Review of Capturing the Friedmans (2003) by Kgaard . — 13 May 2004

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]I'm going to try to clear out at least some of my movie-watching backlog. Thus:[/size][/font].

[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=darkorange][font=Arial][i]Spider[/i] (David Cronenberg, 2003)[/font] [/color][/size][/font].

[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=darkorange]What begins as a delightfully creepy portrait of a disturbed man deteriorates into a banal, and somewhat repetitive, murder mystery that is far less revealing of the protagonist than it might have been.[/color][/size][/font].

[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=darkorange][font=Arial][i]Sexy Beast[/i] (Jonathan Glazer, 2001)[/font] [/color][/size][/font].

[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=darkorange]The plot is so thin that if you blew on it it would scatter to the wind like dandelion spores; nevertheless, director Glazer keeps things moving so well you hardly notice that not much is going on, the dialogue is sharp, and Kingsley and Winstone are good as advertised. [/color][/size][/font].

[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=darkorange][font=Arial][i]The Fast Runner[/i] (Zacharias Kunuk, 2002)[/font] [/color][/size][/font].

[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=darkorange]Interesting up to a point, and the chase scene is vivid and memorable, but the story drags so often it?s a challenge to stay interested. I like a challenge, but not that much.[/color][/size][/font].

[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=darkorange][font=Arial][i]Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind[/i] (Michael Gondry, 2004)[/font] [/color][/size][/font].

[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=darkorange][i]Eternal Sunshine[/i] is a visceral head rush; the simple idea of tracing a love story back to its purest moment works brilliantly, and so does pretty much everything else in the film.[/color][/size][/font].

[font=Times New Roman][color=#000000][color=darkorange][font=Arial][size=3][i]Capturing the Friedmans[/i] (Andrew Jarecki, 2003)[/size][/font] [/color][/color][/font].

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[font=Times New Roman][color=#000000][size=3][color=darkorange]In this uncomfortably entertaining crime drama/dysfunctional family portrait, Jarecki does engage in some leading of the audience but not enough to be unfair.[/color][/size] [/color][/font].