By Santiago Rubín de Celis. The films by Alain Cavalier (born in Vendôme, France, in 1931) are the result of a process of slow, soft erosion. For more than fifty years – from his Nouvelle Vague-style short film Un Américain (‘An American’, 1958) to his 2009 feature, Irène, which is […]
A Dangerous Method (2011)
By Bryan Nixon. Director David Cronenberg is an auteur of flesh cinema whose films consistently examine the psychology of sex, violence, and regeneration. Having made films such as the voyeuristic Videodrome (1983), the mutating mad scientist thriller The Fly (1986), the gynecologic Dead Ringers (1988), the drug and bug infested […]
Kumaré (2011)
By Jacob Mertens. I have always believed in an idea of spirituality. For me, spirituality encompasses an intimate relationship between an individual and his or her surrounding environment. Note that I do not mean the word “environment” in the traditional sense of landscape and atmosphere, but rather as an external […]
Take Shelter (2011)
By Steven Harrison Gibbs. During an interview with CinemaBlend.com, writer/director Jeff Nichols observed that, “Anxiety, no matter how free-floating it is, it’s all rooted in the idea that you have something to lose.” In Take Shelter – Nichols’ sophomore outing and second collaboration with actor Michael Shannon – this sentiment […]
J. Edgar (2011)
By Bryan Nixon. “Edgar, you will rise to be the most powerful man in this country,” Annie Hoover (Judi Dench) prophesies to her son J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) in a dark suburbia bedroom. Her vision is proven true, because he created, headed, and personified the Federal Bureau of Investigation […]
A Familiar Ceremony
By Amy R Handler. Max Winkler’s debut feature, Ceremony(2010), puts a new spin on the old coming-of-age tale with edgy sensitivity, cryptic characters and a script replete with subtle ambiguity. The plot is familiar. 23-year-old Sam (Michael Angarano) is a budding author of children’s books, but much like with Sam […]
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark: A Fairy Tale Remake
By Anna Arnman. Against her will, a young girl, Sally (Bailee Madison), moves in with her estranged father Alex (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) in an enormous old house called Blackwood Mansion. Alex is an architect restoring the house with the help of Kim, an interior […]
Orgasm Inc.
By Amy R Handler. The war between pharmaceutical companies and the personal injury lawyers fighting them can be seen on virtually every American and New Zealand television channel, no matter what time the day or night. No wonder so many people are depressed. How could they not be when they […]
CinemAfrica 3: The Last Laugh in N’Djamena
By Daniel Lindvall. A Screaming Man, written and directed by Chadian Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, was selected as best feature film at CinemaAfrica, Stockholm’s annual African film festival, in 2011, after having won the Jury Prize in Cannes the previous year. Adam is pool attendant at a luxury hotel in N’Djamena, capital […]
Tyrannosaur (2011)
By Jacob Mertens. The title of Paddy Considine’s film Tyrannosaur can’t help but call to mind a vicious rampage of death and destruction. As the audience witnesses the opening moments, they immediately associate the prehistoric creature’s savagery with Peter Mullan’s Joseph, who rages outside of a bar and inadvertently kicks […]