“Toy Story 3 dabbles in a winning mixture of nostalgia and hard-won optimism.” Toy Story 3 Directed by Lee Unkrich – Judging by the recent slate of sequels, summer movie franchises long ago devolved into simple arithmetic, a predictable sequence of 2’s and 3’s and Forever Afters, but without a complementary increase in quality. Rare …
“Fuel is successful despite Ticknell’s self-aggrandizement. The subject is too important to ignore, and, with the Gulf of Mexico becoming the USA’s new national embarrassment, there is no time like the present to reconsider our society’s addiction to fossil fuels” Fuel Directed by Josh Ticknell Energy is one of the defining issues of our time …
“Dolan uses the tricks of the medium to establish that, yes, he can manipulate form, he can be clever and referential with the best of them, and what’s more, he can control your subjective experience and align it with the vulnerability he’s trying to infuse into his picture” Les Amours Imaginaires Directed by Xavier Dolan …
J’ai tué ma mère / Les amours imaginaires Directed by Xavier Dolan “Why was Cannes so awed by J’ai Tué Ma Mère,” one may wonder, after viewing Xavier Dolan’s angsty first feature. While baffling at first, the hype becomes more fathomable when considering the culture clash effect of the drama about a Longueuil-bred would-be hipster …
“Like the protagonist, it tries hard to punch above its weight but has difficulty landing the killer blow.” ………………………………………………… The Killer Inside Me Director: Michael Winterbottom “Out here you’re a man and a gentleman or you aren’t anything at all.” Or you could be a smooth-talking lawman by day and a psychopath with a penchant …
“A kaleidoscopic look inside the bewildering and fantastic world of the Kuchars.” It Came from Kuchar Directed by Jennifer M. Kroot A nurse secretly distributes homemade vomit. A woman tries to seduce a gay man. A gorilla falls in love with a man who inexplicably wears a dress. Such are the films made by the …
Moviegoers who ask a little more of their comedies should be sure to see Micmacs immediately. Micmacs Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s latest film is whimsical, absurd, endearing, and beautiful. It is exactly the sort of thing fans have come to expect from Jeunet: a cast of eccentric personalities, light-hearted treatment of sombre truths, …
The String (Le Fil) Directed by Mehdi Ben Attia Have you ever wondered what a soap opera would look like if it was feature-length? Well, The String (Le Fil) is the answer. While I should give it some credit for being better written, better acted (this thing’s got Claudia Cardinale for god’s sakes) and funnier …
“a world where hookers, pedophiles and violent-murderous creeps are all second fiddle to a killer Easter Bunny” Easter Bunny Kill! Kill! Directed by Chad Ferrin Leaving your mentally challenged children at home has never been more dangerous. Around every corner lies creepo-freak-a-zoids willing to trade your body for coke just to get a little taste. …
“Iron Man 2 suffers from a distinct case of sequelitis. It is unfocused, messy and clumsily handled, and alas much of the charm and wit that the original employed to win over its viewers is largely absent.” Iron Man 2 Directed by John Favreau The first Iron Man movie a couple of years ago was …
The People Vs. George Lucas Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe Full disclosure: I have never watched Star Wars. How much flack do I get for this? That depends on who I’m talking to. With girls, the news that I am part of the 0.001% of the population who hasn’t seen Star Wars is usually met with mild surprise and an …
It’s a dexterously mischievous comedy that ensures you are missing two gags whilst doubling up in hysterics at the first. Along with the machine-gun dialogue, more subtle juxtapositions are constructed for their ironic jocularity. Four Lions Directed by Chris Morris The enigmatic Chris Morris has something of a cult following in the UK, for many of …
I Am Love / Io Sono L’amore Directed by Luca Guadagnino The poster for Luca Guadagnino’s film shows a regal Tilda Swinton in an eye-catching red dress surrounded by her sober-looking family. In another version, the frock has undergone a cheeky digital makeover to a shocking pink that matches the movie’s bold, declaratory title. The …
The WIld and Wonderful White of West Virginia Directed by Julian Nitzberg Synopsis: Shoot-outs, robberies, gas-huffing, drug-dealing, pill-popping, murders, and tap dancing.” Way stranger than fiction, this wild jaw-dropper of a documentary will forever corrupt what pops in your mind at the mention of “family values.” At first glance, the White family are like something …
Kick-Ass’ soundtrack contributes substantially to the tongue-in-cheek humor and applause-provoking action that has been making the blockbuster movie such a hit. The film’s lead teen takes his first superhero steps to the beat of “Stand Up” by The Prodigy. This British band’s punk rock style dominates the soundtrack, with their more anxious “Omen” blaring later …
Greenberg Directed by Noah Baumbach Ben Stiller has spent the most lucrative part of his acting career refining his screen persona as a sullen, narcissistic pratfall factory. History has suggested there is more to him–both as a comedian and as a dramatist–but history also suggested that he did two Night at the Museum movies and something called Meet …
Cyrus Directed by Jay and Mark Duplass The Austin based Duplass brothers made a name for themselves as vanguards of the mumblecore movement–a movement in film which emphasized uber-tiny budgets and naturalistic acting. Their first two features, The Puffy Chair and Baghead, drew immense, if hesitant, praise from festivals like SXSW, and skyrocketed them to …
“…the ultimate relationship between the Director, his camera and his star.” You can imagine why I was apprehensive at first when delivered Warning!!! Pedophile Released and Amateur Porn Star Killer from Cinema Epoch. Justifiably worried that when entered into any web search engine, my name would now turn out Warning! Pedophile Released and Amateur Porn …
“MacGruber hits its action beats with a commendably straight face, and it has more in common, structurally, with its satirical influences than its short-form source material..” MacGruber Directed by Jorma Taccone – Though MacGruber achieved the great honor of being the least memorable film at SXSW, that speaks more to the nature of the film …
“an adequate addition to the Iraq War films sub-genre, but unfortunately not a particularly memorable one” Green Zone Directed by Paul Greengrass The combat film has a tradition in American cinema almost as storied as the Western. Like many genres of the time, the war film transformed in the 1970’s to compensate for the negative …
Don’t Worry About Me Directed by David Morrissey British actor David Morrissey has had his share of highs and lows. With starring roles in acclaimed TV series like Holding On, State of Play and Blackpool, he had Doctor Who fans talking up his chances of replacing David Tennant in the iconic role that eventually went …
Marwencol Directed by Jeff Malmberg One of the more downright inspirational films here is Marwencol, the story of accidental artist Mark Hogencamp. After being targeted and beaten outside of a club one night, Hogencamp came out of a coma with severe physical and mental damage. His personal attempt at recuperation was to construct a 1/6th scale reproduction of a small …
The film is never preachy, and whatever your stance on America’s “War on Drugs,” this film is an astounding and essential peak at some of its main players. Dirty Pictures Etienne Sauret Etienne Sauret’s new documentary, largely focused on the life of underground hero Sasha Shulgin and his wife, Ann, is an engrossing film and is …