Like Tree Of Life (But Less Catholic): Post Tenebras Lux

Carlos Reygadas"s latest mixes scenes of photographic beauty with those of human cruelty.
by Nicolas Rapold
Post Tenebras LuxDirected by Carlos Reygadas The man knows how to open a movie: the celestial dance at dawn in Silent Light, and now the way his latest...

Downcountry Pale: Sun Don"t Shine

This shoestring Florida-set feature is a crime thriller featuring the mumblecorps.
by Benjamin Mercer
Sun Don"t ShineDirected by Amy Seimetz “Will you please just act normal?” the on-edge man behind the wheel pleads to the restless naïf riding...

The Awkward Age: What Maisie Knew

This Henry James adaptation, updated to contemporary NYC, is smart and moving.
by Henry Stewart
What Maisie KnewDirected by David Siegel and Scott McGehee The filmmakers can move Henry James"s novel of Victorian decadence to contemporary New York City because the...

America, I Love You, But You"re Bringing Me Down: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

This spy movie dares to sympathize with an American Muslim who questions his patriotism after 9/11.
by Ryan Vlastelica
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Directed by Mira Nair This movie does something shocking: it dares to take seriously the views of someone who would...

The Independent Hipster, The Jazzman Turned Boxer: Muhammad Ali, the Greatest

http://goo.gl/tYwuv
William Klein’s 1975 doc attends to everything the key cultural figure represented.
by Dan Sullivan
Muhammad Ali, The Greatest (1974)Directed by William KleinApril 19 at the Museum of Art and Design, part of its William Klein retrospective A masterful study...

Vision Quest: To the Wonder

Is Terrence Malick laughable?
by Nicolas Rapold
To the WonderDirected by Terrence Malick Divisive seems a strong word for the lyrical creations of Terrence Malick, but such are the reactions to the works of this filmmaker who, with this largely dialogue-free...

Blancanieves: A Silent Movie for People Who Hate Silent Movies

It’s also a gorgeously performed lullaby in pastiche, both light and heavy.
by Steve Macfarlane
BlancanievesDirected by Pablo Berger Blancanieves occupies a thorny bramble of cinephilia (inevitably, the film has been compared to The Artist) as a...

Somebody Up There Likes Me: Death! Divorce! Haha!

Bob Byington’s guffawsome comedy suggests life is meaningless and miserable.
by Henry Stewart
Somebody Up There Likes MeDirected by Bob Byington Rocky Marciano he ain’t.…
[ Read more ]
[ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

Strained Seriousness: The Place Beyond the Pines

The director of Blue Valentine‘s latest Ryan Gosling vehicle is more ticking time-bomb realism.
by Benjamin Mercer
The Place Beyond the PinesDirected by Derek Cianfrance An upstate tragedy that taps into some Timeless Themes—the unrelenting...

Raising Cain: What If it Were About Abel?

De Palma’s 1992 MPD classic was almost a very different movie.
by Simon Abrams
Raising Cain (1992)Directed by Brian De PalmaMarch 29-30 at Nitehawk After reading about writer/director De Palma’s reservations, it’s impossible to rewatch the...

Night Tide: Attack of the Killer Mermaid?

Curtis Harrington’s 1961 B-movie-ish noir was a key transitional work for Dennis Hopper.
by Dan Sullivan
Night Tide (1961)Directed by Curtis HarringtonApril 1, at 92YTribeca Director Harrington—a former avant-gardist, Maya Deren disciple, and Kenneth...