Lindsay McCarney

The Office: Season 3Directed by: JJ Abrams, Harold Ramis, Joss WhedonThe second season of NBC’s The Office ended with a shake-up of the status quo at Dunder Mifflin. Lovelorn wise-ass Jim (John Krasinski), who’d spent the two preceding seasons pining for engaged wise-ass Pam (Jenna Fischer) finally told her how he felt. They kissed. (Squee!) […]

This Film is Not Yet RatedDirected by: Kirby Dick (IFC Films)Kirby Dick spends much of his documentary, This Film is Not Yet Rated, staking out the offices of the Motion Picture Association of America with a private investigator named Becky Altringer. Dick’s intent is to uncover the identities of the members on the MPAA’s ratings […]

Extras: The Complete First Season HBONo, Extras’ writing team Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s follow-up to the BBC The Office isn’t as good. But this still-funny first-season set features game cameos by Patrick Stewart, Kate Winslet, Sam Jackson and others (all theoretically playing themselves). Plus, hearing Stewart delightedly describe his lecherous screenplay (“I’ve seen everything!”) […]

The History BoysDirected by: Nicholas Hytner(Fox Searchlight)The History Boys is set in an ever-so-British world, in which preparing for the entrance examinations to Oxford and Cambridge is worth attending an extra semester of school. The film follows several boys who set about doing just that. But the movie isn’t as much about this preparation process […]

Snow CakeDirected by: Marc EvansAlliancePlot-wise, Snow Cake is a bit of a hacky mess, full of convenient, credibility-stretching contrivances. But the film’s neat narrative touches (characters play “comic-book word Scrabble”) and great performances make it worthwhile. Alan Rickman is wonderful as grumpy Alex, and the begrudging onscreen friendship that develops between Alex and high-functioning autistic […]

SidekickDirected by: Blake Van de Graaf (Maple)An indie spin on the superhero genre, Sidekick explores its themes through conversation. The action is subdued; Victor (David Ingram), the film’s hero-in-training, uses his telekinetic abilities for the mundane —protecting coffee mugs from shattering, levitating liquor bottles and kicking serious butt at softball. This quiet approach is welcome—one […]

Away from Her Directed by: Sarah PolleyMongrel MediaNear the end of Away from Her, straightforward Marian (Olympia Dukakis) calls Grant (Gordon Pinsent) to ask him out on a semi-date. “I wanted to say, I know you’re not single and I don’t mean it that way. I’m not, either. But it doesn’t hurt to get out […]

Half NelsonDirected by: Ryan Fleck(ThinkFilm)In Half Nelson, teacher Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) forgoes the standard curriculum to teach the kids in his grade eight history class about dialectic and change. Most of Dunne’s students are black and their school isn’t that nice; it seems initially that Dunne is being set up, like many noble movie-made […]

Jesus CampDirected by: Heidi Ewing and Rachel GradyMongrelThis doc, about pastor Becky Fischer’s eerie evangelical summer camp—featuring scenes of kids shaking from religious fervour, and worshipping Bush cardboard cut-outs—doesn’t lend itself particularly well to lazy afternoon re-watching. But Jesus Camp and its well-crafted thesis—indoctrinated kids eventually become powerful, indoctrinated voters—stick with you months after the […]

Little Britain LiveDirected by: Geoff Posner and Jeremy Sams(BBC Video)Little Britain Live was filmed during a tour undertaken by the cast of BBC’s popular sketch comedy show Little Britain; since the tour featured mostly new material, this disc offers fans of the show who missed it a chance to see its sketches. But Little Britain […]

VolverDirected by: Pedro AlmodovarSonyFrom the get-go, director Pedro Almodovar wants us to suspend our disbelief while watching Volver—to buy into its high-emotion chaos and its friendly maternal “ghost.” But the tale Almodovar has to tell is simpler than it first appears—it’s a story about female bonding and resilience, and healing long-festering wounds. The film is […]

An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening HarderDirected by: JM Kenny(Sony Pictures) Fans of 2002’s An Evening with Kevin Smith will find its sequel fits like a pair of well-worn slippers—it feels like Smith has taken a quick bathroom break and returned refreshed and ready to resume the same conversation. Writer-director Smith (Clerks II, Jersey […]