The Master of Cinematic Vulgarity: Ken Russell (1927-2011)
Called “the British Fellini,” Russell directed Tommy, Women in Love, Altered States, Lisztomania and other over-the-top classics
Articles from Contributor
Twilight Vamps the Muppets
A Children’s Crusade of three new kid-themed movies couldn’t stop Bella and Edward from taking the biggest Thanksgiving bite
Rampart: Woody Harrelson Shines as L.A.’s Dirtiest Cop
In this followup to The Messenger, the star brings power and complexity to another of James Ellroy’s wily, corrupt boys in blue
Hugo: Scorsese’s Magnificent Dream Machine
Turning from violent men to a poignant waif, the director pays luminous tribute to old films—in his best new film of the millennium
A Dangerous Method: Freud Had the Theories, But Jung Had the Sex
Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley fall into a mad passion in David Cronenberg’s what-if film about the first analyst to have an affair with his patient
Breaking Dawn to Its Critics: “Bite Me”
With nearly $300 million in three days, the vampire epic proves irresistible to its fans and impregnable to reviewers’ scorn
Happy Feet Two: Mr. Miller’s Poppy Penguins Save Their Own Planet
In his effervescent sequel to the 2006 hit, director George Miller softens the eco-message and ups the pleasure ante for 97 mins. of 3-D delight
Madea Meets the Ku Klux Klan
Nearly a century apart, Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas and D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation contrast a sassy black family with a racist masterpiece
The Descendants: George Clooney’s Tragedy in Paradise
Alexander Payne’s tale of a grieving Honolulu husband has been touted as Oscar bait but it’s closer to Hawaii Five-No
Immortals Outmuscles Adam Sandler. But Still Proves a 97-Pound Weakling
The Greek epic earned $32 million its first weekend, but Modern Warfare 3 did $400 million its first day—so who’s the champion of the young-male demographic?
Immortals: Crash, Bash and Flash of the Titans
Tarsem Singh’s myth-illogical epic offers a feast for the eye, scraps for the mind
Lars von Trier’s Melancholia: The End of the World as He Knows It
The director, banned at Cannes for a Nazi joke, is dead serious in this ravishing, troubling, borderline-brilliant vision of life on a doomed planet—ours
Werner Herzog Dives Into the Abyss of the American Death Penalty System
Nine years ago, two young men from Conroe, Texas, wanted a joyride in a red Camaro; and because they shot and killed three people while stealing it, Jason Burkett got life in prison, and Michael Perry got death. By Jul. 1, 2010, …