Upstream Color Sundance 2013 Review
Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color builds a stunning mosaic of lives overwhelmed by decisions outside their control, of people who don’t understand the impulses that rule their lives. read more
Fruitvale Sundance 2013 Review
Walking into Fruitvale, you probably already know what happens at the end; it's based on the very high-profile 2009 shooting of a young African American by a subway police officer in Oakland. read more
The Gatekeepers Sundance 2013 Review
Director: Dror Moreh Dror Moreh’s documentary has already played at Telluride and Toronto, and is even already nominated for an Oscar, but it plays Sundance this year in the Spotlight section, reserved for a select few films that have played other festivals. It earns its spot, and then some Amazingly, Moreh conducted interviews with every single head of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency. The access boggles the mind, and some of the stories are riveting. If there’s a flaw in the film, it’s one of bias—the film dwells on Israeli atrocities while mitigating its criticisms of Palestinian terrorism. Still, it’s... read more
Manhunt Sundance 2013 Review
Manhunt is a frustrating experience, though not without its rewards. read more
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters represents the latest salvo in Hollywood’s barrage of “gritty/clever” updates on classic fairy tales, the littermate of Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman, Red Riding Hood, Beastly, etc. (It won’t be the youngest of the lot for long, with Jack the Giant Slayer and Maleficent on the way.) All things considered, it’s been a brutally banal run. In a risk-averse industry of copycats, uninspired genre/subgenre streaks are not all that unusual, but still, there’s usually a progenitor, a movie that blows up the box office and triggers the cascade. With a little... read more
C.O.G. Sundance 2013 Review
Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez Writers: David Sedaris, Kyle Patrick Alvarez Stars: Jonathan Groff, Corey Stoll, Denis O’Hare, Dale Dickey, Dean Stockwell, Troian Bellisario For those who believe that David Sedaris can do no wrong (and I was awfully close to that sentiment until today), this film will be a bit of a wake-up call. It’s the first film based on a Sedaris story, and it falls flat. The characters are of tedious cardboard and are nearly without interest, wasting the considerable character talents of the likes of Dale Dickey and Dean Stockwell. Corey Stoll and Denis O’Hare fare somewhat better,... read more
The East Sundance 2013 Review
Director Zal Batmanglij and Actress Brit Marling join forces again as co-writers in their fast-moving followup to 2012's Sound of My Voice. read more
Happy People: A Life in the Taiga
Werner Herzog never hesitates to express his point of view on film, especially through the omniscient voiceovers that are the backing track of many of his recent documentaries. In Grizzly Man, he waxed poetic about the cruel and terrifying emptiness of nature’s fury. In Into The Abyss his contempt for the death penalty was on full display. And in Herzog’s new documentary, a collaboration with Russian filmmaker Dmitry Vasyukov called Happy People: A Life in the Taiga, he posits that the Russian trappers who live in an extremely remote part of Siberia are indeed happy as they face extreme hardships... read more
Mud Sundance 2013 Review
It's a sweet tale that displays plenty of faith in humanity without ever veering into sappiness and always keeping you on the edge of your seat—just the kind of thing you hope to find at a festival like Sundance. read more
We Are What We Are Sundance 2013 Review
We Are What We Are is a film that ought to feel like an amusement park terror ride, but instead comes off as a poor attempt at fine art. read more
Cutie and the Boxer Sundance 2013 Review
Cutie and the Boxer, Zachary Heinzerling’s fascinating documentary about Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko, studies the life of a man who is entering his 80s, but still dreams like he’s 20. read more
Breathe In Sundance 2013 Review
Breathe In comes ever so close to pulling an emotionally satisfying romance from what is, at its core, a rather pervy story. read more
Before Midnight Sundance 2013 Review
Before Midnight concludes one of cinema’s great trilogies—assuming it stays a trilogy. read more
Crystal Fairy Sundance 2013 Review
If Michael Cera was typecast as the poster boy for Type B romantic heroes, his turn in Sebastián Silva’s Crystal Fairy marks his arrival as an unlikeable Type A anti-hero. read more
Resolution
Justin Benson and Aaron Scott Moorehead’s feature directorial debut is an invigorating reminder that talented, original voices occasionally surge forth from the festival circuit grind. (Their film was chosen as an Official Selection of both the Tribeca and Fanstasia International film festivals.) As a meditation on horror films, and even film itself, Resolution might be in danger of coming across as pretentious, if it weren’t so damned entertaining throughout.... read more
Broken City
Sometimes, having the right ingredients isn’t enough. Throwing together a couple of name actors in a situation their résumés say they should be comfortable in doesn’t necessarily translate to cinema gold. Take, for example, the new crime thriller, Broken City. Principles Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones all have experience with these sorts of things. Wahlberg did some of his best work in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. Crowe made his bones in Hollywood with the likes of L.A. Confidential and The Insider. And Zeta-Jones began to be considered as a serious actress when she showed up in Traffic. All... read more
Mama
Mama began its decidedly creepy life almost five years ago as a web short shot in Spanish. The craftsmanship and scare factor were such that Guillermo del Toro was inspired to help sibling creators Andrés and Barbara Muschietti expand their story into a feature. Of course, there are dangers in trading the narrative freedom of the short form for the high pressure of the Big Leagues, but thankfully the Muschiettis’ vision remains intact—Mama is a terrifying success.... read more
LUV
So much of director-cowriter Sheldon Candis’ LUV demonstrates a singularity of vision and maturity of craft. With the city of Baltimore as a backdrop/character in its own right—similar to its “role” in the iconic TV show The Wire, an association alluded to with the casting of Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar) as a harassing cop—the filmmaker has produced an intensely personal movie and discovered an immense young talent in Michael Rainey Jr. But Candis doesn’t trust his himself to pull it off, weighing the film down with a disconnected score that pushes an otherwise edgy story into melodrama.... read more
Gangster Squad
There’s little to glean from Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad except for maybe a few modest laughs, whether the comedy be intentional or not, and some charm from Ryan Gosling (though, you could make that argument for any Gosling movie really). Despite its lack of offerings, the film does ironically provide an important lesson in filmmaking: ambition and ineptitude make a horrendous combination.... read more
The Baytown Outlaws
The grindhouse-meets-Dukes of Hazzard vibe of the new action comedy The Baytown Outlaws is instantly recognizable, and fits as comfortably as a weathered boot. With that vibe come certain expectations. Three Alabama hit man/brothers will most certainly clean out a house of their targets with shockingly laid-back professionalism. The opening credits will undoubtedly be filled with pulpy comic-book panel still frames announcing the cast and proclaiming the film’s ironic pedigree, a design choice so commonplace as to actually have the opposite effect. There will be hot chicks, blood, dust and lots of twangy guitar rock.... read more
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