THE ITHACAN

Sandler makes dramatic strides as post-9/11 widower

By Miranda K. Pennington, Senior Writer • April 6, 2007

“Reign Over Me” is one of the first films to be able to examine the aftereffects of Sept. 11 without depicting the actual events or responding patriotically. Written and directed by Mike Binder, despite any associations attached to the usual frivolity of Adam Sandler, the film is nothing less than a portrait of the breadth…

Foreign film critically analyzes German government

By Ben Tietz, Staff Writer • March 29, 2007

The voyeuristic nature of a powerful government is a theme rarely tackled in film. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director of the elegant and powerfully subdued “The Lives of Others,” should be commended on making a film that has timely themes without resorting to the hysterics and self-importance other directors think are the benchmarks of good…

Ninja Turtles defend their big screen honor

By Andy Swift, Assistant Accent Editor • March 29, 2007

Since their initial inception in 1984, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have managed to reinvent themselves more times than Madonna. And still, after a comic book series, three live-action theatrical films and three TV series, the turtles have once again achieved new life on the silver screen. Their latest incarnation, an all-CGI film titled “TMNT,”…

Sequel looks at horror with gruesome eyes

By Harry Shuldman, Staff Writer • March 29, 2007

Emerging in the wake of a string of dismal horror remakes, last year’s “The Hills Have Eyes” didn’t seem like it had much hope of setting itself apart from schlock like “The Fog” or the craptacular Paris Hilton vehicle, “House of Wax.” Yet the film’s unexpected mix of great casting, cheesily gruesome makeup effects and…

Film humanizes sexual deviants

By Garrett Stiger, Staff Writer • March 29, 2007

“You did a bad thing,” an elderly mother tells her son who has been released from prison after exposing himself to a minor. “That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.” Director Todd Field’s satiric yet brooding “Little Children” has the audacity to make three-dimensional human beings out of pedophiles and adulterers. The film, based on…

300 Spartans paint the silver screen red

By Jeff Morganteen, Sports Editor • March 22, 2007

Director Zack Snyder’s “300” is a video gamer’s wet dream. Blood-drenched and viscerally eye-popping, the film is almost all action, all the time, with some sex scenes thrown in for good measure. Put plainly, this movie has enough testosterone pumping through its veins to be banned from the MLB for life. Why Hollywood didn’t cash…

Bullock attempts to make up for latest thriller’s recycled plot

By Thomas Pardee, Staff Writer • March 22, 2007

Sandra Bullock's new headlining project “Premonition” isn't half as bad as some elitist critics might suggest. There are even moments in this nonlinear thriller — which survives almost solely on Bullock's raw charisma — that are actually downright, well, thrilling. Linda Hanson (Bullock), the film’s protagonist, is a confused woman. She answers the door one…

Chris Rock spins old comedy in wrong direction

By Ben Tietz, Staff Writer • March 22, 2007

“I Think I Love My Wife,” the new film starring, co-written and directed by Chris Rock, seems to adhere to the American idea that European art equals legitimate art. If a film is in a Romance language and is devoid of all the fancy trappings of Hollywood, in many people’s minds, it is above derision.…

Film expands classic coming-of-age novel

By Miranda K. Pennington, Senior Writer • March 22, 2007

“Bridge to Terabithia,” if the previews are to be believed, is a fantastical Narnia-esque tale of two young adventurers discovering uncharted lands inhabited by fierce and benevolent CGI creatures who take them away from their ordinary lives. Fortunately, previews lie. In reality, the film tells the story of a girl, Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb), who…

Gripping crime drama ‘Zodiac’ kills and thrills

By Garrett Stiger, Contributing Writer • March 8, 2007

Fans of director David Fincher’s visceral thriller, “Seven,” will find few similarities between it and his latest, the pensive “Zodiac.” The film is based on the real-life serial killer that terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area during the ’60s and ’70s. “Zodiac” begins familiarly enough. A young couple celebrates the Fourth of July on lover’s…

Jim Carrey suspense film is miscast and complicated

By Shaun Semanyk, Contributing Writer • March 8, 2007

Despite director Joel Schumacher’s best efforts, “The Number 23” is an ambitious but muddled failure. The screenplay is structured after the “23 Enigma,” which states that all significant events, names, dates and times are somehow connected to the number 23. The movie is a clever enough psychological thriller about a book with the ability to…

Cop antics translate well to the big screen

By Harry Shuldman, Staff Writer • March 1, 2007

Too crass to be labeled a satire of American law enforcement and too hilariously absurd to be written off, “Reno 911!: Miami” is this century’s equivalent to the Keystone Kops. The only difference is Charlie Chaplin sports hot pants, Buster Keaton does blow and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle gets Tasered by an underage hooker. “Reno 911!:…