Leelee Sobieski

Joy Ride," a sly and scary thriller-chiller, is the latest from John Dahl, maestro of neo-noir, and it is terrific escapist fare, stylish, outrageous and compelling. Many have tried but few have been able to draw upon the sardonic fatalism of classic noir...

Wednesday April 5, 2000      Having written "Bugsy" (1991) and "The Gambler" (1975) and having directed what some feel was among the great debuts in American film--"Fingers" (1977)--James Toback carries around a credibility that's belied by almost...

Tone down a bit of already reasonably discreet sexual candor and you could believe that "Here on Earth" not only takes place in the '50s but was actually made back then. It's an old-fashioned story of young love, enlivened by an attractive cast and...

Friday March 31, 2000      Two days before the Columbine, Colo., massacre last year, "Pups" screened at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival to wide acclaim, but the high school shooting spree derailed the film's distribution a full year. The...

Friday November 12, 1999      Who was responsible for Joan of Arc? Who put those wild and crazy ideas in the impressionable head of the future saint and savior of France? "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" has a few suggestions.      Perhaps it...

Friday May 5, 2000      "Luminarias" takes us into a world all too rarely seen on the big screen: that of upwardly mobile Los Angeles Latinas.      Instead of barrio poverty, gangs and drugs, we're introduced to four women, longtime friends, whose...

Friday May 12, 2000      From "The Red Shoes" to "The Turning Point," dramatic films about the ballet world have begged the question: How is it that such a serious and disciplined performing art attracts such silly and chaotic people?      The callow...

Friday October 15, 1999      Cedric Kahn's relentless "L'Ennui" is such a rigorous exploration of sexual obsession that it proves to be a most demanding film. Virtually devoid of eroticism and sensuality, it depicts with the utmost realism a 17-year-...

Friday April 14, 2000      "Where the Money Is" takes its title from a famous reply legendary thief Willie Sutton gave when he was asked why he robbed banks. However, crooks would be ill-advised to stick up the box offices at theaters where this tepid...

Friday April 7, 2000      "Soft Fruit" asks us to spend 101 minutes with people most of us wouldtake pains to avoid in real life.      The difference between this film, a first feature for writer-director Christina Andreef, and works by her executive...

Friday April 28, 2000      For Kevin Spacey, "The Big Kahuna" is far from an ideal commercial follow-up to "American Beauty" in reaffirming his new star status. It's a small picture, its stage roots all too evident, and the role Spacey plays is...

Wednesday April 19, 2000      Salvador Carrasco's "The Other Conquest," or "La Otra Conquista," is a boldly imaginative and enthralling evocation of the bloody aftermath of the 1521 Spanish conquest of Mexico that has become the highest-grossing drama...