Ben is a working class Boston kid bicycling to school in an ivy-covered world of privilege. He gained entrance to MIT for pre-med and wants nothing less than Harvard Medical School. Harvard was his dream from childhood. He has the grades and the recomme

As the unhappy husband in Married Life, Harry (Chris Cooper) is banality curdled at the edges. He’s a successful executive in 1940s New York whose life begins to unbutton when he falls out of love with his wife of many years, Pat (Patricia Clarkson), an

Daisy Kenyon starts on a cheery note as Dana Andrews exchanges breezy words with the cabbie while handing over his fare. But moments later, once he steps into the dimly lit vestibule and up a stairway of oddly angled shadows, Daisy Kenyon turns dark vis

Les Paul, the “Wizard of Waukesha,” is probably the single most important musician to emerge from Wisconsin. A crack player and an inventive mechanic of sound, he perfected the solid body electric guitar that bears his name, developed overdubbing and

With global climate change, the war on terrorism and the dark roster of Oscar nominees, it’s little wonder that anxious thoughts are turned toward an uncertain future. Apocalyptic daydreams have gained renewed force. While Protestant fundamentalists l

The British Empire brought progress and prejudice to the ends of the earth. It laid the foundation of democracy and sowed the seeds of catastrophe, ennobling and exploiting as it gathered together one-third of the world’s inhabitants by the start of the

Anyone who ever had the pleasure of catching an American western on German television understands how discordant the dubbing of actors� voices can be. And anyone who attends subtitled foreign films in the U.S. recognizes that reading along can so

Joel and Ethan Coen had been off-stride for several years, proffering a charmless remake of The Ladykillers and all-quirks-and-tics films such as The Man Who Wasn’t There. With No Country for Old Men, the Coen Brothers venture into darker territory than

Frances McDormand strays far from the sardonic country of the Coen Brothers, her regular employers, for a jolly romp in 1930s London, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. McDormand stretches her acting range as Guinevere Pettigrew, a dowdy failure as a domes

The “online community” was all abuzz over Cloverfield. The chatter made for a strong opening weekend last month but audiences in the real world were unimpressed and old-fashioned word of mouth killed it. Cloverfield sank like a stone without an air bubb