The Reel Drug War The Reel Drug War
Steven Soderbergh's Traffic—for all its flaws—illustrates how the United States' is deluding itself in its crusade against drugs.
Jan 18, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Michael Massing
Thirteen Days of Our Lives Thirteen Days of Our Lives
In the aftermath of the Iran/contra crisis, one of the networks decided to make a docudrama about the life of Ollie North, loosely based on a biography by Ben Bradle Jr. Its prob...
Jan 11, 2001 / Books & the Arts / Eric Alterman
The Martian Chronicles The Martian Chronicles
Long before Carrie-Anne Moss rips open Val Kilmer's shirt and begins pounding his chest, providing him with a version of CPR that she must have learned from a Japanese drum troup...
Nov 16, 2000 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Romancing the Screen Romancing the Screen
VINCENT CANBY As a memorial tribute to Vincent Canby, the "Arts & Leisure" section of the New York Times recently published half a page of excerpts of his prose, as se...
Nov 10, 2000 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
The Dogs of War The Dogs of War
Had Samuel Beckett written the script for a mud-wrestling contest, to be performed by the Pina Bausch dance troupe, the result might have looked like the scenes of warfare in Kip...
Nov 2, 2000 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Before the Sweet Hereafter Before the Sweet Hereafter
George Washington takes place in a small, weedy, rusty city in the American South, where children conduct their affairs with adult responsibility and adults behave like kids. The...
Oct 26, 2000 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Amos, Andy ‘n’ You Amos, Andy ‘n’ You
Since Spike Lee begins his new picture, Bamboozled, by giving a dictionary definition of satire, the least a reviewer can do is to open with a proper critical definition. Strictl...
Oct 19, 2000 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
Female Trouble Female Trouble
Now that Karyn Kusama's much-heralded Girlfight has opened, I figure it's time to catch up with the 1999 releases and review On the Ropes. And since I've been so slow to write ab...
Oct 12, 2000 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
A One and a Two A One and a Two
I have two films to tell you about in this column, one of which I recommend to your attention because it's beautiful, absorbing, touching and droll. It will involve you in the ch...
Oct 5, 2000 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans
A Riot of Personality A Riot of Personality
The first time I saw Anna Deavere Smith, I realized a new meaning had been given to the term "body politic." She was appearing in Fires in the Mirror, her show about the conflict...
Sep 28, 2000 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans