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Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Movies and TV

Documentary lacks central theme but depicts relevant issues

Alex Williams July 1, 2011

Every documentary has a thesis, a point which they are trying to make. But ironically for Andrew Rossi’s “Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times,” there isn’t a nut graph...

Diaz shines in role of ‘Bad Teacher’

Alex Williams June 24, 2011

Cameron Diaz has never been much of an actress. Most of her roles haven’t demanded much of her outside of being bubbly and enthusiastic, something she’s undeniably good at. Even so, while...

‘Cars’ sequel a disappointment from Pixar

Alex Williams June 23, 2011

Back in 2006, Pixar Studios was on something of a hot streak. They were doing some of their best work, both financially (“Finding Nemo”) and creatively (“The Incredibles”). And...

‘Beginners’ sports superb acting, plot

Alex Williams June 23, 2011

Writer and director Mike Mills burst onto the indie film scene in 2005 with “Thumbsucker,” a smart coming-of-age story, the fingerprints of which can be found on many similar films in theaters...

‘Beginners’ through the director’s eyes

Alex Williams June 23, 2011

With his second major film “Beginners,” writer-director Mike Mills drew greatly from his own life in creating the story of Oliver (Ewan McGregor), who learns that his father Hal (Christopher...

Coming-of-age stories getting old

Alex Williams June 17, 2011

It’s common knowledge that trends come and go in modern Hollywood cinema, be it the asteroid craze of 1998 that brought us “Armageddon” and “Deep Impact,” or the alien...

‘Lantern’ falls flat despite veteran cast

Alex Williams June 17, 2011

For the last decade or so, superhero films have become a staple of the yearly flock of summer blockbusters, and summer 2011 is perhaps the biggest year yet. Between the twin “Avengers” set-up...

Woody Allen returns to form with ‘Midnight in Paris’

Alex Williams June 10, 2011

You never know what you’re going to get in to when you watch a Woody Allen film. Because of the director’s rigid film-a-year production schedule, some of his films come out desperately in...

Stellar characters redeem tiresome monster plot

Aleksander Chan June 10, 2011

J.J. Abrams has a maddening tendency to oscillate between almost transcendent poignancy and superficial enigmas. Perhaps best known for his TV show “Lost,” his monster movie fake-out “Cloverfield”...

Summer TV: what to watch, what to avoid

Aleksander Chan June 7, 2011

Unlike the bountiful lineups of fall, summer TV offers slimmer pickings. That makes it easier to decide what’s worthy of your time after a day of summer fun. Here are the most high-profile new and...

Confusing structure, plot plague ‘The Tree of Life’

Alex Williams June 3, 2011

Genre: Existential Drama Runtime: 138 minutes For those who like: Enter the Void, The New World Grade: C- Each and every audience member is bound to take something different from...

Finales abound on TV, in careers

Aleksander Chan June 2, 2011

LADY GAGA: NEVER BROKE, ONLY EVERGREEN When Lady Gaga sings “there ain’t no other way,” she isn’t mincing words. Her second album, Born This Way, is devoted to her two favorite...

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