Tag: Foreign Film Review
iNumber Number | 2013 TIFF Review
I Think I Got Yours: Marsh’s Latest a Simple Heist Thriller
Considering its locale, its budget, and enjoyably committed performances, South African filmmaker Donovan Marsh’s...
The Station | 2013 TIFF Review
Copy Creature: Kren’s Sophomore Feature a Hybrid Derivative
Following his Berlin set zombie debut Rammbock, Austrian director Marvin Kren returns with The Station, an eco-horror-ish...
Break Loose | 2013 TIFF Review
Loose Caboose: Uchitel’s Latest Clings to Convention
Russian director Alexey Uchitel returns with Break Loose, a romantically tinged period piece crime drama that’s nicely packaged,...
Attila Marcel | 2013 TIFF Review
Keaton-esque Amelie (or Whimsical Pianist)
French director Sylvain Chomet has delighted audiences with his droll animated films The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist, earning...
Heart of a Lion | 2013 TIFF Review
Finding Out True Love Is Blind: Karukoski’s Latest Tackles Vehement Racial Tensions
Rising Finnish director Dome Karukoski follows up his hit 2010 comedy Lapland Odyssey...
Populaire | Review
Typist in Love: Roinsard’s Vivid Homage to 50’s Romance is Bearably Predictable
Infusing the unexplored world of competitive typewriting with classic romanticism, Regis Roinsard debut...
Je M’appelle Hmm… | 2013 Venice Film Festival Review
Name Dropper: Conflicting Techniques Clutter Agnes B.’s Debut
French fashion designer and film producer Agnes Trouble makes her directorial and screenwriting debut under the pseudonym...
Medeas | 2013 Venice Film Festival Review
You Gotta See Her: Palloaro’s Debut Trite Yet Lyrical Odyssey of Familial Discord
Any familiarity with the Euripides’ classic Greek tragedy will have you already...
Il Futuro (The Future) | Review
Future Starts Slow: Scherson’s Adaptation a Densely Structured Puzzle
For her third feature film, Chilean born director Alicia Scherson adapts cult Latin American author Roberto...
Closed Circuit | Review
Three Days of Ardour: Crowley’s Political Thriller Blunderbuss
There’s considerable promise at the beginning of Closed Circuit, employing a sort of Mike Figgis cam of multiple...
Passion | Review
Passion Fruit: De Palma’s Return to Genre a Flimsy Revamp
Arguably one of the greatest American directors from the mid 70s to late 80s, Brian...
Paradise: Faith | Review
Between Love and Hope: Seidl’s Second Film of Paradise Trilogy a Harrowing Hilarity
In what has to be the most significant auteur helmed cinematic motif...
Devil’s Pass | Review
Devil May Care: Harlin Gets on the Found Footage Train
Renny Harlin, a name synonymous with big budgeted 90s action flicks (and, debatably, the demise...
The Grandmaster | Review
Vertical Flow: Style Vs. Substance Vs. Wong Kar Wai
Sporting a lusty gestational period of something like sixteen years and taking nearly six years to...
The Patience Stone | Review
Stone Faced: Rahimi’s Concept Bogged Down By Transparency
As he did with his 2004 film, Earth and Ashes, Afghan filmmaker Atiq Rahimi adapts one of...
You Will Be My Son | Review
The Meek Shall Inherit: Legrand’s Familial Conflict a Seething, Elegant Drama
French director Gilles Legrand, (though perhaps better known as a producer on titles for...
Europa Report | Review
Another Successful Disaster in Space: Cordero Takes Found Footage to the Outer Limits
Boldly taking the found footage genre where no one has taken...
I Give It a Year | Review #2
Give it a Rest: Mazer’s Pedestrian Debut Examines Marriages, Relationships, Mediocrity
The most surprising item concerning I Give It a Year, a purposefully unromantic comedy...
I Give It A Year | Review
Fanning the Flames: Supporting cast shines in UK Rom-com
Romantic comedies are good for you in moderation. More than most genres, rom-coms are forced to...
Terraferma | Review
Solid Ground: Crialese’s Heartfelt Message Movie
In his fourth feature film, Emanuele Crialese tackles issues of immigration and the inhumanity that transpires from man-made laws...
Drug War | Review
Don’t Say No: To Revitalizes Cops & Robbers Genre
There’s a strong possibility that Drug War may stand as (or at least be vying for)...
The Attack | Review
Criminal or Heroine: A Terrible Marital Secret Makes Doueiri’s Return A Profound Statement
There is a scene in Ziad Doueiri’s latest film in which a...
Ritual: A Psychomagic Story | 2013 Fantasia Review
Psychobabble: Brazzale & Immesi Debut Fails to Spellbind
Despite its potentially intriguing title, Ritual: A Psychomagic Story, the debut of co-directors Giulia Brazzale and Luca...
Wasteland | Review
Waste of Time: Glossy Heist Fantasy a Missed Hit for Athale’s Debut
Producer Rowan Athale’s directorial debut, Wasteland, which he also penned, gets out of...
Still Mine | Review
Amour Terne: McGowan’s Latest a Pedestrian Glance at the Golden Years
While there’s certainly an audience out there that would be more susceptible to the...
Broken | Review
Slipping Down Life: Norris’ Debut Steeps Notable Performances in Melodrama
Famed theater director Rufus Norris makes his cinematic directorial debut with an adaptation of Daniel...
Animals | 2013 Outfest Review
What Are Friends For?: Fores’ Debut Slow Burn Bizarre Falters at the Finish
While it’s most memorable element will undoubtedly remind audiences of Donnie Darko...
Grabbers | Review
Don’t Snatch This Mixed Bag
Irish director Jon Wright seems content spoon feeding audiences with derivative genre efforts, or at least one could surmise after...
Crystal Fairy | Review
Wild In Part: Silva’s Zany Mescaline Film a Pleasurable Trip
Chilean director Sebastian Silva debuts two new films this year, both starring Michael Cera, the...
Criterion Collection: The Life of Oharu | Blu-ray Review
After remastering Mizoguchi’s Sansho the Bailiff earlier this year for Blu-ray, Criterion unleashes another of the auteur’s trio of early 50’s Venice prize winners...
Just Like a Woman | Review
Female Trouble: Bouchareb’s Understated First Chapter in Arab-American Trilogy
Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb, perhaps most widely recognized for his films Outside the Law (2010) and...
I’m So Excited | Review
Music Make You Lose Control: Almodovar’s Return to High Camp Shenanigans
Fans of Pedro Almodovar’s early works, like Dark Habits and Women on the Verge...
100 Bloody Acres | Review
At Any Price: Aussie Horror Comedy Predictable, Maintains Interest
Content with delivering an overly familiar comedy-horror scenario even as it seems committed to bringing both...
Boxing Day | 2013 LAFF Review
Ape & Essence: Rose’s Latest Another Profound Tolstoy Exercise
Like Branagh’s penchant for bringing Shakespeare to celluloid, British director Bernard Rose has steadily amassed a...
The Stroller Strategy | Review
What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Expect It: Michele’s Debut Arrives Stillborn
Times are tough for the rom-com and Hollywood isn’t the only old...
Aliyah | Review
The Holy Land is Dope; Wajeman’s Effective Family Drama is Surprisingly Subtle
Titled with a Hebrew term for Jewish immigration to Israel from the diaspora,...
Unfinished Song | Review
Undercooked Film: William’s Change of Pace Rings False
How could one not be curious to see Paul Andrew Williams’ (the UK director responsible for strange...
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...
