Tag: U.S. Indie Film Review
Out of the Furnace | Review
Fire Walk: Cooper’s Sophomore Effort a Somber, Fatalistic Malaise
Director Scott Cooper returns with Out of the Furnace, his first film since his Oscar winning...
Charlie Countryman | Review
Country Bumpkin: Bond’s Debut a Grating Escapade of Disingenuous Cliché
Swedish born Fredrik Bond, who’d made a notable name for himself as a successful director...
The Last Days on Mars | Review
Mars Attacks: Robinson’s Promising Debut an Arid Mirage
Early on in Ruairi Robinson’s directorial debut, The Last Days on Mars, a generic yet eerily promising...
Sunlight Jr. | Review
Bleak House: Collyer Returns to the Slipping Down Life
After her fantastic 2006 directorial debut, Sherrybaby, director Laurie Collyer returns with a sophomore feature, Sunlight...
Best Man Down | Review
The Man Who Wasn’t There: Koland’s Debut Lost In Its Own Drift
Poor Minnesota, it sure gets a bum rap when it comes to the...
Go For Sisters | Review
Sister Act: Sayles Returns With Glorious Blend of Genre and Character Study
Independent filmmaker John Sayles has been directing films without studio backing since 1979,...
Sal | Review
No Salutation: Franco Resurrects Tragic Mineo to Aimless Effect
Like The Broken Tower, which documents the tragic end of poet Hart Crane, James Franco’s second...
Plush | Review
Re-Making the Band: Lovemaking and Recording Sessions with a Killer Fanboy
It may come with the advert of “From the director of Twilight…”, but Catherine...
Dallas Buyers Club | Review
AZT & Sympathy: Vallee’s Drama Banks on Unforgettable Performances
Cinematic portrayals of the onset of the AIDS crises have always been a bit nipped and...
Big Sur | Review
On the Audio: Polish Takes the Elegiac Beat
Premiering at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival alongside Kill Your Darlings, which documented a pre-Road Kerouac, filmmaker...
Haunter | Review
Hider in the House: Natali Turns To Young Adult Thrills
Abandoning the perverse beauty of scientific mutation as last exhibited in his 2010 film, Splice,...
Paradise | Review
No Dashboard Lights: Diablo Cody’s Contrived Directorial Debut
Arriving with about as much finesse as the plane crash that fatally incinerates its protagonist is Diablo...
Hellbenders | Review
Hath No Fury: Petty’s Latest a 3D Misfire
Serving as a glaringly obvious example of the degradation of the horror genre via raunchy slapstick is...
CBGB | Review
Heebyjeeby: Miller Fails To Reclaim Glory Days of Punk
Perhaps it goes without saying that the more invested one is in the gloriously exciting New...
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane | Review
The Pain is Calling, Oh Mandy: Levinson’s Satisfying Debut Finally Hits Theaters
Premiering at the Toronto Film Festival way back in 2006, Jonathan Levine’s directorial...
Bad Milo! | Review
Asscapade: Vaughan’s Body Horror Comedy Ripe for Cult Status
Destined for cult comedy status is Jacob Vaughan’s Bad Milo!, a ribald idea that threatens to...
Stop Motion; Jesse Atlas to Adapt Looper-like Record/Play for Focus
This than 24 hours after news broke that James Schamus got the boot, we got a glimpse at the kind of material that might...
We Are What We Are | Review
It Is What It Is: Mickle’s Latest a Subpar Remake
Director Jim Mickle’s latest, We Are What We Are, is a remake of the excellent...
Thanks for Sharing | Review
Shame Game: Blumberg’s Debut Valiantly Wades Through Sex Stigma
A cross section of multiple story lines concerning three recovering sex addicts creates a seriously effective...
Four | Review
Looking for a Love That’s Never Enough: Joshua Sanchez Directs a Broody Debut
Director Joshua Sanchez has chosen excellent material to adapt for his film...
Mother of George | Review
When You’re Expecting: Dosunmu’s Sophomore Feature a Gorgeously Shot Tale of Immigrant Tradition
After debuting his 2011 feature Restless City to critical acclaim on the...
Jayne Mansfield’s Car | Review
Brains of a Blonde: Thornton’s Unnecessary Return to the Director’s Chair
After his astonishingly strong 1996 directorial debut, Sling Blade, you’d be hard pressed to...
And While We Were Here | Review
HereToFore: Coiro’s Latest Stale, Blatant Exercise
Actress turned director Kat Coiro reunites with Kate Bosworth for her sophomore feature, And While We Were Here, leaving...
Fat | 2013 TIFF Review
The Unbearable Heaviness of Mark Phinney and His Feature Debut
The struggle of “living large” is an exhausted subject of reality television, but truly tapping...
A Teacher | Review
Life Lesson 101: Fidell’s Morbid Debut Comes Close to Compelling
While thankfully neglecting to employ a moralizing agenda to its taboo courting subject matter, Hannah...
