Email Author Melissa Anderson

2012 Stories by Melissa Anderson

• "Hysteria": A Tedious Slog Through the Vibrator's History

  published May 23, 2012

  The origin story of a beloved bedroom gadget, Hysteria, set in London in the 1880s, proceeds as a tedious, clumsy diddle, constantly... More >>

• "Darling Companion": At Least the Dog Is Charming

  published May 9, 2012

  "Animals are such agreeable friends—they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms," George Eliot once wrote. That's certainly the appeal... More >>

• "Headhunters": Criminal Chase Needs More Meat

  published May 2, 2012

  Arguably the strangest of the many recent Scandinavian movies to rifle through modern American-indie tropes and then cash in by getting bought... More >>

• "The Hunter": Dafoe's Soldier Is Best Taken Alone

  published April 25, 2012

  Drawing baths and listening to classical music, refined soldier of fortune Martin (Willem Dafoe) is sent Down Under by a military-biotech firm... More >>

• "The Five-Year Engagement": Trivial Fare Offers Flashes of Honesty

  published April 25, 2012

  The Five-Year Engagement is as comfy and cute as the bunny costume Tom (Jason Segel, who co-scripted with director Nicholas Stoller)... More >>

• "Think Like a Man": Skilled Performers Sustain Adaptation

  published April 18, 2012

  As 2009's dismal He's Just Not That Into You showed, about the only draw of movies based on relationship-advice books — bloated... More >>

• "Marley": Spellbinding Tribute Exceeds Hero Worship

  published April 18, 2012

  Thoroughly researched and packed with phenomenal archival footage, Kevin Macdonald's documentary on the reggae and Rasta emissary, who died of... More >>

• "The Lady": A Burmese Protestor Biopic

  published April 11, 2012

  Now is an excellent time to release a biopic of Aung San Suu Kyi, the inspiring Burmese democracy activist and Nobel laureate who was elected... More >>

• "Applause": Paprika Steen Outshines Dim Direction

  published April 11, 2012

  Appearing in every frame of Applause, Thea Barfoed (Paprika Steen), an aging actress and recovering alcoholic trying to get her life... More >>

• "We Have a Pope": Fearful New Pope Questions Catholicism

  published April 11, 2012

  Suitable entertainment for a Knights of Columbus fundraiser, Nanni Moretti's We Have a Pope finds the Most Holy Father, wracked with... More >>

• "L!fe Happens": Charmless Story Mistakes Bland Banter for Wit

  published April 11, 2012

  Best friends since college and current housemates, Kim (Krysten Ritter) and Deena (Kate Bosworth) fight, while entertaining dates, over who... More >>

• "The Island President": What Was Democracy in the Maldives

  published March 28, 2012

  Blessed — or maybe cursed — with fortuitous timing, Jon Shenk's lionizing documentary of Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically... More >>

• Internal Rage

  published March 28, 2012

  Filmed during the months leading up to the 2009 presidential election in Iran, The Hunter still seethes with fury — and... More >>

• "Sound of Noise": Sonic Intifadists Go Soft

  published March 21, 2012

  More an intriguing premise than a successful film, the Malmo-set Sound of Noise, about a group of "musical terrorists," quickly loses... More >>

• "The Hunger Games": Rage Against Our Stupid Culture

  published March 21, 2012

  A withering indictment of endless spectacle, the first volume of Suzanne Collins's astronomically successful dystopic YA trilogy was inspired,... More >>

• "21 Jump Street": Yes, Channing Tatum Can Be Funny

  published March 14, 2012

  The television show 21 Jump Street, about cops who go undercover as high schoolers, debuted on Fox in 1987 and ran until 1991. As a sign... More >>

• "Delicacy": Audrey Tatou Plays a Meager Widow

  published March 14, 2012

  With her ponytail and toggle coat, Audrey Tautou, playing workaholic widow Nathalie in Delicacy, gives off a sexless, cutie-pie charm... More >>

• "Boy": Underestimates Young Talent

  published March 14, 2012

  The abundant charm of first-time actor James Rolleston, playing the 11-year-old of the title in Boy, doesn't quite save the aimless,... More >>

• "Friends with Kids": Traditional Rom-Com Takes No Risks

  published March 7, 2012

  Best friends since college, Jason (Adam Scott) and Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt) witness the misery that seems to dominate the lives of their... More >>

• "Project X": Empty Hedonism for High-Schoolers

  published March 7, 2012

  "There's a midget in the oven!" is about as inspired as the dialogue and set pieces get in this queasy-making entertainment about a 17-year-old... More >>

• "Crazy Horse": Elegantly Uncovers French Cabaret

  published February 29, 2012

  Recording the anthem "Les Filles du Crazy," half a dozen women — performers at the Crazy Horse, the classy Parisian nudie cabaret —... More >>

• "Tyler Perry's Good Deeds": The Only Novelty Is the Setting

  published February 29, 2012

  Set in San Francisco, Good Deeds is the rare Tyler Perry film—his 11th—not to take place in Georgia. Despite the new... More >>

• "Undefeated": Fails to Defeat Cliches

  published February 29, 2012

  An inspirational sports tearjerker in distilled form, this new Harvey Weinstein-hawked doc lands in North Memphis, where the underfunded,... More >>

• "Bullhead": Testosterone Stunts Plot Development

  published February 22, 2012

  In Bullhead, Michael R. Roskam's first feature, thirtyish Jacky (Matthias Schoenaerts) is a cattle-farming hulk who keeps his mini... More >>

• "Domain": Dependence Overshadows Charm

  published February 1, 2012

  Fearless Béatrice Dalle, who made her screen debut at age 21 as the sexed-up, self-mutilating title character in Betty Blue... More >>