Jason says: “Jackie Chan’s hundredth movie commemorates the hundredth anniversary of the revolution that brought down the Qing Dynasty, and both of these events seem to deserve something better for commemoration than this lifeless history lecture. “1911 and 1912, for
Thom says: “As is probably well known, I am a colossal Takashi Miike fan. I’ve almost certainly seen more (feature) films by Miike than any other director, so I had to see this presentation. What most surprised my brother and
Diane says: “Woody Allen’s latest, starring Anthony Hopkins and Naomi Watts among others in a fab-o cast. Fast and clever, but my companions were right when they said that Allen usually has respect, if not sympathy, for his characters, and
Diane says: “Entertaining docu from Israel, screened at the Boston Jewish Film Festival today. Director Regev Contes tries to help his father get a failing insurance company back on its feet. But Dad and his two buddies would much rather
Michael says: “This Iranian film by first-time filmmaker Shirin Neshat was on my list of films to see in Toronto back in 2009, but I ended up missing it. Then it had a brief run at the Museum of Fine
Michael says: “Got out to the Independent Film Festival of Boston tonight, and was not disappointed by Debra Granik’s outstanding WINTER’S BONE. This taut, atmospheric drama has already racked up some awards at Sundance and Berlin, and I sure hope
TC says: “Back in the mid 70s, Jack Rebney was a television producer hired to host a Winnebago sales video. When they finished the video, the outtakes started leaking out, and it seems Jack had a penchant for swearing. This
Diane says: “Sequel to Todd Solondz’s HAPPINESS (1998), which I loved. New actors play the characters some years on (although I was convinced that some of the women were the original actors–wrong!). Once again, the almost-laughable discomfort of inappropriate remarks,
Jason says: “WAR DON DON was what they shouted about ten years ago in Sierra Leone to announce that a vicious civil war (one barely reported abroad) was over. The end of a war, however, is seldom accompanied by an
Jason says: “Watching this movie’s opening scenes, with a bunch of animators screwing around, working more or less unsupervised in Disney’s old Ink & Paint building, brought together for being college classmates and taking breaks to do skits and home
Bruce says: “What a résumé! Margarethe von Trotta is in her fourth decade of making films although she began writing for film in the 60’s when she was in her early twenties. In the seventies she was one of the
Diane says: “I caught this at the Boston Jewish Film Festival, where another patron complained justifiably that the movie wasn’t Jewish enough. We see Sassoon in a synagogue with his kippe at the start of the film, then a very
Thom says: “Johnnie To is another of my FAVORITE TOP 10 LIVING DIRECTORS so excitement reigned here as well. All the crime, action, shoot-outs, and general mayhem are represented here but To adds a European feel to his latest film in
Thom says: “Charming Mads Mikkelsen was present for the Q&A after the viewing and he regaled us with stories about how hard it was to work with director Refn. This existential, religious, even metaphysical film is about a group of
Jason says: “THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN is based upon an incident that drew a fair amount of attention in its native France, but makes an unusual choice or two in telling the story. Director André Téchiné and co-writer Jean-Marie
Jason says: “I’m often not quite sure where I land on movies like TINY FURNITURE. They spend a lot of their time annoying me, quite honestly, with their characters’ awkward quirks and selfishness, and I’m never quite able to figure
Jason says: “I take note of odd credits when watching movies, and maybe any (hypothetical) readers from Denmark could fill me in on a couple from the end of TERRIBLY HAPPY: Is it common for Danish films to credit the
Jason says: “As THE TEMPEST opens in cinemas after a certain amount of delay (the Walt Disney Company spent much of the past year or so trying to figure out what to do with Miramax Pictures, holding it in limbo),
Jason says: “The hackneyed phrase that is often used to describe this movie is ‘a Serbian AMELIE,’ which I think does it a disservice because, well, I didn’t like AMELIE much at all. Gilliam might be a better comparison; after
Jason says: “So, if you’re making a movie about the birth of Muslim punk rock, who do you put at the center? Even if you know the players, that might not be as obvious as it seems: The word ‘taqwacore’
