"As the film crosses over into frenetic violence and foreboding happenings, the excellent soundtrack heightens the tension. When Jay begins to lose his cool, anxiety gives way to despair as events finally spiral out of control. Wheatley manages to get excellent performances from his cast, in particular the stunning MyAnna Buring as Jay’s wife, and proves he’s one of the best upcoming voices in British cinema."

"For a film centered on the literary world using literary devices to unfold itself, The Words, the directorial debut of directing duo Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, sure in the hell suffers from some tepid writing. A three tiered narrative proves to be the vicious undoing of the film, an ambitious moral tale that’s already been told, several times over."

"With a mindful eye and an evenhanded approach, stark photography and unmitigated confessions, Detropia gives an austere depiction of a floundering city who's glory days are over, but the acceptance of failure remains unthinkable while potential still remains."

"Despite these auspiciously suspenseful peaks and the natural twisting, turning nature of the tail, Marsh's creation lacks the true ferocity it needs to ascend from thrill seeking mediocrity to cinematic greatness. As is, Shadow Dancer falls somewhere in between, a seething potboiler built on bloodlines that never blows the lid off."

We've been raving about this pair of filmmakers since we caught their candid, visual essay The Patron Saints at TIFF last year, and now we've got a pair of stills from Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky's feature film debut, which is set to showcase at the 2012 edition of the Berlin Film Festival.

"Intentionally goofy, and drearily written, your reception of the film will all depend on how high you set your stakes. Think Tremors (1990) was a classic? Maybe you’ll enjoy this tired flick."

Good news on the Scandi film front as Joachim Trier's Louder than Bombs (an English language film to be shot in the U.S) appears to have gained some traction as Cineuropa confirms that Sigve Endresen's prod co. Motlys AS will be working alongside Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa's Bona Fide Productions with a fall start date being eyed.

"Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering have crafted a heartbreaking, highly important film that exposes this rampant sexual abuse that is widely ignored by the military system with hopes of changing the unjust military judicial structure that is currently in place."

"It’s obvious Coscarelli still has his audience out there, but unless your hearing and vision may be impaired, there’s not one element to salvage in this utter waste of time, the only tension begat by the anticipation of the titular John’s death, thereby heralding the end of the feature."

Among the rare times where they pick up a film before completion, Sony Pictures Classics have lassoed the North American, Latin American and Eastern European rights to Jacques Audiard's Rust & Bone (Un goût de rouille et d’os), hence continuing their partnership with the French filmmaker after having distributed his last pic, A Prophet.

"Thousands of videos later, first time feature directors Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch have waded through the mass of material, miraculously piecing together a fresh documentary that not only tells the personal story of Crocker's life, but questions what it means to inhibit cyberculture and how it affects our view of the world at large."

"Director Katie Aselton has made a genre picture that recalls those genre classics of decades past. Black Rock, her sophomore effort is one of the best American thrillers in recent memory and it’s impossibly simple."

Coming Soon!

"Annie Hall saw Allen seamlessly integrate experimental and European influences to create a delightful film as inventive as it was entertaining. Interiors, a grim and boldly unapologetic homage to Ingmar Bergman, proved Allen’s chops at skillful direction and the evocation of icy, angst ridden moods. Manhattan follows as a stylistic hybrid, returning to Allen’s comfort zone of satirical wit and sight gags, presented in a visually poetic package."

" Allen’s tale of neurotic love in gritty Gotham remains a witty and vital entertainment; not aging a day since its initial release in 1977. The film, despite a thick stew of European influences, stands as an icon of the Great American Romantic Comedy and indeed both enlarges and transcends the genre’s conventions."

"Precocious, self-consciously solipsistic, and quixotically ambitious, Terence Nance's distinctive feature debut is a multimedia essay film about relationships - or, really, one of Nance's relationships - that cannot adequately resolve nor communicate the complex angst at its core."

"But it’s mostly aggravating to note that Kid-Thing is a film featuring an excellent concept with commendable aspects (Tyrrell, a score from The Octopus Project) that fails to live up to its own intentions. However, the Zellner Brothers have managed to create an inadvertent sort of social commentary. After all, Annie isn’t the first Texan in control of vulnerable people using religious ignorance and fear to keep them in the dark."

"Not a hundred reviews could give justice to the importance and beauty of a film like Keep the Lights On, a throwback to the way queer cinema was starting to head in the 1990’s, but perhaps hasn’t quite reached. Just as Erik recuperates a forgotten gay artist for his documentary, Ira Sachs has recuperated and documented a modern gay existence, and a realistic one, at last."

"Resembling an action genre re-dux of ‘Alive,’ but without the complex allegory or spiritual underpinnings, the movie stars Liam Neeson as a lone-wolf wolf expert employed with “ex-cons, drifters, and assholes” on an Alaskan oil rig."

"Sleepwalk With Me is a startling debut that takes Birbiglia's already successful stage production and presents it to larger audiences than a limited run off-Broadway show could ever provide. Mike has a knack for finding the comedic in everyday experience, and he captures that ability with confidence and grace, and pairs it with his absurd, yet genuine dream sequences that bring a slight air of worry despite their obvious humor."