Browsing: Reviews

Reviews Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 7.13.57 PM
5.9
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If there’s a titanic battle more seismic than the one staged in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it’s the battle among critics debating the film’s quality level. There are a variety of notorious critical red flags at play here – the fact that Man of Steel was a total dud (if you need a refresher, refer to my 2013 review), a general loathing for Zack Snyder’s oeuvre, the already-infamous audacity to reboot the Batman …

Film Festival in a valley of violence
9.8
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As a filmmaker deeply associated with horror, the idea of a Ti West revenge western set in the 1890s may cause some to do a double take. However, by the time the film’s wonderful animated opening credit sequence concludes it’s crystal clear that In a Valley of Violence is a Ti West film through and through. West’s signature is all over the film, from his dialogue-driven interactions and blood-soaked gore to his trademark humor and visual style. That’s not even to mention the film’s magnificent score, top-notch performances, and layered emotional undercurrents. In A Valley of Violence isn’t just a strong candidate for West’s best work. It’s one of the best westerns the genre has seen in years.

Reviews The Wind Will Carry Us
8.9
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Most of Abbas Kiarostami’s films are structured around canny narrative omissions. His movies work to intrigue, pull viewers in with the promise of a resolution, and then do something entirely different. He makes his narratives a mystery as a way to get us to notice other things, as a way to coerce us into paying attention to…

Home Entertainment Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2
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After three years and four major motion pictures, the Hunger Games series concludes with Mockingjay, Part 2 (Lionsgate) the final confrontation between the rebels, led by Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), and the Capitol, represented by the unctuous President Snow (Donald Sutherland). A series that should have ended on a spectacular note takes its final bow in an overlong, talky production surprisingly stingy with action.

NP Approved 10 Cloverfield Lane
9.1
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Enthusiasts of 2008’s wholly fascinating Cloverfield have spent years desperately waiting for news of a follow-up to surface. Back in January, their wishes were granted when a teaser for 10 Cloverfield Lane hit both the Internet and screens showing Michael Bay’s 13 Hours. Fans (like myself) instantly recognized this parallel to the…

Home Entertainment Screen Shot 2016-03-19 at 1.15.45 PM
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Donovan’s Brain (Kino Lorber) is the story of Dr. Patrick Cory (Lew Ayres, All Quiet on the Western Front) and a scientific experiment gone terribly wrong. We first see Dr. Cory experimenting with a monkey’s brain. His wife, Janice (Nancy Davis, later Nancy Reagan) wonders whether they could not surgically remove the brain and keep it alive in a container filled with saline solution and electricity.

Reviews Screen Shot 2016-03-18 at 8.52.00 AM
6.5
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We can blame the Harry Potter series, at least in part, for the pernicious trend of splitting the last book in a YA series into two, generally bloated halves, each one a cynical, unwarranted, unnecessary cash grab. Where Harry Potter went, other YA adaptations followed, from the Twilight Series to The …

Reviews 1d611de9c12888578e3d7aaeee455bc8
6.0
0

Simultaneously juggling filming in the busy Tehran streets with in-depth dialogue concerning the state of Iranian gender politics, Abbas Kiarostami’s Ten is more ambitious than its setting would suggest. Simply titled, Ten is a movie that is indeed about the journey rather than the destination, with this …

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