Tag: top-stories
The Look of Silence | Review
Examining Eyes, Hearts & Minds: Oppenheimer Sees This Time From The Viewpoint of the Victims
Joshua Oppenheimer rocked the world of cinema with his groundbreaking...
Alleluia | Review
In the Mood For Love: Du Welz Returns With Gloriously Dark Rendering of Insatiable Passion
His first film since 2008’s underappreciated Vinyan, Belgian director Fabrice...
The Gallows | Review
MacDeath: All the World’s a Grave in Stilted Found Footage Horror
It seems we’ve yet to hit the bottom of the found footage barrel, at...
Strangerland | Review
Cry in the Dark: Farrant’s Debut an Unnerving Exploration of Carnal Knowledge
Recent critically acclaimed imports from Australia tend to glorify more aggressive genre trends,...
Self/less | Review
The Change-Up: Singh Sleepwalks Through Sci-Fi Stock
Time is not on anyone’s side in director Tarsem Singh’s latest blunder through familiar material, Self/less, a mash-up...
Stations of the Cross | Review
The Road to Hell: Brueggemann’s Apprehensive Examination of Blind Faith
Premiering at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival, where it snagged the Ecumenical Jury Prize as...
Tangerine | Review
Boulevard Ballads: Baker’s Enigmatic Journey into Hollywood’s Facade
For those familiar with the cinematic offerings of Sean Baker, it will come as no surprise that...
10,000 KM | Review
Going the Distance: Marques-Marcet Explores the Strain of Separation
An exploration of the effects an extended period of long distance has on the stability of...
Mad Women | Review
Women on the Verge: Lipsky’s Overwrought Portrait of Dysfunction
Those having experienced the independent cinema styling of Jeff Lipsky won’t be surprised by the end...
The Conversation: 2015’s Top 10 Theatrical Releases So Far…
With the first half of 2015 officially coming to a close, it’s time for our mid-year list of best theatrical releases. As seems to...
What’s Up Doc?: Wiseman Rises to New “Heights” & Rivers Shooting “The Two Eyes Are Not Brothers” in Morocco
It's been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding...
Stray Dog | Review
Still Learning New Tricks: Hall Heals Via Empathy & Remembrance
Much less cinematically invigorating than Akira Kurosawa's noir of the same name and miles away from Tsai...
Jackie & Ryan | Review
Ballad of the Sad Doublet: Mann’s Warm, Simplistic Tale of Lonely Hearts
Recalling an era of simple, but warmly rendered studio features fitted specifically for...
Magic Mike: XXL | Review
Live Hard, Sell Hard: Jacobs’ Fluffer Sequel Has One Track Mind
Considering the interest and financial success of 2012’s Magic Mike, it’s no surprise to...
Stung | Review
Spirit of the Wasp’s Nest: Diez’s Debut a Schlocky Creature Feature
African killer bees were once a common threat in disaster themed American cinema of...
A Cannes Opener: 2016 Cannes Film Festival Predictions
A furious slew of titles in the works would seem to prophesize a robust main competition slate for Cannes 2016. Though our initial list...
Big Game | Review
Rules of the Game: Helander’s Schlocky English Language Debut
Even though the film seems perfectly well aware of its own silliness as it recapitulates formulaic...
The Strongest Man | Review
Miami Blues: Riches’ Sophomore Effort Back Pedals
At its core, perhaps The Strongest Man could best be described as a character study concerning one man...
Escobar: Paradise Lost | Review
Drug War Diaries: Di Stefano’s Peripheral Take on Famed Drug Lord’s Activities
For those wishing to learn much of anything about famed Colombian drug lord...
The Little Death | Review
Lust, Actually: Lawson’s Sexually Charged Debut Struggles with What Women Want
Taking home the audience prize at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival, Australian director Josh...
What Happened, Miss Simone? | Review
Writing on the Wall: Garbus Offers Compressed Portrait of Soul-Gospel-Jazz Queen
Nina Simone, a prominent musician-turned-civil-rights-activist, left behind a legacy in which the latter part...
Creep | Review
People Are Strange: Brice’s Debut Retools Found Footage for Ordinary Madness
Available on demand at the same time as his Sundance darling sophomore feature The...
The Midnight Swim | Review
Out in the Moonlight, Just Like We Used to Do: Smith’s Throbbing, Eerie Debut
The unnerving quality of Sarah Adina Smith’s directorial debut, The Midnight...
Burying the Ex | Review
Ex to Grind: Dante’s ZomCom Never Finds Its Pulse
Zombies are difficult subject matters for the screen. A staple of a popular subgenre, original...
Infinitely Polar Bear | Review
One Flew Over the Housing Project: Forbes Relates Childhood Memories in Debut
Screenwriter Maya Forbes makes her directorial debut with Infinitely Polar Bear, an exploration...
Manglehorn | Review
Locks of Love: Pacino Engrosses in Slight Narrative from Green
David Gordon Green continues his examination of masculine relationships in Manglehorn, an adaptation from first...
