Tom McCarthy’s latest film “Stillwater” is deceptively unique and layered, which is to be expected from the filmmaker who brought us “Spotlight” and “Win Win.” While the advertising suggests some Liam Neeson/Taken-esque thriller, “Stillwater” is a gripping, cerebral drama camouflaged for the Bourne fans. McCarthy and company have crafted a screenplay that takes a fascinating […]
Instead of writing about this week’s big sequel, which my Houston film critic colleagues are calling the year’s worst film, I thought I would spotlight this week’s other new release. “Summer of ’85” is the latest film from François Ozon, whose 2003 provocative thriller “Swimming Pool,” starring Charlotte Rampling, made a splash in the United
When I walked into the theater to see this film it was called “Non-Fiction,” the latest by French director Olivier Assayas (“Personal Shopper,” “Clouds of Sils Maria”). By the time I left the screening at the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF), it had already been retitled “Double Lives.” Of the recent Binoche collaborations, this is the
Gaspar Noé is the type of experimental filmmaker that gives cinema a bad name. “Climax” proves a couple of points; Point one: a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival means nothing, and Point Two: Noé guarantees that most viewers unlucky enough to find themselves the victim of watching this movie will have the worst experience
There seems to be an endless stream of actors directing their first projects lately. British actor Rupert Everett wrote, directed and produced The Happy Prince. He spent over a decade seeing the project through from its inception, with help from friends like Colin Firth and Emily Watson. Everett, whose career appears to have peaked in the
A remake of the 70’s film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, director Michael Noer (who has directed nothing you would recognize) updates the arguably true story of Henri “Papillion” Charriere with modern technology. “Papillion” is an epic story in the telling but not always in the watching. The introduction to our main character is
The film opens with Oscar winner Binoche (Clouds of Sils Maria) lying naked on the bed, then we realize she is “engaged”. Let the Sun Shine In isn’t so much about sex as it is a middle-aged woman desperately trying to find the love of her life. Sounds like Bridget Jones, right? Similar films were
Here is a film that is constructed entirely around a dinner scene that speaks volumes about the class system. In the previews, this dinner party scene is set up like a Notting Hill or Love Actually moment. Madame, with a short running time of 90 swift minutes and peculiar alternating point of views, fail to
It’s been five years since his Oscar nominated Amour, but acclaimed filmmaker Michael Haneke returns with Happy End. Starring his frequent collaborator, and last years best actress nominee Huppert, marking their fourth collaboration. The opening credits or prologue (Happy End’s version of Snap Chat) is nearly insufferable, as it reintroduces the audience to Haneke’s fascination
Wife of famed Oscar winning director Frances Ford Coppola, Eleanor makes her writing and directorial debut at SXSW with Paris Can Wait. “I got a screenwriting program for my computer. Then I took a directing and acting class,” she casually admitted. The 80-year-old had an experience very similar to what we see happen in the