Tag: U.S. Indie Film Review
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...
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...
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...
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...
Nightingale | Review
On Yon Bloomy Spray: Oyelowo Dominates Lester’s One Set Drama
Director Elliott Lester, best known for his 2011 Jason Statham offering, Blitz, adapts firstime screenwriter...
Heaven Knows What | Review
Living Through Oblivion: Safdie Bros. Lens Devastating Tale of Desperation and Depravity on the Streets of NYC
The story of how the directorial brothers Benny...
I Believe In Unicorns | Review
Oh Them Silly Unicorns: Meyerhoff’s Coming of Age Debut Prizes Style Over Substance
Director Leah Meyerhoff most effectively conveys the nature of her debut film,...
Bessie | Review
Lady Sings the Hues: Rees Returns to Resurrect the Star of Blues Singer
Many may not be immediately familiar with the name Bessie Smith, an...
Every Secret Thing | Review
Baby Blues: Berg’s Troubled and Troubling Feature Debut
Treated to a chilly reception following its premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival last spring, the...
I’ll See You in My Dreams | Review
Dream a Little Dream of Me: Haley’s Superb Showcase for Blythe Danner
Long a supporting fixture in a variety of film projects going on five...
Good Kill | Review
Fatal Irony: Is There Anything Good About This Kill?
Nearly two decades after collaborating on the shrewd and subtly realized sci-fi allegory, Gattaca, Ethan Hawke...
Maggie | Review
The Big Z: Hobson’s Maudlin Debut Splices Tone Unevenly
Pulled mysteriously from the Toronto Film Festival lineup last fall after it was picked up for...
Bravetown | Review
Home of the Brave: Duran’s Debut a Neutered Examination of Grief During Wartime
There’s a war going on, though not one specifically referenced, mentioned or...
Ride | Review
Ride of Passage: Hunt’s Belated Sophomore Effort Crests Waves of Cliché
Perhaps the most surprising element of note in Helen Hunt’s Ride is the fact...
Welcome to Me | Review
Broadcast Blues: Wiig’s Amusing Portrait of Mental Illness
Mental illness collides with reality TV inspired media for Shira Piven’s generally pleasurable oddity, Welcome to Me,...
River of Fundament | Review
All that Glitters: Barney’s Operatic, Caterwauling Art-house Epic
Those familiar with the work of Matthew Barney, namely his impressive Cremaster Cycle (2003) and Drawing Restraint...
Blackbird | Review
The Boys in the Choir: Polk’s Antiquated Rendition of the Rural Gay Narrative
The blatant underrepresentation of black gay characters in film, whatever letter they’re...
Just Before I Go | Review
Drop in the Bucket: Cox’s Uneven Directorial Debut
Actress Courtney Cox makes her directorial debut with Just Before I Go, based on the first feature...
Alex of Venice | Review
Touch of Venice: Messina’s Understated, Observational Debut
There’s much to admire in actor Chris Messina’s assured, astutely observed directorial debut, Alex of Venice. Namely its...
The Reconstruction of William Zero | Review
Less Than Zero: Bush's Blend is a Well-intended but Exhaustive Piece
Drama stimulated by an identity crisis set against a science fiction backdrop poses for...
Roar (1981) | Review
We Bought a Zoo: Marshall’s Early Eighties Oddity Resurrected
In the annals of cinema, there are very few examples of entire film productions resulting in...
True Story | Review
The Killer Beside Me: Goold’s Debut Warps Grisly Headline into Funereal Pallor
The rapidly fluctuating career of James Franco got a dramatic jumpstart with a...
Broken Horses | Review
Goodbye Horses: Chopra’s Nonsensical English Language Debut
The point of Bollywood director Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s English debut Broken Horses seems lost, along with a whole...
Farah Goes Bang | Review
Impeach My Bush: Menon’s Debut a Spirited Period Road Trip
Exploring a provocative dark chapter in the voting tendencies of the United States general public...
The Harvest | Review
Harvest Home: McNaughton’s Return Yields Blighted Crop
Fans of director John McNaughton, known for his gruesome cult classic Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990),...
