Sandra Chwialkowska
Sandra Chwialkowska
Recent Stories
'Napoleon Dynamite' v. 'Garden State': which is quirkier?
Pet llamas. Mail-order time machines. Tater tots. Tether ball. These are fixtures in the world of Napoleon Dynamite, a slack-jawed high school nerd from Preston, Idaho. "Napoleon Dynamite" explores the title character's bizarro world, where his main...
Hedges' alternative Thanksgiving
Katie Holmes dyes her hair black and red and dons baggy, paint-splattered cutoffs for her portrayal of punk-girl April Burns in Peter Hedges' directorial debut, "Pieces of April." Holmes' black eyeliner, chipped black nail polish, and her uncommonly...
'Sisters' marries sin and religion
Director Peter Mullan explores imprisonment and freedom in 1960s Ireland
Forget "Kill Bill"--the most violent and irreverent film of 2003 is "The Magdalene Sisters." The film -- which is based on a true story -- takes place in 1960s Ireland, where 30,000 young women who were deemed sinful by their families were sent to live...
Oscar-winning producer Bruce Cohen returns to Yale
When Bruce Cohen '83 got the offer of a lifetime from Steven Spielberg to produce for Amblin Entertainment, he could not sleep that night. "I woke up in a cold sweat," Cohen said. "I knew I had to 'come out' to Steven." "Coming out" in Hollywood was...
New Haven film fest attracts big names
Since Colorado's Telluride Independent Film Festival has come and gone and with Sundance still months away, the indie film spotlight is cast on none other than New Haven. Running this weekend from Sept. 19 to 21, the eighth annual New Haven Film...
Now playing at the York: classes
While most movie theaters are playing stale summer blockbusters, the York has something unique to offer: classes. Since the onset of the strike, many Yale classes have moved off campus and into the darkened theaters of the York, located conveniently...
Drugs, sex, and preteens
From the very first shot, "Thirteen," a documentary-style film about a junior high school pariah-turned-bad-girl, packs a punch -- literally. The first scene depicts Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) and her drug buddy Evie (Nikki Reed), sitting on Tracy's bed...
'Thief': the heist movie without a heart
"The Good Thief" tries hard to be a sophisticated heist flick. It's got all the ingredients: a slick, heroin-addicted crook (Nick Nolte) who's down on his luck; a sharp-tongued prostitute with a heart of gold (newcomer Nutsa Kukhanidze); a hot locale...
'Bend It' scores with girl power
The "chick flick" has a new kid sister that is quickly becoming its own subgenre -- the girl-power sports movie. Think "A League of Their Own" or more recently, "Blue Crush." You've seen it all before. The formulaic, predictable plot lines; the...
One-take 'Russian Ark' navigates history
If you think Marty Scorcese proved mastery of the long take in "Goodfellas," take a look at his competition: Alexander Sokurov's "Russian Ark." Filmed in a single day, "Russian Ark" spans 300 years of Russian history in a single 96-minute tracking shot...