Tag: U.S. Indie Film Review
Lullaby | Review
And Goodnight: Levitas’ Debut Works Too Hard for Genuine Catharsis
Headlined by one of those casts that seems too good to be true, actor Andrew...
All Cheerleaders Die | Review
Sapphic Sillies: Sivertson & McKee’s Latest Lacks Spirit
Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson, old college friends and now notably notorious film directors (though for different...
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...
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...
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...
Palo Alto | Review
My So Called Strife: A Coppola Debuts With a Flurry of Restless Teens
Hollywood nepotism and the tableau of the teenage wasteland make for oddly...
God’s Pocket | Review
Pocket Full of Sunshine: Slattery’s Debut Weak in the Knees
The devil’s not in all the details he should be of God’s Pocket, the directorial...
Belle | Review
But Your Picture On My Wall: Asante’s Sophomore Feature Revisits Compelling Historical Episode
A decade after her 2004 directorial debut, A Way of Life, director...
Walking with the Enemy | Review
Walk to Remember: Schmidt’s Debut Sincere and Gawky
Director Mark Schmidt attempts to recount an obscure chronicle of WWII heroism to generally awkward effect, though,...
Small Time | Review
Refurbished: Surnow’s Debut a Casserole of Cliché
Seasoned television writer and producer Joel Surnow makes his directorial debut with Small Time, based on an autobiographical...
Proxy | Review
Lady Liars and Psycho-sexual Thrills; Zach Parker's Proxy is a Rocky Ride
Countless blockbusters have used and abused the idea of doppelgängers and surrogates, but...
Proxy | Review #2
Pinch-hitting: Parker’s Latest as Surprising As it is Unwieldy
With a series of continuously improving indie horror thrillers under his belt, filmmaker Zack Parker launches...
13 Sins | Review
Game On: Stamm’s Latest a B-Grade But Fun Genre Flick
Director Daniel Stamm leaves behind the found footage genre for his third outing as director...
Soft In the Head | Review
Head Case: Silver Returns With Another Slice of Low-fi Discomfort
At the end of the final credits of Soft in the Head, Nathan Silver dedicates...
Only Lovers Left Alive | Review
Eternity and a Day: Jim Jarmusch's Vampire Flick Is Typically Jarmuschian
After his droll yet audience-friendly quirkfest Broken Flowers took home the Grand Prix at...
Hateship Loveship | Review
Shipping Out: Johnson’s Sophomore Effort Misses the Boat
Director Liza Johnson follows up her 2011 directorial debut, Return, with Hateship Loveship, an adaptation of a...
Afflicted | Review
From Dusk Till Foregone: Prowse & Lee’s Entertaining Debut Suffers From Formatting Traps
There’s a lot of uncomfortable fun to be had as Afflicted unspools,...
In the Blood | Review
Blood Crush: Stockwell Returns to Exotic Paradise for B Movie Thrills
Considering that In the Blood was scripted by James Robert Johnston (The Howling Reborn;...
10 Rules for Sleeping Around | Review
To Sleep Perchance to Scream: Grief’s Latest a Comedy Cancer
Every once in while a film comes along that’s so horrendously botched in every regard...
The Retrieval | Review
Repo Men: Eska’s Latest a Gripping Coming of Age Narrative
Certain to be referred to as an indie film counterpart to Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 Django...
Dom Hemingway | Review
Vacant Domicile: Shepard’s Latest Hides Absence of Narrative Behind Titular Character
As foul mouthed and over-the-top as it sometimes tends to be, Richard Sheperd’s latest,...
Maladies | Review
Crazy, Stupid, Art: Carter’s Directorial Debut Less than the Sum of its Parts
Multimedia artist Carter makes his directorial debut with Maladies, an intriguing sounding...
Cheap Thrills | Review
Foolish Games: Katz’s Debut Collapses Under Excessive Shock Value
There’s certainly a palpable amount of perverse thrill checkered throughout E.L. Katz’s directorial debut, Cheap Thrills,...
A Birder’s Guide to Everything | Review
Bird is the Word: Meyer’s Debut a Well Meaning But Slight Observation
Bird watching seems to be something of a recent cinematic inspiration, though has...
Rob the Mob | Review
Dog Eat Dog: De Felitta’s Entertaining Take of a Take
After the success of his 2009 indie feature, City Island, Raymond De Felitta turns to...
The Den | Review
Unlawful Entry: Donohue’s Debut a Promising Idea with Faulty Execution
Director Zachary Donohue brings the home invasion thriller to the millennial doorstep with his directorial...
