Cannes 2013 Review: Anurag Kashyap's UGLY Is a Riveting Thriller About Awful Things
Anurag Kashyap's follow-up to the widely admired Gangs of Wasseypur announces itself with a cacophony of discordant noise screeching over an attempted suicide. It's almost as if Kashyup decided to warn viewers up front, this one won't be easy. And,... More »
  

Cannes 2013 Review: Ozon's YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL Finds New Problems With Sexual Awakenings
Just when it seemed that every single movie about teen girls coming to terms with their sexuality had already been made, here comes François Ozon's Young and Beautiful (Jeune et Jolie), a well-observed, often fascinating exploration of a 17-year-old girl's willful entry... More »
  

Cannes 2013 Review: THE BLING RING Pawns Character for Coolness
It's difficult to talk much about Sofia Coppola's latest The Bling Ring without address this year's other cute-teens-as-criminals film Spring Breakers -- so let's just get the comparisons out of the way right off the bat. While both films... More »
  

Jeonju 2013 Review: Lee Sang-woo's Thrilling EMERGENCY EXIT is a Poetic Gutpunch
Every year, the Jeonju International Film Festival commissions a pair of omnibus features. The longest-running and most famous of these is the Jeonju Digital Project, which has featured a number of star Asian directors over the years. The other is... More »
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: Does MR. JONES Take Found Footage Horror To A New Dimension?
"Scott is a filmmaker in need of inspiration..." in a film whose very genre is in need of inspiration: found footage horror. The TFF festival guide bills Mr. Jones' writer/director, Karl Mueller, as someone who has "taken the found footage... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: 12 O'CLOCK BOYS Is A Hell Of A Ride
It's no surprise to long term readers of my reviews that I'm kind of enamoured with David Simon's Baltimore. From Homicide: Life On The Streets, through The Corner and of course The Wire (still perhaps the best programme that has... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: AFTER TILLER Is Important, Vital Look at Late Term Abortion Doctor in US
On May 31, 2009, Doctor George Tiller was murdered while attending his regular Sunday church service. The doctor was one of a handful trained and willing to perform what are almost antiseptically referred to as "late term" abortions, the termination... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: MUSCLE SHOALS Is A Stunning, Soulful Achievement
It's a rare thing, the truly engaging music documentary. You have to have a number of things come together to make it more than just a series of clips from some music you feel palatable. The best films are those... More »
  

Sci-Fi London 2013 Review: MARS ET AVRIL Deserves Greater Attention
Oh, what a wonderful, rich, glorious treat of a film Mars et Avril is. A sci-fi steam-punk romance with a terrific score, it is a delight to the senses. Visually stunning, melodramatic in its storytelling, and unafraid to delve into deep... More »
  

Jeonju 2013 Review: The Ethereal DEAR DOLPHIN Explores Grief and Guilt
The most anticipated film of the Jeonju International Film Festival's Korean Competition this year, Kang Ji-na's feature Dear Dolphin, was also the most polished. With its themes of love, loss and loneliness, as well as its vibrant colors, strong mise-en-scene... More »
  

Sci-Fi London 2013 Review: VESSEL Thoughtfully Depicts The Dark Side Of Psychic Powers
The world premiere screening of Vessel did not begin well. Out-of-synch sound forced the projectionist to stop film about 10 minutes in, and delay for half an hour while a back-up copy was found (I'm used to technical problems, so... More »
  

Review: ABDUCTEE Sees Yamaguchi Thinking Outside the Box
Japanese director Yamaguchi Yudai shows signs of creative growth and maturity in this taut, well-directed chamber piece that takes place entirely within the confines of a shipping container. When middle-aged security guard Chiba awakes to find himself bound and gagged... More »
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS Proves A Unique And Lyrical Journey On The Autistic Spectrum
Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors is one of those rare tone poems that successfully straddles the line between an abstract avalanche of emotions and images and true narrative, complete with arcs, climax, and resolution. It's the story of a... More »
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: THE TRIALS OF MUHAMMAD ALI Lacks Novelty And The Figurative Punch, But Provides Plenty of The Literal Kind

Muhammad Ali, aka Cassius Clay, is one of the most famous boxers in history, and one of the more recognizable names in all of sports. His legendary strength, speed, power, and his incredible brashness and pride set him apart from... More »
  

MSPIFF 2013 Review: THE DEEP Is A Modest, Well-Made Adventure
Baltasar Kormakur's The Deep is one of those rare examples of a fictionalized true story that doesn't ooze with exaggerated melodrama for false effect. Kormakur (101 Reykjavík, the excellent Jar City, and Reykjavík-Rotterdam remake Contraband) crafts a plainspoken tale of... More »
  

Sci-Fi London 2013 Review: DEAD WEIGHT
Two things can/have happened with the greater ease of making an indepedent film: One is that newbie filmmakers take no time or care with writing a good story and then take even less time to plan how they will film... More »
  

NYIFF 2013 Review: AATMA Gives Even Its Villains A Little Bit Of Soul
Suparn Verma's latest film, Aatma, is one that's been on my radar for quite some time. I was more than a little bit disappointed when it didn't open stateside as expected, but I'm happy to see it get its moment... More »
By J Hurtado   
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: RAZE, A Bloody and Brutal Female-Centered Action Spectacle Headlined by Stuntwoman Turned Thespian Zoe Bell
If you're the type of person who ever thought, "Man, I wish there was a movie filled with attractive women beating the shit out of each other," well, Raze has come along to answer your prayers. A brutal, relentless machine... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: THE EXPEDITION TO THE END OF THE WORLD Asks Big Questions in Wide Open Spaces
Specifically, the eponymous End of the World is a place: The northern shores of Greenland that have been inaccessible due to ice-locked waterways, which now, due to changing climes, are open for a mere few weeks a year to such... More »
  

MSPIFF 2013 Review: THE FIFTH SEASON's Apocalypse Hits Freakishly Close To Home
There is no denying that contemporary audiences are obsessed with the on-screen fantasy of all-out social breakdown. And with the exception of the poor humanoids being innocently victimized by interplanetary sadists, most cases involve our own maligned inventions retaliating and... More »
  
 
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FEAR & LOATHING AT CANNES, PART 2: I'M IN LOVE WITH EVERYBODY'S GIRL

CHAPTER 4: THE PHILOSOPHY OF ANNA KARINA AND BUTT PLUGSI'm sitting outside at a small Café that my editor told me to meet him at. I'm a 10 minute walk from the Marche Du Film convention hall and I'm still waiting for my editor to arrive so he take guide... More »

CINEMA HOLOCAUST ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA, PART 1: THOSE GOD DAMN FILM BLOGGERS

MIKE'S JOURNAL. MAY 13. MORNINGI wake up sometime around five AM. My flight to France doesn't leave until five PM. I should be there for security check in sometime around 3PM. There is no reason for me to be up this early but I'm feeling anxious. I have an itch... More »

FEAR & LOATHING AT CANNES, PART 1: A MAN'S HANDSHAKE SAYS EVERYTHING

CHAPTER ONE: THE BIGGER THE SIDEBURNS, THE BIGGER THE ASSHOLE. I've hit the big time now. I've finally made it. I'm in like Flint from here on out. I'm boarding a plane to France where I'll be attending the Cannes Film Festival for the first time.No more unpaid blogging from... More »

Destroy All Monsters: Leo DiCaprio and the Myth of the Chick Flick

I have a running argument about whether or not movie box office is a zero-sum game. I tend to attack film earning potential from the "mother of two" perspective - which is that while yes, it's nice to believe that if a film is good it has a theoretically unlimited... More »

5 Favorite 50s Sci-Fi Flicks

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