Get Over It
Is it unethical to buy low and sell high? The central characters in “Please Give” seem to think so. Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver …
Robin Hood, Revised
As heroes go, Robin Hood has always been a hard nut for libertarians to crack. His motto, “Take from the rich and give to the …
Timeless Problems
“Time Stands Still” opened in New York on January 21. It is one of those theatrical gems that invites you to approach it from several …
Acting Like Ourselves
What is your deepest secret? Can you share it with the people you love most? This is the theme of “City Island,” a wonderful little …
Sleeper-Cell Marketing
Don’t you just hate those people down the street? The ones who have the flashiest new car, the latest electronic toys, the perfect decor, and …
Planeteers
“Oceans” is the second of an annual Earth Day movie release by Disney Studio’s new Disneynature label. The series is designed to draw attention to …
Postmodern Pegasus
The opening of “Clash of the Titans” on Easter weekend seemed strangely appropriate. This is a movie in which a half-god, half-mortal hero fights the …
The Wonder is Gone
Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” reminds us of the eternal nature of art. In the poem, Keats observes the scene depicted on an ancient …
Running the Asylum
“Shutter Island” (Paramount Pictures, 2010, 137 minutes) has all the ingredients of a satisfyingly dark, psychological thriller: an isolated setting, ambiguous foreshadowing, surreal flashbacks, an …
The Haunting of Tony Blair
When asked, during the open- ing moments of “The Ghost Writer,” whether he voted for the prime minister whose memoirs he has been hired to …