Tag: U.S. Indie Film Review
The Birth of a Nation | Review
Born Again: Parker Resuscitates Turner Narrative in Painful Labor of Love
An odd, continued legacy of unquestioned applause greets the reception of actor Nate Parker’s...
The Neon Demon | Blu-ray Review
After premiering to divisive responses at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival where it played in competition (jeers were mixed with waves of derisive laughter...
The 9th Life of Louis Drax | Review
One Life to Live: Aja’s Childhood Abuse Drama a Soapy Misstep
Once at the forefront of the French horror wave of the early to mid-2000s...
The Sea of Trees | Review
The Forest for the Trees: Van Sant’s Melodramatic Misfire
Gus Van Sant’s name seems to conjure wildly different reactions depending on how accustomed one is...
Imperium | Review
Made in USA: Radcliffe Infiltrates Neo-Nazi Faction in Solid Potboiler
Daniel Radcliffe impresses once again in an unlikely bit of casting as an FBI agent...
Sun Choke | Review
Choke Up the Sun: Cresciman’s Dubious Deliberation on the Female Psyche
Mentally unstable women with fragile personalities formulate a vibrant subgenre of their own across...
Little Men | Review
Gentrified Agreement: Sachs’ Poignant Examination of a Childhood Friendship
For his sixth feature, Ira Sachs returns to Brooklyn with Little Men, a perceptive study of...
Equity | Review
Greed is God: Menon Crafts Terse, Uneven Femme-Centric Wall Street Noir
Meera Menon follows up her 2013 road-trip comedy Farah Goes Bang with a low-fi...
Don’t Think Twice | Review
Funnier People: Birbiglia’s Sincere Dramedy Examines Failure, Success
Comedian Mike Birbiglia’s sophomore directorial effort Don’t Think Twice is a rather melancholy, ambitious rendering of the...
Outlaws and Angels | Review
For a Few Hollers More: Mollner’s Retro Western a Few Cents Short on the Dollar
Opening with Psalm 104:21, “They seek their meat from God,”...
The Infiltrator | Review
Undercover Blues: Furman’s By-the-Numbers Thrills Enhanced by Cranston
Certain performers manage an incalculable hook into material otherwise hampered by cliché and familiarity, something accomplished with...
Café Society | Review
The Beautiful and the Consigned: Allen’s Latest Instance of Compromised Love
Like all of Woody Allen’s features over the decades, his latest examination of humans...
Equals | Review
Sweet Emotion: Doremus Does Dystopia on Enjoyable, Recognizable Canvas
Emotions cannot be controlled, but they also cannot be allowed to control you. At least, that...
Private Property (1960) | Review
Piece of the Pie: Stevens’ Psychosexual Drama Gets Revamped
The poster tagline for Leslie Stevens’ 1960 directorial debut Private Property says it all, proclaiming the...
Carnage Park | Review
Carnage Knowledge: Keating’s Halfhearted Shot at Grindhouse not a Fine Vintage
For his fourth feature, indie genre director Mickey Keating attempts a vintage crime/horror mash-up...
Septembers of Shiraz | Review
Iran, So Far Away: Blair’s Simplistic, Tedious Period Portrait of Iran
One glance at the headlining cast of Septembers of Shiraz should indicate a...
The Neon Demon | Review
Death Walks on High Heels: Refn Delves Daftly into the Los Angeles Fashion Demimonde
To reference John Waters’ definition of beauty, “a face should jolt,...
Wiener-Dog | Review
Every Dachshund Has His Day: Solondz Provides Droll Despair
It’s been five years since we were last graced with Todd Solondz’s particular brand of muted...
Swiss Army Man | Review
Pretend That We’re Dead: Or - Two Dans, a Dano, and a Dead Body
What is there to be said about a dramatic comedy built...
Careful What You Wish For | Review
Imitation of Life: Rosenbaum Bastes Noir Tropes in YA Sheen
Director Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum seems dangerously preoccupied with fashioning ill-suited screen personas for pop stars,...
The Fits | Review
Get in Where You Fit In: Holmer’s Impressive Allegory of Assimilation
Although it may feel a bit too allegorical or stylistically esoteric for its own...
Last Days in the Desert | Review
Just By Looking At It: Garcia’s Hollowed Jesus Flick
At one time an adept purveyor of what could loosely be termed the modernized ‘women’s picture’...
Nina | Review
A Matter of Resistance: Mort’s Compromised Portrait of a Musical Legend
She may try with a considerable, ambitious might, but Zoe Saldana does not conjure...
A Hologram for the King | Review
Same as it ever Was: Tykwer’s Unwieldy Intersection of Commerce and Culture
We’ve seen an increasing amount of films featuring Americans floundering about in the...
The Meddler | Review
Chapter Two: Scafaria Scores with Sarandon in Earnest Character Portrait
Writer-director Lorene Scafaria manages her most accomplished work to date with sophomore feature, The Meddler,...
