The posters for “Dan in Real Life” show Steve Carell blithely squashing his face into a stack of pancakes. This is false advertising, a marketing department’s attempt to pass off a sensitive family drama as another wacky Steve Carell comedy. The guy sitting next to me seemed genuinely disappointed that Carell’s face never did make contact with any form of breakfast food. But I found the poster to be a pretty apt summary of the film’s effect: “Dan in Real Life” offers something potentially delicious, then mashes itself into your face until you’re covered in syrupy sweetness.
More »
After watching the Capitol Steps perform Friday night in Spaulding Auditorium, I can definitively say that the musical political satire group hardly delivered a capital performance.
More »
INTO THE WILD
Buzz on this movie has ranged from “it’s god-awful boring” to “what a miraculous, beautiful feat of filmmaking!” I’m not exactly the DOC type, but I have to admit that the nature shots in this film make me want to skip down to Ledyard and hijack a canoe. Emile Hirsch plays our angsty entitled rich boy protagonist who donates his life savings to Oxfam in the name of living life to the fullest — and he looks damn sexy doing it. Director Sean Penn’s cast instills a human complexity from scene to shining scene. — Meredith Fraser
More »
