“GOMORRAH”
Matteo Garrone’s masterwork Gomorrah is notable for what it is not. There is no macho camaraderie amongst thugs in social clubs as seen on The Sopranos. And there is nothing romantic about ‘the life’...
View Article“THE COVE”
“A dolphin’s smile is nature’s greatest deception.” That’s a line given in the beginning of Louie Psihoyos’s gripping documentary, The Cove. And the man who says it, Ric O’Barry, is one of the most...
View Article“THE STONING OF SORAYA M.”
This powerful adaptation of a 1994 book by French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam of the same title exposes the inhuman practice of stoning women accused of adultery, which supposedly continues...
View Article“FIX”
If you’re craving the look and feel of an indie from the ’90s then Tao Ruspoli’s debut feature Fix may be the disc you’ll want to pop in. Chronicling a wild one day journey around Greater Los Angeles,...
View Article“BIGGER THAN LIFE”
A maverick of the 1950s Hollywood system, with Johnny Guitar and Rebel Without a Cause already under his belt earlier in the decade, Nicholas Ray’s melodrama Bigger Than Life was perhaps his most...
View Article“FANTASTIC MR. FOX”
Not often does a director with an indie pedigree seamlessly segue into subject matter like… children’s literature. But in many ways Wes Anderson has been training for the moment to use his...
View Article“AFGHAN STAR”
If you thought you were crazy about American Idol, imagine if you grew up in an area of the world where singing and dancing were forbidden. Well, that’s what director Havana Marking highlights in her...
View Article“THE MISSING PERSON”
It’s hard to go head first into film noir and not regurgitate the themes, styles, dialogue and characters from the past. But Noah Buschel in his latest cleverly dances around the genre to tell a story...
View Article“PRESSURE COOKER”
Gaining attention on the regional fest circuit after premiering at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2008 (followed by a small theatrical release), Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker’s look at a...
View ArticlePOSSIBLE FILMS, VOL. 2
In 2004 Hal Hartley released a series of shorts he made from 1994-2000. Titled Possible Films, which is also the name of his web site where he sells his films and music, Hartley has compiled a second...
View ArticleCriterion: Stagecoach
Legend has it when John Ford read the short story that would be the inspiration behind his first Western with sound, he immediately took it to his boss David O. Selznick, who, just as quickly as it was...
View Article“TONY MANERO”
Set during Augusto Pinochet’s brutal dictatorship in Chile during the 1970s, director Pablo Larrain mixes social commentary and the love for cinema to create a horrific (and darkly humors) tale with a...
View Article“THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER” RELEASED ON CRITERION BLU-RAY
One of my favorite movies of all time, Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter, has been released on Blu-Ray and SD by Criterion today. Here’s a piece I wrote back in 2001 on the film in the context...
View ArticleCriterion: American Lost and Found: The BBS Story
In a recent edition of his ongoing online column “Movie Answer Man,” Roger Ebert was faced with the following reader-submitted query: “Since good movies can now be cheaply made, why aren’t we seeing...
View ArticleExit Through The Gift Shop
A year after legendary street artist Banksy’s film Exit Through the Gift Shop premiered at Sundance 2010, it still feels vital and fun upon its DVD release, a great roller coaster ride that is not only...
View Article“BLOW OUT”
The ending of Brian De Palma’s Blow Out hits you in the chest like a hammer. It’s not supposed to be this way; American studio movies don’t end like that. But of course it’s the heartbreaking...
View ArticleCriterion: The Killing
It’s extremely difficult to type the words “my favorite Kubrick film” because I honestly feel I could put that down while writing about any of them. But what I can say about Stanley Kubrick’s Hollywood...
View Article“A SERBIAN FILM”
With Halloween around the corner I thought it would be fitting to write about a movie that has kept me up nights (and I’m certain that’s the same for many who’ve seen the film since its premiere at...
View ArticleBlue Velvet 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray Edition
Blue Velvet remains a masterpiece of American cinema – one of the defining films of the 1980s, and arguably still director David Lynch’s best work (personally, I actually slightly prefer Lost Highway,...
View ArticleLoad & Play
Green Factory 25 – out now A provocative drama about sexual power play and female jealousy, Sophia Takal’s Green is one of 2011’s most arresting independent debuts. Boasting lush 5D cinematography and...
View Article
