Kathie Smith

Minneapolis, MN

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 »

By Kathie Smith

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 »

By Kathie Smith

MSPIFF 2013 Review: THESE BIRDS WALK Delivers Emotional Behind-The-Scenes Realism

Striking a poetic cord, These Birds Walk finds a symbiotic naturalism between those filming, newcomers Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq, and those being filmed, the unwanted children of Pakistan. Pakistan, more than any other country, feels like an innocent bystander... More »

By Kathie Smith

MSPIFF 2013 Review: 80 MILLION Is A Cerebral Cat-And-Mouse

80 Million, Poland's 2012 candidate for Best Foreign Language Film, teases of a bank heist but delivers a cerebral, dialogue driven cat-and-mouse. The dramatic retelling of the anti-communist groundswell in 1980s Poland delves head first into the politically and... More »

By Kathie Smith

VIFF 2012 Review: TOGETHER Is Frothy Fun

A fresh blend of romantic comedy and fluffy drama, Rox Hsu's intrinsically constructed Together makes for some serious carefree viewing. Channeled through the eyes, and occasionally the will, of 17 year-old Xiao Yang, the film leapfrogs through a neighborhood of... More »

By Kathie Smith

VIFF 2012 Review: IF IT'S NOT NOW, THEN WHEN

The world can be a dull and sullen place. Movies of the mainstream variety offer an easy if not cathartic diversion from the humdrum with momentary distractions full of thrills, horrors and laughs where things happen for a reason. Festival... More »

By Kathie Smith

VIFF 2012 Review: MCDULL, THE PORK OF MUSIC Is A Worthy Continuation Of The Franchise

McDull, a little pig with a big heart, comes from a long line of adorable yet pointed social commentary created by writer Brian Tse and cartoonist Alice Mak over the past 20 years. A little too plump and not too... More »

By Kathie Smith

VIFF 2012 Review: A WEREWOLF BOY Is Mainstream Melodrama

Who is Jo Sung-hee? Judging this young director by his first two feature film may be a lot like pinning down a psychological profile on Dr. Henry Jekyll. Jo's first feature, End of Animal (2010), was a very idiosyncratic quasi-religious... More »

By Kathie Smith

VIFF 2012 Review PEOPLE'S PARK Is A Single Take Marvel

As if making a contradictory study to the more politically motivated documentaries made in and about China, J.P. Sniadecki and Libbie Dina Cohn turn an observational eye on the more prosaic aspects of the country. The duo stakes out a... More »

By Kathie Smith

VIFF 2012 Review: BEAUTIFUL 2012 Is A Rare, Successful Omnibus

Rarely do omnibus films work. They either have too many films to differentiate one from the other (like another VIFF entry this year 10+10) or the quality of the films is so uneven that even the good segments are not... More »

By Kathie Smith

VIFF 2012 Review: A FISH Is A Complex Riddle

Park Hong-min's debut feature, modest as it might seem on the edges, boasts a striking visual presence right from the first frame. We see a stationary shot of a road with cars buzzing by as if we are standing on... More »

By Kathie Smith

VIFF 2012 Review: WHEN NIGHT FALLS Is A Poetic Protest

On July 1, 2008, just a mere month before the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics, a 28-year-old man named Yang Jia charged into a police station in Shanghai with Molotov cocktails and a knife, killing six and wounding four... More »

By Kathie Smith

Review: HEADSHOT Injects New Blood Into a Noir-ish Thriller

Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Headshot is an antithetical thriller that easily morphs into a subdued, slate-grey crime noir. With a striking sense of ease and control, Ratanaruang steers his eighth feature through the paces of political, police and underworld manipulations, allowing it... More »

By Kathie Smith

Leading Voices in Global Cinema

Todd Brown, Founder & Editor Toronto
Peter Martin, Managing Editor Dallas
Ryland Aldrich, Festivals Editor Los Angeles
James Marsh, Asian Editor Hong Kong
Brian Clark, European Editor Paris

FEAR & LOATHING AT CANNES, PART 3: EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL AND I'M TRIPPING BALLS

CHAPTER 6: THERE'S NOTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN A PURPLE BEACH SMOTHERED IN MELTING TROMMETTES DURING A CRIMSON TINGED SUNSET ON THE FRENCH RIVERIA, HOLY SHIT I'M TRIPPING MY FUCKING FACE OFF.It's night. When the fuck did it become night? I'm naked. Where the fuck did my clothes go? I'm on... More »

Destroy All Monsters: I Think We've Been This Way Before, Mr. Spock

They can remember it for you wholesale, and they do. At some point, we licensed our pop cultural nostalgia to a handful of multinational conglomerates (well, to be fair, they always owned the licenses) and now they're selling them back to us - though, I guess, not at wholesale, but... More »

Interview: Twitch Talks to HANGOVER III's Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong may often play a lunatic on both big and small screen, but in person it's quite disarming to see just how calm and considerate he comes across. While he got his big screen start in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up, Jeong's real breakthrough was taking a small-on-paper role... More »

Hollywood Beat: Notes On Cutting The Cord And NBC's Genre Programs

I cut the cable cord last year, but I'm not always happy about it. I had to wait a year before seeing Season 2 of Game of Thrones, for example, and will have to wait to see Season 3 until next year. I only have to wait to see Mad... More »

Twitchvision: Talking STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, MUD and THE ICEMAN

Another Twitchvision chat with Scott Laurie, this time me gushing about J.J.'s latest Star Trek film, which I unabashedly loved.Also talked about he fabbo Mud, and the less fabbo The Iceman, both with Michael Shannon doing his thing.Video embedded below.Update: Was asked to come in today and pick a few... More »