Tag: Foreign Film Review
The Prey | Review
The Chase Begins: Valette’s Latest Shows Promise, Falls Short
French director Eric Valette, whose 2002 debut Malefique was an overbaked grindhouse misfire (even though it...
Grand Central | Cannes Review
Soon You Will Know: Zlotowski’s Sophomore Effort a Bleak and Appealing Entanglement
Reuniting with Lea Seydoux, the star of her 2010 film, Belle Epine, filmmaker...
Wish You Were Here | Review
Do You Think You Can Tell?: Darcy-Smith’s Debut Promising, if Ultimately Contrived
Establishing an effective and potentially chilling set-up during its first few frames, Kieran...
Shadow Dancer | Review
Perpetually Intense, Somewhat Monotonous IRA Thrills
Hot off the heals of his masterful documentary Project Nim, James Marsh presents a simmering thriller of political revenge...
Shield of Straw | Cannes Review
Burnt Offerings: Miike’s Latest Can’t Quite Reach Satisfying Blaze
That audacious auteur of excess, Takashi Miike, unveils his latest offering, Shield of Straw to be...
Like Father, Like Son | Review
Blood Ties: An Elegant, Yet Familiar New Film from Koreeda
Children switched at birth and discovered years after the error is the well-worn melodramatic scenario...
The Past | Cannes Review
Heavy, Heavy Hangs: Farhadi’s Latest a (mostly) Worthwhile Endeavor
For his first film made outside his native country, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi unveils his latest...
Augustine | Review
A Scandalous Method: Winocour’s Debut a Rich Case Study
Celebrated filmmaker Alice Winocour, renowned for several of her short films, makes a compelling debut with...
Devil’s Knot | Review
Where the Truth Weakly Lies; West Memphis Less Effective in Non-Docu Treatment
Atom Egoyan has carved a career out of films focused on misunderstood and...
Errors of the Human Body | Review
Body Talk: Sheean’s Debut Forgoes Thrills for Moody Drama
Eron Sheean, best known for writing the 2011 Xavier Gens film, The Divide, arrives with his...
Erased | Review
Untaken Legacy: Stolzl’s English Debut a Clunky, Derivate Actioneer
Originally titled The Expatriate, German director Philip Stolzl’s English language debut gets the dumbed down title...
Mobius | Review
False Positive: Rochant’s Latest a Trashy, Muddled Mess
French director Eric Rochant, no stranger to espionage themed genre exercises upon a quick glance at his...
Love is All You Need | Review
Before the Wedding: Bier’s Latest a Vibrant Vehicle for Dyrholm
Susanne Bier returns with an uncharacteristically light film, Love Is All You Need, after her...
Tai Chi Hero | Review
Fallen Hero; Fung Spawns Unnecessary Sequel
Bringing back the tonally strange style that makes these films so hard to classify, Stephen Fung’s follow-up to last...
Midnight’s Children | Review
Changeling Game: Mehta’s Latest a Stodgy, Swollen Adaptation
A fictional narrative that attempts to recuperate an impressive fifty year historical timeline concerning relations between...
The Reluctant Fundamentalist | Review
Turn and Face the Strain: Nair’s Latest Adaptation a Return to Form
Citing the project as nearly five years in the making, Mira Nair’s adaptation...
Kuma | Review
Two’s Company: Dag’s Extraordinary Debut Perversely Compelling
Like Feo Aladag’s 2010 harrowing debut, When We Leave, Austrian-Kurdish director Umat Dag’s first film, Kuma, examines the...
Feed Me With Your Words | Review
Holy Strokes!: Turk’s Debut Loses Its Appetite
Born out of a collaboration with the Torino Film Lab comes Martin Turk’s feature directorial debut, Feed Me...
Mushrooming | Review
Scandal Sheet: An Odd, Disjointed Look at Estonia’s Political Climate
Estonian director Toomas Hussar makes his screen debut with Mushrooming, a sort of political satire,...
It Happened in Saint Tropez | COLCOA Review
Those Who Love Me Can Catch the Train Wreck: Thompson’s Latest Flat, Overstuffed
Familial relationships and transportation, two favorite themes of writer/director Daniele Thompson, figure...
Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal | Review
Lars and the Killer Dude: Rodriguez Explores Art and Inspiration
While sporting a title that would seem to indicate a comedic mash up of bizarro...
Lotus Eaters | Review
Let What is Broken So Remain: McGuiness’ Debut Familiar, Mesmerizing
“Ah, why should life all labor be?” asks Lord Alfred Tennyson in a line from...
Trance | Review
Goya’s Ghosts: Boyle’s Twisty Tale Fails to Hypnotize
Danny Boyle re-teams with scribe John Hodge (co-writing with Joe Ahearne) for Trance, their first collaboration...
