Tribeca 2013 Review: The Bad Touch Leads To The DARK TOUCH

Six months from now, Kimberly Pierce's remake of Carrie will hit theaters and you've got to wonder--why? (Money.) DePalma's iconic adaptation is over thirty-five years old, and from the looks of the new version's trailer they're banking on young blood... More »
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: THE PRETTY ONE, With a Great Performance by Zoe Kazan In an Uneven Film

Actress Zoe Kazan (The Exploding Girl, Ruby Sparks) shines in a dual role as twin sisters in Jenée LaMarque's debut feature The Pretty One, receiving its world premiere at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Unfortunately, the film Kazan is in... More »
  

Review: NO PLACE ON EARTH Goes Dark With History

The new documentary No Place on Earth attempts to take viewers back in time to the dark days of the second world war, when Nazis were pursuing Jews, peril was everywhere, and still no one had any real notion... More »
By Jim Tudor   
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: THE MANOR is the GODFATHER of Jewish Strip-Club Owning Family Films

About an hour West of Toronto lies Guelph, Ontario. It's a college town, known for its slightly hippie vibe, strong connection with all things agricultural, and a quaint downtown. Attractions include a local brewery and a nearby Antique Festival that's... More »
  

Review: MUD Soars Far Beyond Its Roots

Jeff Nichols is fully in tune with nature and how people relate to it, reminiscent of certain Australian filmmakers in the 1970s. The feature films he has made so far are pure pieces of modern Americana, though, reflecting a sensibility... More »
  

Review: Baring Body And Soul In Ulrich Seidl's PARADISE: FAITH

The second installment of the Paradise Trilogy by Austrian provocateur Ulrich Seidl, Paradise: Faith premiered at the Venice Film Fest last year (Love at Cannes 2012 and Hope at the Berlinale 2013). And it will be screening as a part of... More »
  

Review: PARADISE: LOVE Illuminates Complex Emotional Truths

Ulrich Seidl's Paradise: Love, the first in his trilogy of "paradise" films (next up is Faith followed by Hope), is a confrontational, often ugly depiction of different forms of desperation and exploitation set against a sex tourism backdrop, and indeed,... More »
  

Review: PAIN & GAIN Mocks Meatheads, Is Meatheaded

Pain & Gain is a brash, puerile action-comedy of errors about a trio of muscle-obsessed idiots who set out to extort money from a sleazy Miami businessman by kidnapping and torturing him. Michael Bay, who directed it, is almost the... More »
  

Udine 2013 Review: Despite Lame Title, HOW TO USE GUYS WITH SECRET TIPS Is a Minor Revelation

Being one of the more tired genres to litter the multiplexes, every so often romantic comedies need a little boost to remind us that they can be worthwhile. Out of all of the national industries that regularly churn them out,... More »
  

Udine 2013 Review: TOUCH OF THE LIGHT Offers A Polite Reminder Not To Abandon Your Dreams

"Presented" by Wong Kar Wai and directed by Chang Jung-chi, Touch of the Light isn't an incredibly deep or adventurous movie, but I dare you to watch it and not reflect at least once, "maybe I should give some of... More »
  

Review: AT ANY PRICE Explores The Changing World Of Modern Farmers

"It's gonna be a great harvest," says a farmer's wife near the end of At Any Price. She's referring to the corn crop, but what this resonant, well-acted drama has made clear by this point is that "you reap what... More »
  

Review: IRON MAN 3 Has Wit But Lacks Brains

Shane Black adds humour and verve to Marvel's most successful screen superhero, ensuring Iron Man 3 sees Tony Stark more acerbic and witty than ever. But while Robert Downey Jr. brings the laughs and Black supplies the thrills, the film... More »
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: ADULT WORLD, An Obnoxious, Self-Consciously Quirky Would-Be Comedy

Like most other festivals, the Tribeca Film Festival is filled with films good, bad, and mediocre, but the nadir of my cinematic experiences here so far is certainly Scott Coffey's Adult World, a would-be comedy and self-described "satire" that is... More »
  

Udine 2013 Review: THE WAY WE DANCE Finds the Right Beat

The latest offering from local indie director Adam Wong strives to be Hong Kong's answer to the Step Up dance flicks, and for largely transcends its budgetary limitations to deliver a toe-tapping, unashamedly feel-good romp. High-school graduate Fleur (Cherry Ngan) lives... More »
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: MCCONKEY Does Full Justice to the Legendary Skier

While Shane McConkey may not quite be a household name, for fans of action sports, the name McConkey will forever be synonymous with extreme. From helping to launch the freeskiing movement to pioneering ski BASE jumping (that's skiing off... More »
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: FLEX IS KINGS Liberates And Enchants

Those addicted to documentaries will immediately recall David LaChappelle's 2005 film Rize once they've read the plot summary of Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols' fascinating Flex is Kings. The two films are certainly not dissimilar, but in the end,... More »
  

Tribeca 2013: Short Film Round-Up

There are plenty of features to catch during this year's Tribeca Film Festival. There are also just as many shorts. For those of you in town who can't quite decide which short film blocks to catch, and for those of... More »
  

Udine 2013 Review: THE LAST SUPPER Filters Bloody Power Struggles of Ancient China Through A Fragmented Mind

Lu Chuan's retelling of Liu Bang's rise to power in ancient China is filled with so much backstabbing, manipulation and fatal ambition, Shakespeare himself probably would have written it had he read up more on Chinese history. However, he certainly... More »
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: Inside the Mind of MICHAEL H. PROFESSION: DIRECTOR

You think you know Michael Haneke? Director of such uplifting films as The Piano Teacher, Cache, and Amour? Look at that Austrian death-glower. It shrivels the soul. He's got to be one of the most humorless individuals on the planet,... More »
  

Udine 2013 Review: MARUYAMA, THE MIDDLE SCHOOLER Is A Surprisingly Endearing Comedy About Self-Fellatio

Before seeing Maruyama, The Middle Schooler, I would have said that making a two-hour comedy about a fourteen-year-old boy who's primary ambition throughout the film is to, as the omniscient narrator puts it, "to touch his own weeny with his... More »
  
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