Joel Crary

Andre still absorbing, Sep 10 2009

Recently I made a resolution to own and review more Criterion editions of films and I've made plans to purchase one a month. This month's is Louis Malle's "My Dinner with Andre", though attributing it as the property of its director would do a great disservice to screenwriters Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, who also play the film's main characters. It had been a few years since I'd seen it, and while it unfolds in a simple and unforgettable format - two men sit in a restaurant and talk - I had forgotten exactly what about their discussions had made it such a fascinating oddity in the back of my mind.

The film opens with shots of Wally traveling across New York City to meet… Read more

Christian Slater: the voice inside your head, Aug 9 2001

Christian Slaters plays the role he was born to play as Hard Harry, a controversial DJ on a pirate radio station that tells it like it is. The film hits hard on a lot of issues in an effective manner. Look past the resident cheesiness of the late 1980's and you're left with a movie screaming an important message loud and clear. Emotional and inspirational.

Not the Seattle that I remember, but memories abound, Aug 9 2001

Entertaining snapshot of life in early 90's Seattle, when grunge and coffee houses were all the rage. Absent from the film are the angst and rebellion of the era, but this is more of a movie about relationships featuring characters that are easy to identify with and care about due to their self-analytical narratives. Good script and excellent photography making the most of Seattle's rain-ridden setting. Not Cameron Crowe's best but still pretty darn good.