‘Sweet Bean’: Do you believe a recipe can change a person’s life? (Review)
Sweet Bean is a delicious film from Naomi Kawase, the Japanese director who gave us The Mourning Forest and Still the Water. It was an official…
Film Reviews
Film reviews covering indie, arthouse, and mainstream cinema.
The pitfalls of parenting summed up perfectly in this video
The Talk is “not for young children unless you want an awkward talk with them.” Indeed. The pitfalls of parenting. Sugar-coating be damned. The 8-minute…
Film Review: ‘Son of Saul’ spectacularly well made, expectedly heart-wrenching
Son of Saul (Saul fia). Google this Hungarian film, and attend a screening where and whenever you can. Dubbed a holocaust film this is as…
My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
“It’s not good enough… I wasted six months of our lives.” Nicolas Winding Refn held himself, once again, to a very high standard. The Danish…
All-star cast propels ‘Spotlight’ (Review)
Mark Ruffalo. Michael Keaton. Rachel McAdams. Liev Schreiber. John Slattery. Stanley Tucci. Together, in one movie? Yes. That would be Spotlight. And it’s a monster.…
Film Review: Toni Collette lends ‘Miss You Already’ star power
Director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) said that she wanted to ensure that Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette bonded before shooting began. As she has done so…
‘Son of Saul’ an astonishing, devastating experience not to be missed
At filmmaker Lázló Nemes’ request, Son of Saul screened at MVFF using a gorgeous, organic 35mm print. Interestingly, after opening promos, the screen and drapes re-sized…
There Will Be ‘Sacred Blood’
You don’t see horror films too often at mainstream film festivals. And you also don’t see new Coppola films all that often either. Sacred Blood,…
No suppressing creative spirit in ‘Taxi’
A preview of some of this year’s gems at the Mill Valley Film Festival begins with ‘Taxi’ (‘Taxi Tehran’), a banned film shot on the…
Plastic Surgery as Last Resort: ‘Desire for Beauty’
It’s a documentary, but it could be a horror film. Desire for Beauty begins with a young, attractive Polish woman getting drawn up by a surgeon…