by Richard von Busack
“People like symbols. I’m the symbol of certain things.” At about age 40, Steve Jobs unfolded on his career to journalist Robert X. Cringely; a small portion of this interview was used …

By Richard von Busack
In the ancient days, the godless tyrant Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) is on the warpath, furious that the Gods let his family die despite his prayers. On his murderous path is a small …

Right Turn, Clyde
By Richard von Busack
Clint Eastwood’s muddled, stodgy, peculiar, and shot full of curare bio-pic J. Edgar is ultimately nothing but ambitious, and perhaps it’s the ambition that’s making big-name critics call it a …

(above: Johnny Guitar. Plays Nov 6.)
by Richard von Busack
Trannies, girl gangsters, cowboys and weirdoes: Elliot Lavine’s mini-retrospective in glorious 35mm at San Francisco’s Roxie Theater is titled Not Necessarily Noir II, and in an era …

By Richard von Busack
The slightly soggy and obvious Oranges and Sunshine sources Margaret Humphreys’ book Empty Cradles; the director is a debuting Jim Loach, Ken’s son. Whatever its limitations, it tells a story that at …

by Richard von Busack
Director Herman Yau prequalizes the wing chun master’s career and tells of a rivalry that the long time fight-movie fan will be able to discern from the first moment we meet the …

by Richard von Busack
IN THE operatically pervy The Skin I Live In, Antonio Banderas is clearly a mad doctor. Dr. Robert Ledgard is a wealthy plastic surgeon of Spain’s Toledo, with a sealed-off estate lined …

By Richard von Busack
Andrew Niccol’s In Time is like a lost chapter from Thom Andersen’s documentary Los Angeles Plays Itself; the film uses existing locations for a fantasy future, even such relatively obscure places as …

by Richard von Busack
The emmerded book in question is particularly resistant to stupid adaptations, and adding steampunk and caped superhero vibes to this mess isn’t where it goes wrong.  Compared to some,  Ray Stevenson isn’t …

by Richard von Busack
A COMEDY about nigh-ruinous obsession, The Big Year is one director away from being a great cult film. Yet there’s so much feeling in it, and so much snow, it seems certain …