Tag: U.S. Indie Film Review
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...
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,...
