Jason Reitman's "Juno'

Director Jason Reitman, who gave us Thank You For Smoking, is at it again, with a quirky comedy about a pregnant teenager that refuses to follow predictable paths.

Juno. A film directed by Jason Reitman. Opens December 14, 2007 at Ritz at the Bourse, Fourth and Ludlow Sts., and Showcsae at the Ritz, New Jersey. www.ritzfilmbill.com.

Richard Chaitt

Dec 04, 2007 · Articles · 1 minute read

Three new neo-noir films

Three stylish neo-noir films set in the recent American past reflect our current predicament in Iraq, partly by looking back.

American Gangster. Film directed by Ridley Scott.

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Film directed by Sidney Lume

Robert Zaller

Nov 27, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

Michael Moore's "Sicko'

Michael Moore is quite deliberately deficient in neutrality, balance and objectivity. But in a country where satire has become almost the only means to tell the truth, his voice is invaluable.

Sicko. A film by Michael Moore.

Robert Zaller

Aug 18, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

The Bourne Redundancy

Where does Bourne go from here? As it happens, I’ve obtained a secret copy of the next Bourne sequel, The Bourne EOB. That’s right: The Bourne Explanation of Benefits.

The Bourne Ultimatum. A film directed by Paul Greengrass, with Matt Damon. www.thebourneultimatum.com.

Armen Pandola

Aug 14, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

"La Vie en Rose' (second review)

The greatest thing about Edith Piaf was her music, which gets short shrift in this film.

La Vie en Rose. Film directed by Olivier Dahan, with Marion Cotillard. At the Ritz Five, 214 Walnut St. (215) 925-7900 or www.ritztheaters.com.

Richard Chaitt

Aug 04, 2007 · Articles · 2 minute read

I feel bad about Nora Ephron

Ephron’s last book relies on schtick, reads like she wrote it over a weekend and reveals her to be, after all, just another foolish, wealthy 65-year-old Manhattanite who wishes she could turn back the clock and look young again.

I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman. By Nora Ephron. Knopf. 160 pages; $21.95.

Joy Tomme

Jul 14, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

Witold Rybczynski's "Last Harvest'

The joy of Witold Rybczynski’s 14th book lies in its explaining the almost heroic tasks of preparing land for builders to use. His teacher is his former student, now the head of a land development company.

Last Harvest: How a Cornfield became New Dalesville. Real Estate Development in America from George Washington to the Builders of the Twenty-first Century, and Why We Live in Houses Anyway. By Witold Rybczynski. 320 pages.

Patrick D. Hazard

May 15, 2007 · Articles · 4 minute read

Pete Dexter's "Paper Trails'

The tabloid columnist Pete Dexter has made half a career of insufferably cheap shots, not all of them very pertinent. He doesn’t grow on you the way Steve Lopez does. Still, you never know when he’s going to hit a home run.

Paper Trails: True Stories of Confusion, Mindless Violence, and Forbidden Desires, a Surprising Number of Which are Not About Marriage

Patrick D. Hazard

Apr 17, 2007 · Articles · 6 minute read

"70s revisited: 'Hoax' and 'Zodiac'

Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the ‘70s revival, two new films have arrived to immerse us anew in the bad hair, bad faith and low-grade paranoia of the period.

The Hoax. A film by Lasse Hallström. www.lassehallstrom.com.
Zodiac. A film by David Fincher. zodiacfilm.blogspot.com.

Robert Zaller

Apr 17, 2007 · Articles · 5 minute read

"How To Talk About Books'

Here is one of the necessary tools of modern life: a primer on how to impress one’s professors, one’s students, one’s friends and one’s enemies with the least effort and maximum results when chatting about books. There’s just one problem….

Comment parler de livres que l'on n'a pas lus (How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read).
By Pierre Bayard.
Minuit, 198 pp., 15 euros

Leonard Boasberg

Mar 03, 2007 · Articles · 3 minute read