Blow Out: Criterion Collection
April 26, 2011
Time has been kind to Brian De Palma and his films. When he rose to prominence and made some of his most memorable films in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the director was criticized for making schlocky horror films (The Fury) and, most damning...
The Way Back
April 19, 2011
Has it really been seven years since Peter Weir released a film? For fans of his work, the arrival of a new film has been long overdue and eager anticipated. Sadly, the kinds of films he makes are no longer what Hollywood is interesting in backing and...
White Material: Criterion Collection
April 8, 2011
Claire Denis’ White Material (2009) is set in a nameless African country on the verge of civil war. It used to be under French rule but no longer. Only a few French white colonists remain and the film focuses on Maria Vial (Huppert) who runs a coffee...
Black Swan
March 24, 2011
Let’s be honest, there aren’t many ballet-centric films out there and even fewer that are good, with notable exceptions like The Red Shoes (1948) and the underrated Robert Altman film The Company (2003). So Darren Aronofsky had his work cut out for...
Every Day
March 11, 2011
The 1980’s were quite possibly the last decade that Hollywood produced decent character-driven dramas for adults. In the 1990’s, visual spectacles based on comic books, television shows, and so on that were enhanced by special effects became the norm....
Sweet Smell of Success: Criterion Collection
February 24, 2011
While Sweet Smell of Success (1957) was a hit with film critics at the time, it was not a box office smash as fans of the film’s two leads – Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis – were put off seeing their matinee idols portraying unlikable characters....
Senso: Criterion Collection
February 18, 2011
Despite the presence of Hollywood actor Farley Granger and European movie star Alida Valli, Luchino Visconti’s Senso (1954) was not given a proper theatrical release in the United States until 1968 – more than ten years after it was made and given...
Fish Tank: Criterion Collection
February 17, 2011
Fish Tank (2009) is Andrea Arnold’s third feature film and already she’s drawing comparisons to Ken Loach for her unflinching kitchen sink realism approach towards her depiction of working class English people. All three of her films feature young...
Welcome to the Rileys
January 31, 2011
You have to give Kristen Stewart credit. She’s managed to parlay the phenomenal success of the Twilight series and using her newfound box office clout to get several independent films, like Adventureland (2009), The Runaways (2010) and Welcome to the...
Broadcast News: Criterion Collection
January 21, 2011
After the success of the Academy Award-winning Terms of Endearment (1983), James L. Brooks spent a few years to research and write what could possibly be his most personal film to date: Broadcast News (1987). Drawing from his years in television, including...
