Email Author Melissa Anderson

2012 Stories by Melissa Anderson

• "Oslo, August 31st": All the Sad Young Literary Norwegians

  published June 20, 2012

  In just two feature films, writer/director Joachim Trier has proven to be unparalleled in exposing the foibles and delusions of all the sad... More >>

• "Brave": Courageous Family Film Feels Bold as Its Name

  published June 20, 2012

  "I'd rather die than be like you," the barely adolescent heroine of Pixar's 13th feature roars to her mother, perhaps the most radical line... More >>

• "The Invisible War": Military Sexual Predators Revealed

  published June 20, 2012

  Like Amir Bar-Lev's The Tillman Story (2010), Kirby Dick's The Invisible War scathingly indicts U.S.-military culture. Yet the... More >>

• "Brave": 3D Family Film Feels Bold as Its Name

  published June 20, 2012

  "I'd rather die than be like you," the barely adolescent heroine of Pixar's 13th feature roars to her mother, perhaps the most radical line... More >>

• "Turn Me On, Dammit": Sexual Awakening Will Put You to Sleep

  published June 13, 2012

  Set in the Norwegian boonies, Jannicke Systad Jacobsen's first fiction feature (based on Olaug Nilssen's 2005 novel) introduces its 15-year-old... More >>

• "Your Sister's Sister": Schmaltz with Sharp Dialogue

  published June 13, 2012

  Beginning with a bilious toast and ending with a group hug, Lynn Shelton's Your Sister's Sister, her fourth film, expertly makes us... More >>

• "Peace. Love and Misunderstanding": Jane Fonda Deserves Better

  published June 6, 2012

  How much longer must we wait for a vehicle worthy of Jane Fonda, whose past few roles are just shy of elder abuse? Three generations of fine... More >>

• "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 >>