Swirling at the center of this perplexing drama is a revelatory performance from Elisabeth Moss, who perfectly captures the brittle yet impenetrable nature of mental illness.
Director Christian Petzold’s shattering portrait of a woman adrift in post-WWII Berlin forgoes wishful sentimentality in favor of painful re-discovery. The result is a quietly-devastating film that will haunt you for weeks to come.
The best con artists let the rube have fun while they’re being hustled. The wonderful new scam-fest, Focus, has learned this lesson well. Of course, none of the scams hold up to later scrutiny, but they’re fun as hell when you’re in the thick of it. Like a simplified Mamet thriller hopped up on Out of Sight juice, Focus breezes by on the confident charm of Will Smith and a clever script that pays off each slight-of-hand with a masterful reveal. So far, this is easily the most entertaining Hollywood film of 2015.
Unbroken Written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese & William Nicholson Directed by Angelina Jolie USA, 2014 An unrelentingly grim affair, Unbroken excels at its realistic portrayal of dehumanization, but fails to capture the indomitable spirit of its protagonist. Angelina Jolie’s film is an impressive technical achievement, and her hero’s journey is undeniably gripping, …
The Imitation Game Adapted by Graham Moore, from the book by Andrew Hodges Directed by Morten Tyldum UK | USA, 2014 Secrets are power. Whether it’s an indecipherable code controlling the fate of millions or one man’s closeted sexuality, secrets can topple the mightiest of empires. The Imitation Game follows Alan Turing’s race to break …
Wild is a mildly-satisfying travelogue through one woman’s troubled life that never quite delivers the catharsis it promises. Reese Witherspoon gives a brave, physically-demanding performance, despite her character’s unconvincing psychological transformation. Director Jean-Marc Vallée deftly intertwines our hero’s tragic past with her epic hike along the Pacific coast, but neither informs one another on an emotional level. The result is a beautiful looking film that feels lonelier than a desolate mountain pass.
Rosewater Written and Directed by Jon Stewart USA, 2014 Jon Stewart’s feature debut, Rosewater, is an uneven affair that excels when it stays focused on the restorative power of humor and hope. Not surprisingly, Stewart struggles with the dramatic elements, but a nuanced performance from Gael García Bernal pulls us through the rough spots. Ultimately, …
White Bird in a Blizzard Written & Directed by Gregg Araki USA, 2014 Just in case the title wasn’t enough of a hint, White Bird in a Blizzard provides enough ponderous dialogue and artsy flourishes to reveal itself as the pretentious mess that it is. Unsure whether it’s an indie mind-screw or a conventional …
Fury Written & Directed by David Ayer USA, 2014 Brad Pitt’s new tank drama, Fury, is an unrelentingly grim affair that strives for greatness and occasionally reaches it. What could have been reduced to ‘300 in a tank’ has been expanded to a gripping human drama that values the soul just as much as …
When a filmmaker perfectly aligns the technical and the artistic, we’re reminded of the transformative power of cinema. Lost amid the genre clichés and computer-generated extravaganzas lies an expansive battlefield called ‘the human condition’, where moments of great power co-mingle with insignificant monotony to shape our lives.
John Krokidas’ film debut Kill Your Darlings follows the turbulent University years of famed American beat writers Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), Lucien Carr (Dane DeHann) and William Burroughs (Ben Foster). Set in the early 1940s at Columbia University and on the streets of New York City, the film centers around the murder of David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall) and the months that led up to it.
Battlestar Galactica is so much more than a science fiction television series. Although it may take place in outer space and deal with deadly synthetic replicas, it also beautifully deals with humanity in such a personal way that almost anyone can identify with the story. Five years after the show’s finale, new fans keep emerging, …
Drake Doremus’s latest film, Breathe In, is a taut, emotional drama, starring Guy Pearce as a middle-aged high school music teacher who has never abandoned his dream of becoming a full-time musician. His character, Keith, is living in a state of continual but indifferent regret; despite having a loving wife (Amy Ryan), highly-achieving daughter (Mackenzie Davis) and beautiful house in upstate New York, he yearns for the exciting bohemian lifestyle of his youth, of which only his passion for music remains. The domestic inertia is broken when the family accept an English exchange student into their home, the 18-year-old piano prodigy, Sophie (Felicity Jones), who rekindles Keith’s romantic nostalgia and forces him to revaluate his responsibilities to his family and himself.
The Impossible Directed by J.A Bayona Written by Sergio G. Sánchez Spain, 2012 It’s easy to be sceptical about ‘true story’ films. Too often, adaptations of real events contrive and exaggerate genuinely enthralling stories by turning them into blockbuster behemoths for cinematic effect. These films can lean heavily on the promise that the picture will …
Dead End Directed by Chang Cheh Written by Chiu Kang Chien Hong Kong, 1969 The name Chang Cheh should be recognizable to any self ascribed Shaw Brothers fan. The man was a true legend within the studio system, directing movies at such a rapid rate that even Woody Allen would blush. With a whopping total …
Poetry Directed by Lee Chang-dong Written by Lee Chang-dong South Korea, 2010 The most recent edition of Montréal’s AmérAsia film festival had as part of its lineup the ‘We Distribute’ section, which highlighted both some of the more recent successful Asian films but also the local film companies who willingly distributed them. Among such movies …
Throughout January, SOS writers will be biting the bullet and finally sitting down with a film they feel like bad film buffs for not having seen already. Manhattan Written and directed by Woody Allen 1977, USA When people think of Woody Allen, most people think of the 1977 romantic comedy Annie Hall. It has the …
The Social Network Directed by David Fincher Privileged due to his intelligence and in spite of his personality, Mark Zuckerberg’s (Jesse Eiseinberg) need for success runs far deeper than his need for money or acceptance. His primary drive initially seems to be to become a member of a Harvard Club, but shortly after that opportunity …
The Social Network Directed by David Fincher Privileged due to his intelligence and in spite of his personality, Mark Zuckerberg’s (Jesse Eiseinberg) need for success runs far deeper than his need for money or acceptance. His primary drive initially seems to be to become a member of a Harvard Club, but shortly after that opportunity …
BRONSON (cue “Digital Versicolor” by Glass Candy) While non-Americans win very few of the top acting awards at the Oscars, we see it happen from time to time (Daniel Day-Lewis, Roberto Benigni, etc). As a result, I’d love to see Tom Hardy, the English actor who brilliantly portrays Michael Gordon Pederson in Bronson, be considered …