Hell Baby | Review
Trash Dump Baby: Sketch Comedy Masters Concoct Hellish Misfire
Not quite crass enough to be a successful ‘late night humor’ film and not nearly witty...
Adore | Review
M Is For the Many Things You Gave Me: Fontaine’s Cougars and MoFos Fashion Her Striking English Debut
Two parts high trash and one part...
American Milkshake | Review
It’s Better Than Yours: Andalman & Munro’s Vanilla Debut
While attempting to earnestly engage us with a depiction of mid-90s urban envy from the privileged...
Abigail Harm | Review
First Do No Harm: Plum for Plummer in Oddly Engaging Fairy Tale
For his third feature film, Lee Isaac Chung adapts a Korean folk tale,...
The Lifeguard | Review
Sink or Swim: Garcia’s Debut a Glossy Derivative
Though featuring a handful of winning performances from an extremely likeable cast, writer/director Liz W. Garcia’s debut,...
Afternoon Delight | Review
Slight Delight: Soloway’s Debut an Overly Familiar Dessert
Television writer/producer Jill Soloway makes her directorial debut with Afternoon Delight, a sometimes successfully coordinated comedic vehicle...
Sparrows Dance | Review
Reclusive Romantics: Buschel’s Contained Character Study Shines Beyond The Walls
Location, location, location, that is essentially the most powerful cinematic tool in Noah Buschel’s latest...
You’re Next | Review
Counting Sheep: Wingard Offers a Fun if Altogether Trivial Entry in Home Invasion Horror
Up and coming horror filmmaker Adam Wingard’s latest, You’re Next, is...
Una Noche | Review
And the Deep Blue Sea: Mulloy’s Compelling Portrait of Desperation
Granted unprecedented access to film in Havana, Cuba, first time director/screenwriter Lucy Mulloy crafts a...
Savannah | Review
Fare is Fowl: Haywood-Carter’s Dire Return to Directing
Annette Haywood-Carter, perhaps best known for her 1996 directorial debut Foxfire, an adaption of a Joyce Carol...
Drinking Buddies | Review #2
Friendly Persuasion: Swanberg Hones His Craft
One of the most notable members of the Mumblecore crew, the often factious Joe Swanberg, at long last seems...
The Frozen Ground | Review
Cold Case Files: Walker’s Debut Unexpectedly Grounded
Nothing beats the successful defiance of negative assumption and low expectation, and with that in mind, director/screenwriter Scott...
Drinking Buddies | Review
Supersize Me: Swanberg Remains Intimate Despite Bigger Budget
Harkening back to the studio system of the 1930s and 40s, the prolific writer/director Joe Swanberg has...
Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Review
Once More With Feeling: Daniels’ Latest an Elegant, Necessary Recuperation
Previously berated by Armond White as helming the most racist film since The Birth of...
Jug Face | Review
Face of Another: Kinkle’s Backwoods Horror a Promising, Faulty Debut
Like a low-fi hybrid of Winter’s Bone and Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery comes Chad Crawford...
Kid-Thing | Review
Another Little Girl Down the Lane...
While the latest feature length film from the Zellner Brothers, Kid-Thing, may not be meant for children, its stammered...
The Time Being | Review
Time Crime: Cicin-Sain’s Debut an Empty Trinket
On a positive note, the benefit of watching Nenad Cicin-Sain’s directorial (and screenwriting debut) could definitely serve as...
Blue Jasmine | Review
Blanchett Dubois: Allen Channels Tennessee For His Best Film in Years
While few directors are as steadfastly perennial as Woody Allen, his constant output seems...
Beneath | Review
Congrats Grads: Fessenden Terrorizes Teens with Latest Environmental Horror
According to the films of Larry Fessenden, Mother Nature poses the greatest threat of all to...
Computer Chess | Review #2
Check Mix: Bujalski’s Latest an Odd, Enigmatically Dry Experiment
For his fourth feature film, indie film director Andrew Bujalski tackles the period peace, revisiting an...
The Happy Sad | 2013 Outfest Review
A Many Splendored Thing: Evans’ Sophomore Feature Candidly Explores the Nebulous Nature of Desire
It’s been nearly a decade since director Rodney Evans debuted his...
Computer Chess | Review
Bujalski adds Technology to the Perils of Human Connection
In an Andrew Bujalski film, there is nothing harder than making yourself understood. Funny Haha is...
Killing Season | Review
Karma Con: Johnston’s Latest a Scene Chew to Remember
Originally intended as a vehicle to reunite those crass offenders of subtlety, Nicolas Cage and John...
V/H/S/2 | Review
Improved Frequencies: Sequel to Found Footage Anthology Film an Improved Bag of Goodies
While last year’s horror anthology, VHS, was an entertaining enough horror film...
Museum Hours | Review
Images in Isolation: Cohen’s Meditative Hybrid Explores Time and Existence
Documentary filmmaker Jem Cohen makes his first attempt at a narrative piece with Museum Hours,...
