Tag: U.S. Indie Film Review
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...
Carol | Review
Locked Out of Heaven: Haynes Delivers Chilly Lesbian Romance
Todd Haynes makes an exciting return with Carol, his first feature film since 2007’s I’m Not...
Dangerous Men | Review
Man Trouble: Rad Enters Race for Worst Film Ever Made
A unique oddity even amongst contemporary counterparts competing for notoriety as one of the worst...
Shelter | Review
A Hard Knock Life: Bettany’s Naive Debut Exudes Good Intentions
Actor Paul Bettany makes his directorial debut with Shelter, meant to be a glimpse into...
Trumbo | Review
The Brave One: Roach Recapitulates Black List Era Hollywood
Examining the past from the safer perspective of our more enlightened period, Jay Roach’s Trumbo is...
Burnt | Review
Chef Boyardee: Wells Fails with Filmmaking Recipe
For his third film outing, director John Wells delves into the catty universe of high-end cuisine with Burnt...
Julia | Review
Beyond Therapy: Brown’s Illogical Entry of Femme Revenge
For the most part, director Matthew A. Brown presents his directorial debut Julia without the exploitative flourishes...
The Sound and the Fury | Review
But a Walking Shadow: Franco’s Faulkner Redux Merely Serviceable
Continuing to thumb his nose at naysayers, James Franco plunges onward into his own particular directorial...
Jason and Shirley | Review
Holliday Heart: Winter Reimagines the Peripheral Flotsam and Jetsam of Famed Interview
The nagging obscurity of Shirley Clarke’s famed 1967 documentary Portrait of Jason remains...
Rock the Kasbah | Review
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World: Levinson’s Afghan Exploration Prizes Diversion
After a unique pit stop in found footage horror with 2012’s The Bay...
Bone Tomahawk | Review
Down to the Bone: Zahler’s Debut a Dapper Genre Hybrid
For his directorial debut, screenwriter S. Craig Zahler assembles an illustrious cast in Bone Tomahawk,...
Meadowland | Review
Downward Slopes: Morano’s Debut of Downtrodden Beats
Cinematographer Reed Morano (The Skeleton Twins; Kill Your Darlings) makes her directorial debut with Meadowland, an increasingly cheerless...
Room | Review
Of One’s Own: Abrahamson Delivers Emotionally Potent Adaptation
Irish director Lenny Abrahamson continues his trajectory of unpredictable cinematic platforms with his latest film, Room, an...
