Chris says: “As regional/provincial cinema goes, this is valuable enough—it depicts Oakland lovingly without sentimentalizing it. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal are also good together (and apart) and should each be in more films, please. However, the direction’s ham-fisted, the
Thom says: “I might be rating this a trifle high but I’m a sucker for these wrongful convictions of innocent people movies ever since the 3rd in the PARADISE LOST series almost was made my FILM-OF-THE-YEAR in 2011 before finally
Thom says: “To know that this is Techine’s 29th film recognizes that this he’s indeed a major French film director as he’s used many of the best in the business for his productions that have won quite a few awards.
Chris says: “APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR is one of the better directorial feature debuts of this decade; for her follow-up, Desiree Akhavan eschews the earlier film’s explicit biographical feel (she also starred in it) for an adaptation of Emily Danforth’s novel about
Thom says: “It’s not often that a non big-budget film stars 4 actors who are must-see and the italicized 4 here are all terrific in their roles. Director McGuigan is surprisingly not well-known by me, and yet, amazingly, I’ve seen
Thom says: “This got a big publicity push earlier this year and was a minor success. A coming-of-age story about a gay teen boy just coming out is as sweet as all-get-out. Simon is an adorable boy with terrific parents,
Thom says: “I’ve seen three of director Chu’s previous efforts: STEP UP 2: THE STREETS, STEP UP 3D, & NOW YOU SEE ME 2, nothing particularly memorable in professional talents but maybe he was right for this project. The fun,
Thom says: “I had high expectations from this film as director Webb was responsible for one of the better indie films of 2009 in (500) DAYS OF SUMMER, & the film has an outstanding cast but the mediocre script &
Thom says: “This shows me to be the old curmudgeon buzz-killer but I found this sappy love story to be pure hokum. Helen Mirren & Donald Sutherland are both highly trained and professional actors and she especially embraces her part to
Thom says: “Here’s another director that I’ve seen all of his mediocre films: CRANK, CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE, GAMER, & GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE & yet I still went out on a limb to see this film because it looked
Thom says: “Back in the early days when I first embraced Film Movement when I discovered them while a volunteer worker at the Oakland Public Library, I saw all their releases I could find either at the libraries in Oakland
Chris says: “Leave it to Claire Denis to open her latest by saddling Juliette Binoche with one heck of a blowhard beau and close it on an extended conversation between Binoche and Gerard Depardieu, decidedly *not* her beau (his actual
Thom says: “French director Olivier Assayas has been something of an in-and-outer director for me but his best films are indeed world class brilliant. I loved CLEAN (2004), SUMMER HOURS (2008), CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA (2014), & especially DEMONLOVER, my
Brett says: “CLIMAX is the sensory blasts of horror from Edgar Allan Poe copulating with the maniacal and unrelenting beats of modern dance and music. Just when you think Gaspar Noé surely can’t do it again, you experience the mind
Brett says: “Predominantly taking place in one setting, a secret warehouse that serves as a meeting headquarters and equipment storage for a Michigan militia group becomes a hotbed of mystery and mistrust following a mass shooting at a police funeral.
Brett says: “During awards season, there are always films that champion an underrepresented group that gain attention with their political clout from the people who produce and back the film. Then, there are a films like BIRDS OF PASSAGE that
Brett says: “In a sort of vibe of THE WITCH (one of the best films of 2015/2016), GWEN is the debut feature film of director William McGregor. It’s fits the bill of the recent moniker “elevated horror,” and it feels
Brett says: “GOMORRAH director Matteo Garone offers his latest film in another atmospheric urban wilderness with a sympathetic dog groomer named Marcello as the driving force of the film. In this work, this small, frail man earns the audience’s trust and
Brett says: “It is a film that lives in a sustained state of delirium and absurdity. It would be worth the price of ticket just to see the audience reactions to the bizarre world of Diamantino, national soccer star of
Brett says: “NEKROTRONIC is an oddball film trying way too hard to appeal to an oddball audience. Full of gadgets and technological mumbo-jumbo, the premise is a world of internet-fueled demon possession. Playing off of the fear of cell phones
