Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Apr 05, 2011 by Mr. Nau Michael Moore examines the global economic crisis, its history and causes, the casino atmosphere of the investments industry, and how banking deregulation, the housing bubble, and a culture of greed caused worldwide recession. Interviews with thought-leaders, members of Congress, law enforcement officials, and average citizens are very thought-provoking. Grade: […]

The One Percent (2006)

Apr 05, 2011 by Mr. Nau Jamie Johnson, heir of the Johnson & Johnson fortune, produced this documentary in which he interviews a number of associates of his family about living in the top 1% of American income earners. He shows what it’s like to grow up opulently rich, but his documentary comes off as […]

In Debt We Trust (2006)

Apr 04, 2011 by Mr. Nau This documentary examines the American credit industry, its history, and the way consumers become misinformed and get into trouble when it comes to consumer debt, particularly with credit cards and mortgage debt. Released two years before the 2008 financial crisis started, the warnings here were timely cautions of economic […]

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

Apr 08, 2011 by Mr. Nau Dito Montiel, played by Robert Downey Jr, returns home to Astoria, New York, after 15 years away, to visit his dying father and reconnect with his old childhood friends. Wonderful acting performances permeate this autobiographical work, both in present day and in flashbacks to his adventurous adolescence in the […]

Freakonomics (2010)

Mar 09, 2011 by Mr. Nau The authors of Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, narrate an adaptation of their best-selling book, in which economic theory is tested by experiment and examination, yielding unexpected results about incentivizing education, the economic impact of names, corruption in athletics, and how legalized abortion affected crime rates. Grade: B. […]

Zombieland (2009)

Feb 22, 2011 by Mr. Nau Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin star in this hilarious, yet bad-assed comedy about a group of people trying to find a sanctuary in a zombie apocalypse. Harrelson’s character, Tallahassee, presents a set of rules for surviving zombies, which the film explores in side-splitting ways. Grade: […]

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

Feb 19, 2011 by Mr. Nau In this tight engrossing crime thriller, two brothers in financial trouble decide to rob their parents’ jewelry store. After the event takes place, their father becomes obsessed with finding the culprits. The acting performances in this difficult piece are jaw-droppingly virtuosic, with moments of real pain and palpable menace. […]

Mammoth (2009)

Feb 05, 2011 by Mr. Nau Director Lukas Moodysson’s critique on globalization centers around a New York family — a businessman who has to travel to Thailand, an emergency room surgeon, their young daughter, their Filipina nanny, and her family back home. The lead performances in this picture are beautifully realized, particularly Michelle Williams as […]

Legends of the Guardians (2010)

Jan 31, 2011 by Mr. Nau In this animated feature, a group of young owlets are captured by a sinister group of slave-holding owls, mentored by an old slave owl, and seek out a group of the heroic Guardians of Ga’hoole. This feel-good story, mainly aimed at children, delivers lessons in perseverance against oppression. Grade: […]

2012 (2009)

Jan 20, 2011 by Mr. Nau This picture is the result of what happens when special effects professionals decide to make a movie without the input of a single writer. John Cusack stars in this orgy of stupidity in which he’s trying to escape death as the filmmakers use lots of explosives to destroy the […]

« go back — keep looking »