 11:07:47 PM6327035326700000002005121660747PMFridayDecDecember1812/16/2005 11:07:47 PM632703532670000000The Family Stone (20th Century Fox) directed and written by Thomas Bezucha, is a very heavy-handed home-for-the-holidays romantic sitcom with cancer thrown into the mix—which makes it both a would-be crowd-pleaser and a wriggling hunk of Oscar bait. There are cringe-worthy passages and an overly sentimental structure (everyone pairs up so very tidily), but the performances are delightful, and the picture comes together.truenotochyperlinkno2005121634711PMFridayDecDecember1512/16/2005 8:47:11 PM6327034483100000002005121634711PMFridayDecDecember1512/16/2005 8:47:11 PM632703448310000000reel timeDonkey KongsDavid EdelsteinYour film critic defends himself from charges of knee-jerk liberalism and racism.noDonkey KongsYour film critic defends himself.noSo, here I am, scribbling away on reviews of The Producers (excruciating) and The Family Stone (not bad) and then comes this avalanche of e-mail: I have apparently been cited by Matt Drudge for mentioning that King Kong has always had problematic racial overtones. My mail divides evenly between the wing nuts ("It just feels so darn good to battle racism—as long as its[sic] not anti-white racism, which is automatically translated into justice served—that you liberal types tend to see it everywhere") and the indignant African Americans ("You see a monkey? And the next thing you think of is a black man?").truenotochyperlinkno20051213121511PMTuesdayDecDecember1212/13/2005 5:15:11 PM6327007291100000002005121550112PMThursdayDecDecember1712/15/2005 10:01:12 PM632702628720000000reel timeKimono DragonsDavid EdelsteinOnly the bitchery clicks in Memoirs of a Geisha. Plus, a splendidly intimate Narnia. noKimono DragonsBitchery in Geisha. A splendidly intimate Narnia. noHaving little to add to Meghan O'Rourke's eloquent and persuasive examination of C.S. Lewis' Narnia books and the author's allegedly overriding Christianity, it falls to this resident film critic to say that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Touchstone) has been turned into an entertaining, emotional, and surprisingly intimate movie—an epic saga of fauns and talking (Cockney) beavers and evil sorceresses and triumphal resurrections and massive, sweeping battles that nonetheless feels … small.truenotochyperlinkno200512942758PMFridayDecDecember1612/9/2005 9:27:58 PM632697424780000000200512962210PMFridayDecDecember1812/9/2005 11:22:10 PM632697493300000000reel timeGirl FlightDavid EdelsteinAeon Flux doesn't sucknoGirl FlightGirl Flight: Aeon Flux doesn't suck.noYou won't be reading reviews of the dystopian sci-fi flick Aeon Flux (Paramount) in the papers today because it wasn't screened for the press—and, given that it cost the GDP of a small country and that Charlize Theron and the director, Karyn Kusama (Girlfight), are critics' darlings, this could mean but one thing: A stinker. A weapon of mass destruction. A planet-killer.truenotochyperlinkno2005112354302PMWednesdayNovNovember1711/23/2005 10:43:02 PM632683645820000000200512240013PMFridayDecDecember1612/2/2005 9:00:13 PM632691360130000000reel timeThe Living GallDavid EdelsteinCraig Lucas' hateful Dying Gaul. Plus, Walk the Line never wobbles.noThe Living GallCraig Lucas' hateful Dying Gaul. Plus, Walk the Line never wobbles.nospacer155200Campbell Scott, looking languid Click image to expand.Campbell Scott, looking languidfalse1/123125/2108044/2112416/2130817/051122_rt_dyinggaul03_tn.jpghttp://img.slate.com/mediayesStandardImage1/123125/2108044/2112416/2130817/051122_rt_dyinggaul03_tn.jpg155200http://img.slate.com/mediafalse2008101934227AMSundayOctOctober310/19/2008 7:42:27 AM6335998454757623132008101934227AMSundayOctOctober310/19/2008 7:42:27 AM6335998454757623132008101934227AMSundayOctOctober310/19/2008 7:42:27 AM633599845475762313false2005112255409PMTuesdayNovNovember1711/22/2005 10:54:09 PM6326827884900000002005112255409PMTuesdayNovNovember1711/22/2005 10:54:09 PM632682788490000000The Dying Gaul (Strand Releasing) is a sour little psychodrama that has the compression, the coiled ferocity, of a Greek tragedy. It's potent; it's horrible. Craig Lucas, who adapted his own play and makes his directorial debut, knows his dramaturgy: This thing is layered with subtexts and sub-subtexts, and two of its three characters have enough complexity to keep you guessing until the final (ugly—and spurious—and unforgivable) twist.truenotochyperlinkno2005111791954AMThursdayNovNovember911/17/2005 2:19:54 PM6326781599400000002005111812358PMFridayNovNovember1311/18/2005 6:23:58 PM6326791703800000002004101111010PMMondayOctOctober1310/11/2004 5:10:10 PM6323309701000000002004101111010PMMondayOctOctober1310/11/2004 5:10:10 PM632330970100000000falsetruetruetruetruetruetrue20041011113308AMMondayOctOctober1110/11/2004 3:33:08 PM6323309118800000002005112354302PMWednesdayNovNovember1711/23/2005 10:43:02 PM632683645820000000