Welcome to the Punch | Review
Knockout Loss: Creevy’s Sophomore Effort Easy and Breezy
After crafting his 2008 Riz Ahmed starring debut Shifty from personal experiences, director Eran Creevy turns to...
Renoir | Review
The Talent Family: Bourdos Abandons Genre for Elegant Biographical Period Piece
A summer signifying the encroaching end of one artist and the birth of another...
Mental | Review
Mixed Nuts: Hogan’s Latest a Welcome Return to Roots
After almost two decades knocking around the studio system after the success of his 1994 hit...
New World | Review
Operation Rehash: Hoon-jung’s Sophomore Film Glossy Entertainment
Director Park Hoon-jung, perhaps best known for his screenplays for a pair of 2010 titles like The Unjust,...
My Brother the Devil | Review
Better the Devil You Know: Hosaini’s Debut a Vibrant Urban Street Drama
Sally El Hosaini’s directorial debut, My Brother the Devil, takes the overly familiar...
Hunky Dory | Review
Satisfactory Endeavor: Evans’ Latest Enjoyable Fluff
Welsh director Marc Evans explores 1970’s rural Wales with his latest film, Hunky Dory, following his 2010 film Patagonia....
Starbuck | Review
Light Roast: Scott’s Sophomore Success a Breezy Crowd Pleaser
Canadian filmmaker Ken Scott managed to make a funny and heartfelt crowd pleaser with his 2011...
Criterion Collection: Ministry of Fear | Blu-ray Review
Fritz Lang aficionados can rejoice this month with Criterion’s release of his 1944 title, Ministry of Fear, the first time it sees a DVD...
Beyond the Hills | Review
Stalemate: Mungiu follows up Palme d'Or Winner with Intense Religious Stand-off
Five years have passed since Romanian director Cristian Mungiu's critically acclaimed 4 Months, 3...
From Up On Poppy Hill | Review
Kids On A Bike: Goro's Seaside Sophomore Effort Floats
Being the son of animation’s unequivocal living master who’s body of work ranks among the greatest...
Upside Down | Review
Down and Out: Solanas’ Latest Lost in its Own Concept
For his latest film Upside Down, a French Canadian production from director Juan Diego Solanas,...
The Silence | Review
History of Violence: Odar’s Debut a Sweaty, Slow Burn
Swiss director Baran Bo Odar adapts Jan Costin Wagner’s novel The Silence for his film debut,...
In Fear | Review
Fear Me Not: Lovering Terrorizes Our Time, Not Our Senses in Feature Debut
After working quite regularly in television since the mid 90s, British director...
The Sweeney | Review
You’re Nicked: Love’s Latest a Resurrection of Classic Franchise
After a successful classic UK series and two appreciated film versions from the late 70s, director...
The Condemned | Review
Sins of the Past: Buso-Garcia’s Sophomore Feature a Familiar Exercise
Returning with his first feature since his 1999 debut Paging Emma, Puerto Rican writer-director Roberto...
Inescapable | Review
Inexorable Void: Nada’s Latest an Ineffectively Staged Political Thriller
Following a quietly effective 2009 romantic drama, Cairo Time, which featured a touching and gently handled...
The Berlin File | Review
Cold War Kids: Seung-wan’s Latest a Sprawlingly Plotted Encounter with Communism
For his first non-Korean set film, top notch action director Ryoo Seung-wan’s latest film,...
As Luck Would Have It | Review
The Spark of Life: Iglesia’s Latest a Soap Opera Soap Box
Following on the heels of his successful 2010 award winner The Last Circus,...
Heleno | Review
Fantasy Fútbol Turned Nightmare: Santoro Brings Bravura
As we all know, the brightest stars often burn out far faster than your average Joe, especially when...
[REC] 3: Genesis | Review
Beginning of the End: Third Installment in Spanish Horror Series Morphs Into Banal Comedy
Every successful franchise eventually runs into a final chapter that miserably...
2012 LAFF: The Banishment | Review
Retrieved from Exile: Zvyagintsev’s Dismissed Sophomore Effort a Neglected Masterpiece
Newly minted Russian auteur Andrei Zvyagintsev’s second feature, 2007’s maligned The Banishment, has been resurrected...
Elena | Review
A Touch of Class: Zvyagintsev’s latest slow burn reaches a masterful boil.
Over the past decade, one of the most celebrated new filmmakers to come...
The ABCs of Death | Review
Sing ‘em With Me: Ambitious Horror Anthology Overreaches Itself
Nearly every anthology film ever made suffers from the same predicament in that there are usually...
