'Playroom' a place of family's malaise

The split-level house of American dreams and boomer memories probably has never been used so evocatively or been as central to a movie as it is in "The Playroom." In the 1975-set coming-of-age drama - a kids'-eye view of adult malaise - that house is essentially a character, showcasing the g…

'All Together' opts for cute over smart, cutting edge

Septuagenarians give communal living a go in "All Together," a comedy that manages to avoid many of the predictable pitfalls and pratfalls that such a scenario suggests. Until it surrenders to them.

Raunchy 'Klown' is fun

"Klown"earns its laughs. The Danish comedy is a fine juggling act of dry Scandinavian humor and boys-will-be-boys outrageousness that's both more sexually explicit and more truly risk-taking than the usual Hollywood version of men behaving badly (a remake from Todd Phillips and Danny McBride…

Film offers engrossing portrait of AA's co-founder

There's an unflashy clarity to the documentary "Bill W." that suits its subject. William G. Wilson, the "stinking rotten drunk" who had an epiphany and co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935, was a Vermont Yankee whose life's work was predicated on humility and service.

Superb 'Elena' lays bare starkness of Russian life

Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev, whose 2003 feature debut, "The Return," was a masterpiece of cinematic allegory, turns to noir-ish territory, by way of Dostoevsky, in his third film, the spellbinding and impeccably crafted "Elena."

Moody, Lynchian 'Keyhole' not particularly captivating

Gangsters and ghosts - and gangsters who are ghosts - stir it up in Guy Maddin's "Keyhole." They've gathered, in collusion and at cross-purposes, in a creepy old house that wouldn't be out of place in a David Lynch fantasia.

'Sound of Noise' doesn't strain, has heart

The directors of the delightful 2001 short film "Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers," which showcases the noncutesy melodic possibilities of squeak toys, toothbrushes and vacuum cleaners, successfully build upon the premise in "Sound of Noise."

Documentary asks who tried to murder Earth First activist

The title of the no-frills documentary "Who Bombed Judi Bari?" is not a rhetorical question; the filmmakers are offering a $50,000 reward for answers.

Film about coming of age in gay cabaret mostly wins

Exulting in a seedy showbiz glow a là "Showgirls," but with twice the gyrating and a lot more soul, "House of Boys" is a coming-of-age extravaganza set in the gay club scene of 1984 Amsterdam.

'Being Elmo' peers into soul of puppeteer

Kevin Clash wasn't the first puppeteer behind "Sesame Street" character Elmo, but he's the one who gave the shaggy red Muppet a falsetto voice and the personality of a sweet toddler - and thus created a superstar for the preschool set.

Flattering documentary paints an intimate portrait of Burroughs

As the admiring new documentary "A Man Within" shows, writer William S. Burroughs was a taut collection of contradictions: a critic of law-and-order jingoism who was a gun fanatic (even after killing his wife in a game of William Tell gone terribly wrong), a prescient critic of invasive psyc…