Ray Pride

One of the year's most vivid, visceral movies is Paul Greengrass' "Bloody Sunday," a rich, harsh, powerful portrait of the day of the most important confrontation of the British-Irish conflict. Patterned after Gillo Pontecorvo's timeless masterpiece of street-level guerilla fighting, "The Battle of Algiers," Greengrass' film approaches its intensity, and surpasses the substantial accomplishment of "Black Hawk Down." It's an impassioned stunner, and two viewings have left me wrung out. From the field at this moment, it's the dark horse nominee for this year's Best Picture Oscars.

"Bloody Sunday" opens Friday.

(2002-10-23)

Also by Ray Pride

Tip of the Week
Steven Gaghan's directorial debut is an oft-assured variation of Paramount's woman-in-jeopardy genre; his ear for the language of intelligent people makes for several quietly hilarious character turns.
(2002-10-16)

Anger mismanagement
Paul Thomas Anderson may smoke too much. The chain-smoking writer-director's fourth feature, "Punch-Drunk Love" is the most acute evocation of nicotine nerve-jangle I've every seen, ninety-seven minutes of anxiety in search of a lasting, deep drag.
(2002-10-16)

Tip of the Week
I wish I'd seen a finished version or, better yet, the unexpurgated, pre-MPAA edition of Roger Avary's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel of romantic longing on a New England college campus.
(2002-10-09)

Fest best
The list of titles for the 38th Chicago International Film Festival contains films as good as you'll see anywhere on earth, and many of them already have distribution planned in the coming months or year.
(2002-10-02)

Tip of the Week
(2002-09-26)

Fly buttons
(2002-09-18)

Tip of the the Week
(2002-09-18)

Deserted
(2002-09-18)

TIP OF THE WEEK
(2002-09-11)

Tip of the Week
(2002-09-11)

Tip of the Week
(2002-09-04)

Sex education
(2002-08-28)

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