Video Interview: Mia Hansen-Løve – Eden
The morning after the world premiere of Eden at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, I arrived at a bar not yet open, located just...
Eden | Review
In The Garden Of Garage: Hansen-Løve Recounts Brother's Coming of Age During the Rise of House Music
Thanks to her brother Sven’s involvement in the popularization...
The Wanted 18 | Review
Got Milk? Cowan & Shomali See The Glass Half Full, Celebrating Community Action In Beit Sahour With Stop-Motion
Paul Cowan and Amer Shomali’s partially animated docu-drama,...
Day Out of Days | 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival Review
Days Go By: Cassavetes Returns with Industry Commentary
It’s a tale as old as cinema itself, the dismissive and apathetic attitude towards ageing women in...
The Story of Adèle H. | Blu-ray Review
You no doubt know of a crazy local or two that mills around your town in a daze, occasionally causing disturbances, but otherwise remains...
The Tribe | Review
Get the Picture: Slaboshpitsky’s Excellent, Memorably Pronounced Debut
In a sea of derivative cinematic components, wholly original ideas seem few and far between. In a...
The Wolfpack | Review
Voyeuristic & Bizarre: A Look Into a Litter of Brothers and Their World of Movies
As an exemplar of the term “stranger than fiction”, The Wolfpack’s...
Cinema Italiano: 2015 Venice Film Festival Predictions
Now that we’ve come out of the Cannes ether, we can examine several of the names glaringly absent from the lineup that may potentially...
The 11th Hour | Review
Sweet Child of Mine: Basinger Buoys Bizarre Psycho Drama
Danish director Anders Morgenthaler (Princess, 2006) returns with The 11th Hour, a strange, psychological drama with...
Madame Bovary | Review
Good Time Gal: Barthes’ Sensible Remake of Flaubert’s Classic Novel
Few literary protagonists have reached the heights of notability as the infamous Madame Bovary, from...
Jurassic World | Review
Nice Splice: Narrative Hasn’t Evolved in Trevorrow’s Dino Reboot
If there’s one aspect depicting the fickle nature of the human consumer the latest chapter in...
Set Fire to the Stars | Review
Suffer the First Vision: Goddard’s Debut Anchored in Episode of Literary Distress
Doomed Welsh poet Dylan Thomas gets a contemporary biopic treatment in Set Fire...
Chagall-Malevich | Review
Painter Man: Mitta’s Return to Filmmaking a Lofty, Honeycombed History Lesson
Ungainly and distractingly saccharine, Russian auteur Aleksandr Mitta returns with Chagall-Malevich, a whimsical biopic...
The Stranger | Review
Stranger Danger: Roth & Amoedo Unveil Derivative Inclinations
Director Eli Roth continues his collaboration with the South American crew from Aftershock (2012), by producing writer...
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl | Review
Fault in Our Tastes: Teenage Death Gets Warmed Over in Gomez-Rejon’s Celebrated Sophomore Film
Taking home the Grand Jury and Audience prize following its warmly...
Hungry Hearts | Review
Heart of Glass: Costanzo’s Uncomfortable, Emotional Glance at Madness
Must every cinematic portrait of mental illness be ‘illuminating?’ Your answer to that question may gauge...
We Are Still Here | Review
From its chilly opening sequences and impressive title unveil, Ted Geoghegan’s slim yet sturdy debut We Are Still Here belongs to a contemporary tradition...
Top 3 Critics’ Picks: Andersson, Slaboshpitsky & Patrick Brice Must Sees this June
IONCINEMA.com's Top 3 Critics' Picks offers a curated approach to the usual quandary: what would you recommend I see in theaters this month? June...
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence | Review
Familiar Tune: Andersson Completes Trilogy With Enjoyable, Familiar Chapter
Prolific Swedish filmmaker Roy Andersson tends to work infrequently, taking years, if not decades, between film...
Uncertain Terms | Review
Rebounds and Role-play: Silver’s Latest Returns to Uncomfortable Interactions
With his fourth feature film, Uncertain Terms, indie film director Nathan Silver advances the knack he...
Insidious: Chapter 3 | Review
There Be Demons: Whannell Goes Back to Basics with Third Installment
And so we immerse ourselves even further into the vagaries of the Further with...
Spy | Review
Spy Hard: Feig’s Generally Entertaining Espionage Parody
Director Paul Feig does a James Bond send-up for his latest Melissa McCarthy headlined romp, Spy. But for...
Alias Maria | 2015 Cannes Film Festival Review
Guerillas in the Mist: Rugeles Explores the Jungles in Labored Sophomore Effort
An intriguing perspective within a terrifying environment initially makes for a compelling scenario...
Jupiter Ascending | Blu-ray Review
Premiering as the 'secret screening' at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival shortly before its theatrical premiere, the latest sci-fi extravaganza from the Wachowskis opened...