Bad Words | Review
Scatological Prowess: Bateman’s Directorial Debut an Amusing Vulgarity
Fans of fare like Bad Santa and Bad Teacher should rejoice in Bad Words, foul-mouthed fodder involving...
Haunt | Review
Haunt Me Tender: Carter’s Debut Reduced to Derivative Schlock
As Mac Carter’s directorial debut, Haunt, quickly unfurls a haul of standard haunted house clichés, don’t...
HairBrained | Review
School Ties: Kent’s Latest Film Doesn’t Make the Grade
If you’re at all familiar with director Billy Kent’s previous film, 2006’s The Oh in Ohio,...
Chlorine | Review
Wet Behind the Ears: Alaimo’s Suburban Malaise a Standard Procedure
We’ve come to expect a certain amount of functional dysfunction to be featured in independent...
Hits | 2014 Sundance Review
David Cross Graduates from Small Screen Satire, Inviting Hipsters and Libertarians to the Party
David Cross translates sketch comedy prowess into organized chaos, marking his...
Barefoot | Review
Sterile Cuckoo: Fleming’s Latest a Series of Rotund Clichés
Director Andrew Fleming returns with his first film since 2008’s neglected Hamlet 2, a road trip/mental...
Cavemen | Review
Puddle of Mud: Faber’s Debut an Antiquated Exercise of Quest for Love
Romantically inclined comedies from the dude’s perspective may seem rare, but often suffer...
The Pretty One | Review
A Stolen Life: LaMarque’s Debut an Entertaining, Borrowed Premise
Identical twins and their cannibalistic tendencies have long been a fine cinematic tradition of the dramatic...
The Wait | Review
Time Crimes: Blash’s Sophomore Feature of an Ambient Weirdness
Director M. Blash brings back two leads from his 2006 debut, Lying, for more rural weirdness...
At Middleton | Review
One Fine Day: Rodgers’ Debut Features Strong Script, Enjoyable Performances
In a saturated market of mediocrity, a slew of sub-par independent romantic dramedies often force...
The Skeleton Twins | 2014 Sundance Review
Sticks & Stones: Johnson’s Winning Dramedy a Showcase for Wiig & Hader
The transition from sketch comedy television to the big screen is often a...
Gimme Shelter | Review
Gimme Gimme: Krauss Returns to Human Interest Woes in Latest Effort
Writer/director Ron Krauss returns to the human interest vein that defined his last outing...
Towheads | Review
O is for the Other Things: Plumb’s Debut an Idiosyncratic Exercise in Domestic Ennui
Video and performance artist Shannon Plumb makes her directorial debut with...
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? | Review
Is This a Lasting Treasure?: Chen’s Sophomore Rom-Com a Sugary Sweet Endeavor
Arvin Chen, the Taiwanese-American director and screenwriter of Will You Still Love Me...
G.B.F. | Review
Easy Peasy: Stein Returns to High School Hallways for Sweet Hearted Message Movie
Five years before Mean Girls brought the monstrous high heeled bitch posse...
Cold Comes the Night | Review
Into That Cold Night: Chun’s Sophomore Feature a Likeable Effort
You’re going to have to look past the unfortunate poster art for Cold Comes the...
Black Coffee | Review
Coffee Mate: Harris’s Latest a Heavy-handed, Yet Welcome Reprieve from the Norm
A professed self-taught filmmaker, director Mark Harris’ latest film, Black Coffee, exudes a...
August: Osage County | Review
Suffer the Children: Wells' Adaptation Enjoyable Camp, Hinges on Grandiose Performances
When something sounds too good to be true, it often is, and while John...
White Reindeer | Review
Black Christmas: Clark’s Nostalgia Tinged Nightmare of Christmas Tradition
Even those unfamiliar with previous films directed by Zach Clark (Modern Love is Automatic; Vacation!) will...
Hours | Review
Katrina and the Hours: Walker’s One Man Show a Dismal Drizzle
With his unfortunate and untimely death so recent in our memories, there is bound...
American Hustle | Review
Hustle Bustle: Russell Returns With Surprising Verve
Just when you thought David O. Russell’s American Hustle might bow as an attempt at an awards friendly...
Some Velvet Morning | Review
Women Are From Velvet: Labute’s Latest Chapter in Power Struggles of the Sexes
Its title recalling that late 60’s psychedelic pop song from Nancy Sinatra...
Diamond on Vinyl | Review
Sound Off: Hughto’s Film Explores Artificiality of Performance and Interaction to Varying Effect
It’s unfortunate that director J.R. Hughto’s sophomore effort, Diamond on Vinyl never...
