TIFF16 REVIEW: Kati Kati [2017]
“You’re here because you’re dead” Most of cinema’s best films are those that do rather than explain. These works are created by artists wielding airtight concepts insofar as attaining their goal of delivering a specific, emotion-fueled message. Kenyan creative Mbithi Masya‘s feature debut Kati Kati is a perfect example of what can be made when […]
REVIEW: A Hologram for the King [2016]
“Look. They are sweeping sand in the desert.” If you’re doubling-down on the existential content of your film as soon as it begins, you can do worse than Talking Heads classic “Once in a Lifetime”. Not only does it perfectly encapsulate the fallout of a mid-life crisis wherein everything you believed made you who you […]
Top Ten Films of 2012: Ensembles upon ensembles
Many have been saying 2012 was a great year for movies. I’m not sure I fully agree. There were a ton of solid 7/10s and 8/10s, yes, but how does that compare with previous years when the amount of 10/10s were also drastically reduced? It took until September for me to give a film four […]
Top 25 Films of 2012
(short and sweet and to the point; culled from watching ~140 releases. constantly updated as i catch up to those i missed. click poster for review if applicable) #25: End of Watch directed by David Ayer #24: Amour directed by Michael Haneke #23: Moonrise Kingdom directed by Wes Anderson #22: How to Survive a Plague […]
Picking Winners at the 85th Annual Academy Awards
Supporting Actress: Amy Adams: The Master Sally Field: Lincoln Anne Hathaway: Les Misérables Helen Hunt: The Sessions Jacki Weaver: Silver Linings Playbook William Altreuter: It often seems to me that the Best Supporting categories are where the most interesting things are to be found in the Academy Award nominations, and this year is proving me right. What we often get—especially with Best Actress […]
TIFF12 REVIEW: Cloud Atlas [2012]
“Our lives are not our own” In grand fashion comes an epic about freedom and the wrongs of humanity forever marring how we’re seen through the annals of time. Every misstep is repeated; every stand against oppression spawned from the voice of one strong enough to understand equality’s worth over the cowardice of blindly hiding […]
REVIEW: The International [2009]
“Slaves to debt” Why do I keep questioning the work of Tom Tykwer? True, I didn’t know that The International was his film until way after the marketing onslaught, but even then I still held a little trepidation, although much less than when I first saw the trailers looking kind of mediocre. The guy most […]
REVIEW: Lola rennt [Run Lola Run] [1998]
“And then …” I am a big Tom Tykwer fan. Between his latest, Perfume, his short in Paris, je t’aime, and the wonderful directing of Heaven from the late Kieslowski’s script, I must say he is unafraid to use any technical ingenuity he can think of. This type of delving into mixed genres and cinematic […]
REVIEW: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer [2006]
“The sweet smell of innocence” Director Tom Tykwer has created a visually lush, unique piece of cinema again. From the highly original Lola rennt, to the visualization of the late Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Heaven (the first part to a planned trilogy, the second of which has been made by another director), Tykwer’s talents continue to make […]
Top 25 Films of 2002
(short and sweet and to the point; culled from watching 87 releases. constantly updated as i catch up to those i missed. click poster for review if applicable) #25: Spider directed by David Cronenberg #24: Scotland, P.A. directed by Billy Morrissette #23: Death to Smoochy directed by Danny DeVito #22: Catch Me If You Can […]
Top 20 Films of 1998
(short and sweet and to the point; culled from watching 71 releases. constantly updated as i catch up to those i missed. click poster for review if applicable) #20: Very Bad Things directed by Peter Berg. #19: The Big Lebowski directed byJoel Coen & Ethan Coen #18: Following directed byChristopher Nolan #17: Shakespeare in Love […]
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