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 »
  

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 »
  

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 »
  

Review: KISS OF THE DAMNED Recreates Euro-Horror On A Grand Scale
There are few sub-genres of film quite as specific and instantly recognizable as '70s Euro-horror. Filmmakers like Jean Rollin, Jess Franco, Jose Ramon Larraz and a few others left an indelible mark on the international horror market. Their creations were... More »
By J Hurtado   
  

Review: THE ICEMAN Makes A Slushy, Sloppy Mess
Like a stiff mixed drink that doesn't live up to the quality of its ingredients, The Iceman proves to be an unpalatable, underwhelming crime drama. All the great parts are there; we've got a simmering Michael Shannon in a 70s... More »
  

Tribeca 2013 Review: OXYANA Is A Beautiful And Savage Documentary On The Plague Of Addiction
Oxyana is not a story about redemption. The feature-length documentary from director Sean Dunne, who brought us the most revealing look at a maligned subculture with his mini-doc, American Juggalo, is just about as bleak as it gets. With content... More »
  

Review: THE SOURCE FAMILY - Spiritual Utopia Or Exploitive Cult?
There are those in The Source Family, a film exploring a radical, Utopian community in the 70's, who still claim that they experienced unexplainable miracles while living under the guidance of spiritual leader Father Yod. Stillborn babies were seemingly magically... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS
The title is a mouthful, but is a entirely appropriate and poetic link to the film's subject matter, the bizarre Vegas-in-the-Ozarks refuge that is Branson, Missouri.Nestled in the heart of hillbilly country, the town of 10,000 plays home to millions... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: TALES FROM THE ORGAN TRADE Is Wonderfully Nuanced
Far too often "issue" films play out as mere polemics, dogmatically reemphasizing a given point of view to a receptive audience. I often find these type of films dreary and intellectually barren, a lazy form of near propaganda that does... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL Subverts the Expected TEDtalk Narrative
What exactly is William and The Windmill about?  Is it the story of a resourceful and ingenious young Malawi boy who builds a windmill from available detritus using diagrams in a book so his parents have a way to... More »
  

Hot Docs 2013 Review: THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF DORIS PAYNE is Glamorous and Mundane
It takes a certain amount of chutzpah to walk into a jewelry store and pull a pure short-con swindle. Doris Payne, now in her early eighties, remains as wiry and razor sharp as she ever was, pulling one jewel... More »
  

Review: THE COLONY Leaves You Cold
Man, I had such high hopes for The Colony. Sure, my feelings of hope were coloured a bit by a set visit a year ago that went comically awry. This low-budget, independent sci-fi film, starring Kevin Zegers, Bill Paxton and Laurence... More »
  

Review: AN OVERSIMPLIFICATION OF HER BEAUTY Connects On A Visceral, Emotional Level
Terence Nance's An Oversimplification of Her Beauty teeters precariously on the border between unbearably pretentious and brazenly original. With a film as potentially divisive as this one, I often fall on the side of condemnation, branding pretentious films as full... More »
By J Hurtado   
  

Review: SUN DON'T SHINE Haunts A Fateful Road Trip
There's a small scene in Sun Don't Shine that keeps playing over and over again in my head. A woman is telling a story about the time she was making a pizza and almost burned her house down. She mixed... 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 »
  

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: 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 »
  

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 »
  
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Interview: Twitch Talks to HANGOVER III's Ken Jeong

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

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

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Learning from the Masters of Cinema: Henri-Georges Clouzot's THE MURDERER LIVES AT 21

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