From the director of The Mothman Prophecies, comes an ensemble drama that takes a look at the objects and possessions one acquires in a lifetime. The story and characters of this film are presented as a mosaic, with each short segment bleeding into the next one, but never making a full circle. Nostalgia explores the […]
Following up his haunting and Oscar nominated Leviathan, writer/director Andrey Zvyagintsev returns with another look at bleak, modern Russian life. Loveless is a character study, examining two divorcing parents, neither of which want custody of their child. The details and elements of the film are heartbreaking, but Zvyagintsev spends so much time detailing the personas,
The final installment of E.L. James popular but equally despised stories land back on the big screen with little to no fanfare. ‘Freed’ seems to refer more to the audience who closes out the trilogy in obligation, rather than support. Director James Foley who picked up the second film, offers us more of the same
During awards season, I seem to always get to the foreign films last, which is often-times my loss. This year most of the submissions seem to focus on the political. The plots also seem distant and unrelated to problems in America. The Insult is a notable exception. It is a story of ethnic tensions, not
What might look like another film about the world of an autistic individual struggling with the everyday norms of life, is actually a love letter to Star Trek fans. Please Stand By (the title is explained within the film) offers Dakota Fanning (American Pastoral) a role reversal from I Am Sam, the film that introduced
“Crazy Heart”, “Out of the Furnace”, “Black Mass” and now “Hostiles”. Scott Cooper, the actor turned director, has quickly become one of the most prolific American cinematic voices. His latest film “Hostiles”, the darkest subject matter yet, but also his most accomplished. Cooper’s scripts have a slow burn about them, you don’t even realize “Hostiles”
Topping last years, A Bigger Splash, Italian director Luca Guadagnino has created nothing short of a masterpiece in adapting André Aciman’s novel of the same name. In a screenplay by James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name is one of the most honest coming of age stories I’ve ever witnessed. The entire film is anchored
There was a huge wave of buzz after Darkest Hour debuted at Telluride. Not only just for the obvious best actor race, but even some mention of best picture. Mainstream American audiences will likely write this film off a stuffy historical drama where history plays out in a bunch of different rooms. It’s true that
Justin Timberlake’s character describes himself as “poetic by nature”. He is of course taking on the Woody Allen persona in the filmmaker’s new flick. The poetry fades quickly in Wonder Wheel as it opens on the most beautiful images of 1950’s Coney Island. A smorgasbord of color for the eyeballs, you don’t know where to
The Tonya Harding biopic / mockumentary came into the Toronto Film Festival as an “also showing” flick. Yet after the first screening, it became one of the most buzzed about films and now was just nominated for five Critics Choice Awards. It was also one of the highest profile acquisitions during TIFF, and will be