Nicholas Bell

"Director Ava DuVernay returns with her sophomore feature, Middle of Nowhere, less than a year after her awesome yet terribly unappreciated 2011 debut, I Will Follow, and also a film as equally nuanced about loss and love."

Cortes’ latest is a discordant rhythm of its own.

The trap of love.

"With 2012 already upon us, the Mayan prophecy of world’s end is destined to become more pervasive in the future cinematic offerings. But it’s the tagline for The Divide that reinforces the film’s glum outlook and proves the least hackneyed element about it, proclaiming that “the lucky ones died in the blast.” His film makes a strong case for that. Or maybe you’d rather be caged with strangers losing their minds while eating kidney beans and getting raped for an inordinate amount of time. Which side of the divide are you on?"

Not your mother’s apocalypse.