Review: EVERYTHING OR NOTHING - THE UNTOLD STORY OF 007

When Stevan Riley's new documentary, made as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of James Bond in film, wasn't included as part of the big bumper blu-ray boxset that was released at the same time Skyfall hit cinemas, I was... More »
  

IFFR 2013 Review: MATTERHORN Climbs To An Emotional High

(This one puts the gut-punch back in Punchline...) This year, Matterhorn won the Audience Award of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the first Dutch film since 1997's The Polish Bride to do so. Local films were strongly represented in the... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Review: Brian De Palma Gets Out A Mixed-Bag Of Old Tricks For PASSION

After the experimental political polemic Redacted and the gun-for-hire mess The Black Dahlia, Brian De Palma has returned to what should be his comfort zone; a violent, erotic thriller which he actually wrote himself. In fact, every scene of Passion... More »
  

Berlinale 2013 Review: COMPUTER CHESS Wins, Despite Its Bold Moves

Despite the fact that Computer Chess is a movie about programmers competing to change the way humans perceive computers, it's about as far removed from the cutthroat melodrama of The Social Network or Pirates of Silicon Valley as a movie... More »
  

Berlinale 2013 Review: VIC + FLO SAW A BEAR Is Bold, Strange And Surprisingly Dull

As the title suggests, Vic + Flo Saw a Bear is a determinedly strange, offbeat film. It's like a juggler with a dozen balls who keeps going, completely indifferent to the fact that he's dropping balls left and right. Of... More »
  

Review: XL Reveals The Ugly Side Of Icelandic Politics

Here we are, four years after the financial crash and artists are still commenting on the events that led to it. Fueled by stories of greed, political corruption and over abundance, it's easy to find material to tell and... More »
By Swarez   
  

TV Review: BLACK MIRROR S2E01, BE RIGHT BACK (Or, Charlie Brooker's Sci-Fi Anthology Returns, Stronger Than Ever)

When Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror began in 2011, it seemed to be focused on being an effective satire above anything else. Its opener, "The National Anthem," is a sensationalist episode that definitely got viewers talking and kept them watching. As... More »
  

Berlinale 2013 Review: Ulrich Seidl's PARADISE: HOPE Is A Surprisingly Comic Diet Camp Love Story

Ulrich Seidl's third part of his controversial "Paradise" trilogy, as expected, breaks taboos and offers plenty of squirm-inducing depictions of raw, socially unacceptable emotions... but oddly, it's also a really silly movie. In fact, most of the film, set in... More »
  

Berlinale 2013 Review: The Fascinating Mysteries Of I'M NOT DEAD

The opening credits to I'm Not Dead play over an intense string number that immediately calls to mind Hitchcock thrillers of yesteryear. While in many ways Mehdi Ben Attia's film is far more intimate and ambiguous (at least on the... More »
  

IFFR 2013 Review: LORE Finds The Awful Truth In Pretty Pictures

After her well-received debut feature Summersault (2004), a small indie film about a young woman's sexual awakening that launched the careers of Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington, directing a WWII drama in Germany with all German cast is a curious... More »
  

IFFR 2013 Review: OH BOY Meanders Pleasantly Through A Beautiful Berlin

(But will the sequel be called Oh Man?) There is no shortage of debut films at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Beginning filmmakers are encouraged through the Hivos Tiger Awards, and the festival section "Bright Future" strives to bring forward... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

IFFR 2013 Review: F*CK FOR FOREST Tries To Spread Love And Peace!

(It's a documentary about f*cking hippies... No, I'm not being reactionary! They're really hippies and they're really f*cking!) This year there were several feature documentaries at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, but few had a subject (or a title) as... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Review: Quentin Dupieux's WRONG is Weird and Awesome

Writer / director / composer / editor / cinematographer / auteur / weirdo Quentin Dupieux is a guy who pulls the mat right out from under the Hollywood norm and takes bold and colorful chances. A couple of years ago,... More »
  

Black Movie 2013 Review: TODAY (AUJOURD'HUI) Puts a New Spin on Dying

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE From Ikiru to The Bucket List, there are already a number of movies made about people who find out they have a short time to live. However, I can safely say... More »
  

IFFR 2013 Review: FRANKENSTEIN'S ARMY Is Out To Get You

This is the kind of film where "tripping over your own legs" doesn't necessarily mean they're still attached... Richard Raaphorst's debut feature film Frankenstein's Army has its world premiere today at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. And it's about time:... More »
By Ard Vijn   
  

Black Movie 2013 Review: Carlos Reygadas Brings the Devil Home in POST TENEBRAS LUX

As I review more and more films out of festivals, I'm beginning to notice a pattern: I'm much more forgiving and enthusiastic about films that shoot the moon and fall somewhere short than with serviceable movies trodding well-worn territory that... More »
  

Black Movie 2013 Review: SOFIA'S LAST AMBULANCE Offers a Riveting, Humanistic Look at a Systemic Nightmare

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 It's hard to imagine a more stressful, sanity-testing job than that of an ambulance medic. Not only do they spend all of their working hours in a constant state of... More »
  

Slamdance 2013 Review: DOMESTIC Finds Its Bliss

Adrian Sitaru's third feature Domestic begins with the residents of an apartment building in modern Romania gathering in the lobby to discuss with their building president Mr. Lazar (Adrian Titieni) the pesky presence of one mangy mutt whose been hanging... More »
  

Slamdance 2013 Review: KOHLHAAS Wonderfully Captures The Comedy And Tragedy Of Filmmaking

We all have visions that we hold dear, ideas and ideals that we keep close to our hearts, ready to share in that moment when we absolutely must go forth and claim our stake in the world. As German author... More »
  

Review: HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS is Bloody Entertaining

After lampooning Quentin Tarantino and resurrecting Nazi zombies, Norwegian writer-director Tommy Wirkola finally gets to unveil his English language debut. True to form, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters proves to be a goofy, yet thoroughly entertaining romp that blends the... More »
  
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