Top Ten Films of 2014: A deluge of sci-fi doppelgängers and one-word titles

I don’t want to label 2014 as a good, bad, or average year. I want to call it inventive, original, and delightfully dark. Whether it’s doppelgänger paradoxes leading to murderous rage, the bleak carnage of war, prison violence, or psychologically debilitating struggles to be great, my favorite films had an edge that cut to the bone by credits’ end. The best thing I can say about 2014 is that my top ten (heck, maybe my top twenty-five) could be re-organized and re-listed without making me too angry about what is…

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TIFF13 REVIEW: Abus de faiblesse [Abuse of Weakness] [2014]

“Nothing will ever be the same” The draw of Catherine Breillat‘s autobiographical film Abus de faiblesse [Abuse of Weakness] is ultimately to watch how someone so desperately in need can be preyed upon no matter intelligence, wealth, or stature. When tragedy strikes unannounced by means of a debilitating stroke, the fear of death and paralysis eventually makes its way to newfound tenacity and strength. But what no one who isn’t absolutely indebted to the help of others for even menial tasks like opening a door can know is that the…

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