Hostile Border | Review
Confessions of a Pocha Hustler: Dwyer Tackles Topicality with Listless Thriller
Michael Dwyer makes his directorial debut with Hostile Border, an adequate examination of contemporary...
Criminal | Review
The Iceman Cometh: Vromen Baffles with Illogical Romantic Thriller
Director Ariel Vromen dashes the promise shown in his 2012 portrait of contract killer Richard Kuklinski...
Green Room | Review
Music Lets the People Come Together: Saulnier’s Latest an Enjoyably Intense Thriller
Director Jeremy Saulnier follows the promise of his 2013 breakout thriller Blue Ruin,...
One More Time | Review
Begin Again: Edwards’ Satisfying Sophomore Film Utilizes Walken
Thanks to the overwhelming trend of quirk, cliché, or contrivance evident in most American indie offerings (whether...
Louder Than Bombs | Review
Another Time, Another Place: Trier’s Graceful, Quiet English Language Debut
Norwegian director Joachim Trier reteams with his regular scribe Eskil Vogt for Louder Than Bombs,...
Darling | Review
When She Calls You Sweetheart: Keating Invokes Femme Fou with Derivative Art-house Thriller
Riding the thin line between copycatting and homage, indie director Mickey Keating...
Miles Ahead | Review
Kinetic & Spirited: Debut Heavily Reliant on Cheadle’s Perf
His raspy voice precedes, commanding the dark screen. Front and center, the unruly Don Cheadle channels the...
Krisha | Review
Turkey Shoot: Shults Brings Heartache to the Holidays in Intimate Debut
We’ve seen it plenty of times before, the hellacious discomfort accompanying the enforced tradition...
The Arbalest | 2016 SXSW Film Festival Review
Toy Story: Pinney’s Debut a Strange Love Puzzle
Writer and cinematographer Adam Pinney (credited for both on indie filmmaker Adam Orr’s films Blood Car and...
A Stray | 2016 SXSW Film Festival Review
Boy and His Dog: Syeed Offers Rare Glimpse into Urban Somali Community
For his sophomore effort, A Stray, director Musa Syeed focuses on a specific,...
Take Me to the River | Review
River of No Return: Sobel Brings Scent of Southern Gothic to the Mid-West with Stellar Debut
Family reunions have tremendous potential as battlefields for dysfunctional...
Road Games | Review
Hitchin’ a Ride: Pastoll’s Debut an Assortment of Tropes
No, it’s not a remake of the 1981 Richard Franklin thriller starring Stacy Keach and Jamie...
The Witch | Review
Better the Devil You Know: Eggers’ Debut Marinates with Menace
Easily the most profoundly unnerving film to play at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, the...
The Abandoned | Review
Be Afraid of the Dark: Rockaway’s Familiar Debut Enhanced by Atmospheric Locale
Director Eytan Rockaway makes his directorial debut with the claustrophobic single set horror...
Anesthesia | Review
Causality and Kindness: Nelson’s Latest Look at All the Lonely People
The multifaceted Tim Blake Nelson unveils his latest directorial effort in nearly seven years...
Lamb | Review
Strangers With Cabins : Partridge’s Uncomfortable Sophomore Film
Returning behind the camera for the first time since his 2000 debut indie film Interstate 84, actor...
Anomalisa | Review
Re-Animators: Kaufman & Johnson Brilliantly Translates Kafkaesque 'Sound Play' From The Stage To Stop Motion
Springing from the mind that spewed an incredible string of transcendent work from Being...
Chimes at Midnight (1965) | Review
Sweet Creature of Bombast: Welles’ Restored Homage to Shakespeare’s Ultimate Clown
Before the world finally gets a chance to see Orson Welles’ last uncompleted film...
Yosemite | Review
Palo Alto 2: Demeestere Crafts Franco’s Prose for Portrait of Preadolescent Angst
Director Gabrielle Demeestere adapts James Franco’s A California Childhood for her directorial debut,...
American Hero | Review
Street Wise Hercules: Love’s Homespun Superhero Film Too Conventional for Kicks
No one can deny the super hero is now an immovable staple of Hollywood...
Don Verdean | Review
Going Clear: Hess’ Uncomfortable Religious Comedy Defuses Subversive Potential
Religion and comedy don’t make for comfortable bedfellows, at least not for films attempting to play...
Stinking Heaven | Review
A Place on Earth: Silver’s Period Commune Channels Cinema-Verite
While his 2014 title Uncertain Terms still awaits theatrical release as it makes the rounds of...
Chi-raq | Review
Sexual Healing: Spike Lee’s New Joint Aims to Anoint
Provocateur Spike Lee continues to fling his ambition into surprising experimental formats and narratives. Following the...
#Horror | Review
As You “Like” It: Subkoff Finds the Sound and the Shrillness in Social Media
Actress Tara Subkoff makes her directorial debut with #Horror, a film...
Criminal Activities | Review
Subliminal Criminal: Haley’s Debut Feloniously Familiar
There’s a certain amount of smarmy appeal to justify Jackie Earle Haley’s attraction to taking on Criminal Activities, the...
