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‘Kill the Messenger’ lacks a compelling message

If you can imagine Nixon resigning in the middle of All the President’s Men, with the remainder of the film dedicated to Woodward and Bernstein fighting their editor, you have a pretty good idea how Kill the Messenger plays out. It’s not a bad film, but it is a sloppy one that squanders a firecracker start and a terrific performance from Jeremy Renner. As Gary Webb ponders whether to publish his inflammatory story, he is advised that, “Some stories are just too true to tell.” Such is the case with some scripts, which, in their admirable haste to relate the truth, forget the requirements of compelling storytelling. If you want to find the heart of Webb’s story, you’ll have to dig a little deeper.

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Beautifully shot, ‘Ginger & Rosa’ is otherwise a misfire from Sally Potter

Ginger & Rosa Written and directed by Sally Potter UK/Denmark/Canada/Croatia, 2012 The latest film from writer-director Sally Potter opens with the famous images of the spreading mushroom cloud detonation in Hiroshima. After letting that footage unravel in all its slow-motion horror, the film cuts to the start of its narrative, but not before one addition …

Read More about Beautifully shot, ‘Ginger & Rosa’ is otherwise a misfire from Sally Potter

Sally Potter’s ‘Ginger & Rosa’ is pretty but vacant

Ginger & Rosa Written and directed by Sally Potter UK/Denmark/Canada/Croatia, 2012 The latest film from writer-director Sally Potter opens with the famous images of the spreading mushroom cloud detonation in Hiroshima. After letting that footage unravel in all its slow-motion horror, the film cuts to the start of its narrative, but not before one addition …

Read More about Sally Potter’s ‘Ginger & Rosa’ is pretty but vacant