By Salomon Rogberg. Margaret Thatcher’s reign over England may have ended over twenty-one years ago, but she’s still a sensitive topic that can generate both anger and admiration. When Phyllida Lloyd’s new film, The Iron Lady (2011), was released in Sweden and Britain, it led to heated discussion amongst critics in […]
Rampart: A Man Really Apart
By Matthew Sorrento. Passive victims of crime are rare in popular American cinema. In Crime Films, scholar Thomas Leitchobserves that a lead character, if violated, will move toward vengeance, either on his/her own or with assistance. A strong exception is the new abuse victim film (Mysterious Skin, Towelhead, Precious), which […]
Subjective to Eva, Subjected to Kevin
by Matthew Sorrento. This film desperately wants to be talked about. With great effort, We Need to Talk about Kevin presents itself as, in the words of 19th century critic Matthew Arnold, a work of high seriousness, to pitch a personal hard-sell as high art. This claim is more valid […]
A Conversation with Khavn De La Cruz
By Yusef Sayed. A highly prolific filmmaker who has spearheaded the active and visible presence of Filipino artists at film festivals around the world in recent years, Khavn De La Cruz is tough to pin down. With countless films to his name, including Squatterpunk (2007), Ultimo: Different Ways of Killing […]
Crumb (1994)
By Joseph Wright. Terry Zwigoff’s critically acclaimed documentary, Crumb, explores the life and career of controversial underground artist, Robert Crumb, as well as his reclusive and troubled family members. Beginning with Crumb’s career, the film thrusts the viewer into the artist’s success by displaying footage from an art show dedicated […]
Noir City 10
February 25, 2012
Michael T. Toole delivers a list of highlights from the tenth Noir City festival, San Francisco’s Castro Theatre, January 20-29, 2012. For ten straight days, Noir City entertained and informed us to just how fun, disturbing and enthralling the noir genre can be, and boy was it! Stylish and sexy, […]
Boogie (2008)
February 22, 2012
By Gary M. Kramer. Radu Muntean’s Boogie (aka Summer Holiday) made in 2008, is a slight, but compelling drama about the title character, Bogdan (Dragos Bucur), once nicknamed “Boogie.” The film opens with Bogdan playing with his son Adi (Vlad Muntean, the director’s own child) on the sparsely populated beach. […]
Liberal Arts (2012)
By Janine Gericke. Most people probably know Josh Radnor from his CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, but thanks to word of mouth and Netflix instant streaming, more people are getting to know Josh Radnor, feature film writer, director and actor through his first film Happythankyoumoreplease (2010). Happythankyoumoreplease was a solid debut filled with […]
The Story of Film: An interview with Mark Cousins
February 20, 2012
By Gary M. Kramer. Mark Cousins’s The Story of Film: An Odysseyis a fascinating—and fantastic—documentary that traces more than 100 years of cinema in 900 minutes. Featuring clips from 1,000 films, Cousins hopscotches from cinema’s early start in New Jersey and France and visits Asia, Africa, and South America while […]
The Grey (2012)
By Steven Harrison Gibbs. You are one of the few who survive a terrible accident that leaves you stranded in the midst of a vast tundra wilderness. You might be a few miles from civilization; you might be hundreds. Warmth is scarce; food even scarcer. To make your situation more […]