Email Author Melissa Levine

2005 Stories by Melissa Levine

• Little Misses

  published December 29, 2005

  Amid Hollywood's zillion-dollar explosions and computer-enhanced trickery, plenty of quieter, better films sneaked into theaters virtually... More >>

• Now Playing

  published December 29, 2005

  In 1968 it was a movie. In 2001 it became a musical. Now it's a movie again? Yes, and there's actually good reason to return The Producers... More >>

• Spent

  published November 24, 2005

  Ever since its Broadway debut in 1996, Rent has generated a loyal, almost cultlike following. Showered with praise, the Pulitzer... More >>

• Spell It Out

  published November 17, 2005

  Richard Gere? That's the first thought that came to mind upon learning that Mr. Salt-and-Pepper-Sexy-Buddhist-WASP had been cast as Saul Naumann... More >>

• Wild, Then Crazy

  published November 10, 2005

  Does Steve Martin have multiple personality disorder — or is he just brilliantly in tune with some things and wildly out of touch with... More >>

• Strange Brew

  published October 27, 2005

  When one watches Where the Truth Lies, a film noir about a young celebrity journalist's obsession with a comedy duo from the Fifties, a... More >>

• Low Yield

  published October 20, 2005

  At the opening of The Constant Gardener, Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles's adaptation of the novel by John Le Carré, we... More >>

• Say Cheese

  published October 6, 2005

  Ah, Wallace and Gromit. Who doesn't get a little lift at the sound of those names? Who doesn't feel the edges of her mouth begin to tickle toward... More >>

• The Opposite of Sucks

  published September 29, 2005

  About once a year -- twice if we're lucky -- a first-time director gives us something original, electrifying, and humane, a film that shows us a... More >>

• Proof Positive

  published September 22, 2005

  In the tradition of A Beautiful Mind and Good Will Hunting comes Proof, a psychological drama about a math genius and... More >>

• Low Yield

  published September 1, 2005

  At the opening of The Constant Gardener, Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles's adaptation of the novel by John Le Carré, we... More >>

• A Tale of Two Bastards

  published August 11, 2005

  Toward the end of Saraband, the uneven new film from legendary director Ingmar Bergman, a character sits down with his daughter, a... More >>

• Miracle on Ice

  published July 21, 2005

  If you're short on reasons to be grateful these days, look no further than March of the Penguins, the astonishing if imperfect... More >>

• Girls Interrupted

  published June 23, 2005

  Not many people saw Lost and Delirious, the 2001 boarding-school drama about two girls in obsessive love, and that was probably for the... More >>

• Bad Education

  published June 9, 2005

  Before there was School of Rock, the 2003 movie in which Jack Black awakened a class of subdued elementary school students with lessons in... More >>

• All the Right Moves

  published June 2, 2005

  Ten is a magical age, when children are old enough to make articulate statements about their experiences and young enough to express their... More >>

• As Unreal as It Gets

  published April 7, 2005

  What if a man has no friends? What if he speaks only when spoken to, and then only of the weather? What if every day of the week he attends mass,... More >>

• The Camera's Weeping Eye

  published March 10, 2005

  Toward the end of Born into Brothels, a superb and piercing documentary by directors Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, a... More >>

• He's Got Legs

  published February 24, 2005

  Beautiful Boxer, the true story of a Thai transgender kickboxer, is a well-intentioned film with a heart of gold. Unfortunately, it... More >>

• Pooch Kicks

  published February 17, 2005

  It's hard to know what to expect from Wayne Wang. The Hong Kong-raised director has made one gorgeous mood movie (Chinese Box) and two... More >>

• Same Old Song

  published February 3, 2005

  When did we first encounter a feel-good film that united delinquent kids, a devoted (if professionally frustrated) teacher, and the transformative... More >>

• Is It Over Yet?

  published January 27, 2005

  Twenty-four hours. Three hundred fifty miles. His girlfriend's kids. What could possibly go wrong? In the case of Are We There Yet?,... More >>

• Suddenly This Summer

  published January 20, 2005

  In her first stab at narrative drama, writer/director Shainee Gabel has managed to assemble a superstar cast and a seasoned technical team. She... More >>

• Den of Iniquity

  published January 20, 2005

  A bit of advice when considering whether to see Bear Cub, a lovely new drama from Spanish director Miguel Albaladejo: Ignore the... More >>