Tag: top-stories
Heli | Review
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control: Escalante’s Mexico Still Suffering
Amat Escalante doesn’t fall far from his own tree with Heli, graphic violence once again...
Gebo and the Shadow | Review
The Shadow Knows: Oliveira’s latest a Stringent Meditation on Sacrifice
Inevitably, any discussion pertaining to recent work from Portuguese director Manoel de Oliviera will make...
Burning Bush | Review
Time to Burn: Holland’s Magnificent Mini-Series Event Well Worthy of Big Screen Treatment
Realized as a three part mini-series for television, Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s...
Criterion Collection: L’Eclisse | Blu-ray Review
After finally securing 1961’s La Notte as part of the Criterion line-up, we’re treated to a new restoration and Blu-ray transfer of Michelangelo Antonioni’s...
Criterion Collection: All that Heaven Allows | Blu-ray Review
As Laura Mulvey’s essay, “An Articulate Screen” contends, 1955’s All That Heaven Allows was “just another critically unnoticed Hollywood genre product,” the attempt for...
Dormant Beauty | Review
Sleepytime Drama: Bellocchio Messy Message Movie
After yet another career peak with his 2009 film Vincere, Italian auteur Marco Bellocchio continues his examination of Italian...
Edge of Tomorrow | Review
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: Liman’s Simple Sci-Fi is Lean Entertainment
Considerable praise is in order for director Doug Liman and a trio of screenwriters...
Citizen Koch | Review
Corporations Are People: Lessin and Deal Question Why
Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's Citizen Koch looks to shine a light on the political upheaval going...
Burt’s Buzz | Review
Shapiro Follows Honey Trail; Enigmatic Shavitz is the Bee's Knees
The bearded-face of Burt’s Bees, a pioneering company in the commodification of “all-natural” personal care,...
The Fault in Our Stars | Review
Never Having to Say You’re Sorry: Boone’s Adaptation Jerks Your Tears
Director Josh Boone adapts John Green’s popular 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars...
Test | Review
Some Gentle People There: Johnson’s Sophomore Effort Recalls Place of Fear
Here’s an arresting point of intrigue into the miasma of historical reexaminations of the...
The Love Punch | Review
Love Paunch: Hopkins’ Latest a Predictable Bore
Though its cast members seem to game for a good, silly romp, Joel Hopkins’ latest film, The Love...
Words and Pictures | Review
Word Play: Schepisi’s Formulaic Romance Elevated by Lead Performances
Australian director Fred Schepisi gets a lot of mileage out of his headlining duo at the...
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn | Review
Prognosis Negative: Robinson’s Return a Detached, Tepid Exercise
His first outing since the ill-fated 2002 film The Sum of All Fears, director Phil Alden Robinson’s...
Wolf Creek 2 | Review
Huffin & Puffin: McLean Continues Flaccid Exploration of the Menacing Aussie Outback
Tourists are again reminded that the Australian Outback is a statistically menacing place...
Chinese Puzzle | Review
Tuft of Fluff: Klapisch Bids Adieu to Globetrotting Crew
Diehard fans of Cedric Klapisch’s L’Auberge espagnole (2002) and its sequel, Russian Dolls (2005) should be...
A Night in Old Mexico | Review
Siesta Fest: Aragon’s English Language Debut Incredibly Forced
The one discernible reason to watch Cuban director Emilio Aragon’s English language debut, A Night in Old...
Horses of God | Review
Paradise Then: Ayouch’s Drama Imagines the Making of a Terrorist
Examining a fictional decade in the life of a group of young Moroccan men that...
Darker Than Midnight | 2014 Cannes Review
Midnight Toil: Riso’s Debut Ambient Yet Ultimately Remote Tale of Teenage Woe
You might forget the ‘based on a true story’ warning during the opening...
The Man Who Lies | Blu-ray Review
Redemption Films revives several more titles in its continuing resurgence of Alain Robbe-Grillet with his 1968 film, The Man Who Lies. Starring the director’s...
Winter Sleep | 2014 Cannes Review
Ceylan's Talky Theatrical Epic unlikely to have Many Nodding Off
Since it was first announced to go into production more than a year ago, Nuri...
Maleficent | Review
Moralificent: Stromberg’s Debut Gets a Dastard Disney Straitjacket
Anticipation has been extremely high for Disney’s live action dedication to one of their most enjoyably memorable...
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon | Review
Don’t Menschion It: Myers’ Debut a Loving Tribute to a Notable Friend
Those that savor uncomplicated glimpses into the oft castigated entertainment industry will most...
Filth | Review
Bad Detective: Baird Adapts Welsh for (Sometimes) Outrageous Effect
Danny Boyle’s 1996 classic Trainspotting set the bar for Irvine Welsh adaptations (Boyle is apparently at...
2014 Cannes Film Fest: Always the Bridesmaid, but Now the Bride: Nuri Bilge Ceylan Wins the Palme d’Or for “Winter Sleep”
We might have changed the notion and definition of what the La Nouvelle Vague at the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Youth...
2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Predictions: Palme d’Or Toss Up Between “Deux Jours, Une Nuit” & “Mommy”
Last year our Cannes Critics' Panel accurately predicted how the Steven Spielberg jury would vote. Will we repeat it this year with the...
The Search | 2014 Cannes Review
Good Intentions Cobbled: Hazanavicius Chokes on War Story Update
It’s clear to see that there were good intentions behind the making of Michael Hazanavicius latest...