Boychoir | Review
The Angels' Share: Girard’s Musical Drama a Conventional Return
Quebecois filmmaker Francois Girard returns from a near decade long hiatus with Boychoir, his first cinematic...
Cut Bank | Review
The Postman Always Dies Twice: Shakman’s Noir Infused Debut Underwhelms
Seasoned television director Matt Shakman (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) makes his narrative feature debut...
5 to 7 | Review
Love in the Afternoon: Levin’s Gallic Flavored Romantic Drama Lacks Sense of Amour Fou
Writer and producer Victor Levin makes a patiently observed portrait...
The Girl is in Trouble | Review
Trouble in Mind: Onah’s Homage to Neo Noir an Indie Echo of Device
In development for the past five years since it was initially announced,...
Ned Rifle | Review
Nobody’s Fool: Hartley Concludes His Grim Trilogy
While it may be wholly unnecessary to see the two preceding films in the loosely knit Grim trilogy...
Marfa Girl | Review
Days Go By: Clark Returns to Apathetic Adolescence for Latest
After having won the top prize at the 2012 Rome Film Festival, controversial filmmaker Larry...
Man From Reno | Review
Reno 911: Boyle’s Indie Neo-Noir an Enjoyable Pulpy Exercise
For his fifth feature, indie filmmaker Dave Boyle pays homage to film noir tropes with his...
Serena | Review
Place Beyond the Pines: Bier’s Ungainly Period Piece Revels in Unintentional Gaffs
Danish director Susanna Bier’s second English language film, Serena, has gained a bit...
While We’re Young | Review
Confessions of an Aging Artist: Baumbach Humorously Reflects on Filmmaking Ethics and Middle Age
In some ways the complimentary antithesis to his last work of...
She’s Lost Control | Review
Body Talk: Marquardt’s Debut Treads Lightly Through Provocative Territory
Sexuality, prostitution, and that obscure object of desire are all tricky matters to convey cinematically. In...
Ava’s Possessions | 2015 SXSW Film Festival Review
Low Spirits: Galland’s Energetic Supernatural Comedy Doesn’t Retain Dominion
The increasingly tenuous distinction between what constitutes either horror or comedy is further exemplified in Ava’s...
Danny Collins | Review
Dan in Real Life: Fogelman’s Sugary Directorial Debut Hobbles its Own Charms
Screenwriter and producer Dan Fogelman makes a high profile directorial debut with Danny...
The Frontier | 2015 SXSW Film Festival Review
Too Late For Tears: Shai Plumbs the Depths of B-Noir Devices for Punchy Debut
A brunette with bloody fingers shakily inhales the fumes of a...
Home Sweet Hell | Review
Hell is Where the Home Is : Burns’ Dismally Heavy-handed Dark Comedy
Playing like the crass, harebrained sister of Gone Girl’s infidelity issued ‘hell hath...
The Cobbler | Review
Shoe Be Doo: McCarthy’s Magical Realism Has No Sole
Actor Thomas McCarthy has developed a solid reputation as an indie film director thanks to his...
Cymbeline | Review
Riot This Way: Almeryeda Back to Contemporizing Shakespeare
While many were quick to critique director Michael Almereyda’s Y2K update of Shakespeare’s most notable play, Hamlet,...
Faults | Review
Split Image: Stearns’ Debut a Dark Hearted Cult Comedy
The insidious recruitment techniques of religious cults used to be a veritable genre staple, beginning, perhaps,...
X/Y | Review
Axes of Fulfillment: Williams Explores the Lives of Malcontented Young Adults
There’s a certain way to make multiple, intersecting storylines breathe life into a narrative...
Young Bodies Heal Quickly | Review
Youth in Revolt: Betzer’s Inexplicable Road Movie an Assortment of Prominent Instances
Director Andrew T. Betzer manages to concoct an impressively pronounced feature debut with...
Wild Canaries | Review
Good Neighbors: Levine’s Indie Murder Mystery a Passing Homage to Classic Comedy
Actor/writer/director Lawrence Michael Levine reunites with director/actress wife Sophia Takal for his third...
Bluebird | Review
Lives of Quiet Desperation: Edmond’s Masterful, Eloquent Debut
“I stand in awe of my body. This matter to which I am bound,” is the poetic...
