Inquirer Movie Critic - Steven Rea http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea RSS Feed for Inq Col Steven Rea en-us Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:02:05 GMT Our critics' selections http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091121_Our_critics__selections_1.html Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire Can the story of an abused, illiterate, obese teenager impregnated by her father be uplifting and heart-stirring? Yup. Philly filmmaker Lee Daniels brings humor and pathos to a horrific tale, and gets amazing performances from Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey, and daunting newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. R The astronaut's the alien on 'Planet 51' http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091120_The_astronaut_s_the_alien_on__Planet_51_.html They look like "sea monkeys dancing to the oldies," notes a wayward NASA astronaut. He's speaking about the amphibianesque creatures on Planet 51, which resembles a cartoon version of the Happy Days set, with bulbous cars, streamlined diners, and a dim-witted populace enamored of scary alien invasion movies. Veteran becomes messenger of death http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091120_Veteran_becomes_messenger_of_death.html Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery, a decorated Iraq War veteran who gets the title role in The Messenger, is back in the States, close to ending his service, when he gets a new assignment: to be the guy that goes knocking on doors to inform family and spouses that their loved one is dead. Our critics' selections http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091114_Our_critics__selections_1.html Precious: Based On the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire Can the story of an abused, illiterate, obese teenager impregnated by her father be uplifting and heart-stirring? Yup. Philly filmmaker Lee Daniels brings humor and pathos to a horrific tale, and gets amazing performances from Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey, and the daunting newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. R On Movies: His most unleashed, and best, work in years http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091115_On_Movies__His_most_unleashed__and_best__work_in_years.html Nicolas Cage received his marching orders for Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans several years ago in a phone call from the filmmaker, Werner Herzog. Making radio waves off Britain's coast http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091113_Making_radio_waves_off_Britain_s_coast.html Awash in nostalgia and amped-up male camaraderie, Richard Curtis' Pirate Radio takes a great story - the hugely popular offshore radio stations that illegally broadcast pop and rock in 1960s Britain - and turns it into an aggressively irritating floating frat-party romp. John Krasinski's arty and static directing debut http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091113_John_Krasinski_s_arty_and_static_directing_debut.html Not brief enough, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men purports to offer a candid and illuminating examination of male views on women, on sex, on relationships. Art-world satire is uninspired http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091113_Art-world_satire_is_uninspired.html To be sure, New York's art scene - with its clad-in-black gallerists, its attitudinal hangers-on, its moneyed collectors, and most of all, its variously self-promoting, insecure, insufferable artists - is ripe for movie satire. Our critics' selections http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091107_Our_critics__selections_1.html An Education Carey Mulligan shines as a suburban British teen, circa 1962, who falls for an older man (Peter Sarsgaard) in this beautifully turned coming-of-age tale, adapted from journalist Lynn Barber's memoir by writer Nick Hornby and director Lone Scherfig. Funny, sad, subtle, real. R A talent that's Precious http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/steven_rea/20091108_A_talent_that_s.html Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe was standing on a subway platform in Harlem one Monday in September two years ago, trying to decide: uptown or downtown?