2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 9: Assayas Doubles Down with “Sils Maria” & Zvyagintsev Drinks to Sweet Tragic Notes with “Leviathan”
Cannes - May 23rd Sunny Day 9
And just like that, the Cannes Film Festival is coming to an end. Tomorrow is when the awards...
2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 8: Loach Breaks out in Dance for “Jimmy’s Hall” & Dolan’s “Mommy” Receives Excellent Ratio Among Critics
May 22nd - Rainy Thursday in Cannes.
It appears that both the oldest, and the youngest filmmakers in the Main Comp happen to be those...
2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 6: Dardennes Receive a Bonus with “Two Days, One Night” & “Still the Water” Floats
Cannes May 20th - Day 6.
Past the midway point, this morning's 8:30 a.m. screening proved that The Dardennes might be the first to three-peat....
2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 5: Miller’s Foxcatcher is Gold Medal Greek Tragedy & Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars Charts Familiar/Familial Grounds
Cannes Monday 19th -
Despite its rather grim subject matter and ultimate denounement, the reception was warm and positive for this morning's 8:30 a.m. Grand...
That Lovely Girl | 2014 Cannes Review
Tammy & the Bachelor: Yedaya’s Bid for Controversy Grimly Punishes Audience
Keren Yedaya is back to punish us like never before with her latest film, That...
The Captive | 2014 Cannes Review
Ego-Yawn: Kiddie Porn Ring thriller less than Captivating
While, in many respects, The Captive represents a return to form for the Toronto-based Cannes mainstay, the...
2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 4 | “Homesman” is Strong Marriage Material & Rohrwacher Farms a Solid Sophomore Pic with “The Wonders”
Due to some unfortunate circumstances (laptop's hard drive went kaput), I wasn't able to update our grid for Day 3, but we're finally back...
2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 2: No Sweet Hereafter Found in Egoyan’s “The Captive” & Ceylan Shines with Gender Role Malaise in “Winter Sleep”
Cannes - Friday May 16th
The first title out of the gate at this morning's 8:30 a.m. showing was the first of three Canadian films...
Cannes 2014 Day 2 Recap: Leigh’s British Landscape via “Mr.Turner”, UCR in “Party Girl” Mode, Quinzaine Dances to “Girlhood”, CW in Love with “FLA”
(Cannes - May 15th) The press were treated to their first 8:30 a.m. Grand Lumiere screening and were taken back to the late seventeen...
2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 1: Leigh Paints Strong Canvas with “Mr. Turner” & Sissako’s Mixes Humor & Sorrow in “Timbuktu”
According to our Cannes Critics' Panel, it may not top Topsy Turvy, but Mike Leigh's 2 plus hour portrait starring Timothy Stall paints a strong...
Chainsaws & Drumsticks: Interview with the Quinzaine’s Edouard Waintrop
What first caught my attention when Edouard Waintrop announced the make-up of the 46th edition of the Directors' Fortnight (also known as La Quinzaine)...
Cannes 2014 Day 1 Recap: Pink, Yellow and Definitely Blue — Grace of Monaco + Jury Duty
At the Cannes Film Festival we rest on the first day, not the seventh day. Traditionally the first Wednesday of the fest sees an...
Grace of Monaco | 2014 Cannes Review
Coup de Grace: Embellishment Can’t Save Dahan’s Fairy Tale
Try as it might, Grace of Monaco can’t seem to wring any significant interest out of...
Live from Cannes 2014: Meet Our Cannes Critics’ Panel
Jeez. Time sure does fly by. It's hard to fathom that we're now in year number four with our world film critic on the...
Cannes 2014 Derby: David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars Tops Blake’s Palme d’Or Predictions
So let’s get one thing straight: the stylistic tendencies of the jury president’s own work doesn’t make much of an impact in the grand...
Cannes 2014 Derby: Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Winter Sleep Tops Eric’s Palme d’Or Predictions
Jane Campion. Sofia Coppola. Jia Zhangke. Nicolas Winding Refn. If ever there was a competing year that favored a more "personalized" avant-garde cinema, this...
Cannes 2014 Derby: Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Winter Sleep Tops Nicholas’ Palme d’Or Predictions
He’s won the Grand Jury Prize for Distant (2002) and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), plus the FIPRESCI for Climates (2006) and...
Criterion Collection: Ace in the Hole | Blu-ray Review
A resounding flop upon its release, which saw it recut and rereleased as The Big Carnival without any greater success, Criterion remasters Billy Wilder’s...
Ship of Theseus | Review
Ghost Ship: Gandhi’s Debut an Enjoyably Philosophical Triptych
Finally seeing a release after its 2012 premiere, Anand Gandhi’s directorial debut, Ship of Theseus is an...
The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga | 2014 Hot Docs Review
Of Forest and Folklore: Oreck Lenses Extraordinary Essay on Eastern European Relationship with Land and Myth
Recently, Jessica Oreck has been settling into a more...
Restoration of Alain Resnais’s Time Travel Masterpiece Arrives at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
Whether grappling with the horrific realities and scars left over from World War II or the capricious mental states of a lovelorn Parisian bourgeoisie,...
For No Good Reason | Review
Paul Has Precision But Less Purpose Than Steadman
Anyone familiar with Hunter S. Thompson surely knows the work of his gonzo visual counterpart, Ralph Steadman....
DamNation | Review
River Runners: Knight & Rummel Ruminate On Damming Evidence
Just as directors Ben Knight and Travis Rummel’s Red Gold firmly yet astutely opposed the mining...
