— by RON WILKINSON — “The Fighter” mega-stars Christian Bale and Amy Adams reunite with director David O. Russell in a pot-boiling romp through political and law enforcement corruption in the morally adrift 1980s. Bale plays con man Irving Rosenfeld who, after founding a string of[...]
Review: Nuclear Nation
— by RON WILKINSON — After a sequence of electrical and mechanical failures stemming from the March 11, 2011, earthquake and subsequent tsunami that smashed into the Fukushima prefecture on Japan’s East coast, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reactor containment vessels exploded, blanketing the area in radioactive debris. “Nuclear Nation” is the latest documentary […][...]
Review: Inside Llewyn Davis
— by RON WILKINSON — Strange and whacky, yes, but the Coen Brother’s latest movie falls short of the mark set by their previous pieces, especially the similar “O Brother Where Art Thou.” Attempting to create the strange, offbeat and wonderful aura of the mythological search of “O Brother,” the Coens could not put together […][...]
Review: S#x Acts (aka Shesh peamim)
— by RON WILKINSON — Director Jonathan Gurfinkel follows 15-year-old Gili (Sivan levy) through a few days of her life as she begins attending a new school. The new school is a new life for Gili, with new surroundings, a new neighborhood, a new social circle and new social demands. The first part of the […][...]
Online Film Critics Society: 2013 Nominees
The Online Film Critics Society has announced its nominees for the 17th annual OFCS awards for excellence in film. The year was marked by conspicuous trends, ranging from end-of-the-world cataclysms, A-list Hollywood stars struggling against unforgiving environments to African American filmmakers portraying the black experience with emotional candor. Art house riches abounded, with films such […][...]
Review: Saving Mr. Banks
— by BEV QUESTAD — We get caught up in our own difficult stories, in patterns of expectation that recycle old troubles, but the trick is to change our mindset. Walt Disney will reveal his difficult childhood story that ironically fueled his happy-ending films and magical kingdoms. He also discovers the sad childhood story of […][...]
Godzilla: Teaser and Poster
— by ADAM POYNTER — Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the gigantic lizard monster that has terrorized many cities in its many incarnations over the past six decades. “Godzilla” is one of the most famous movie monsters ever created and deserving of an updated reboot. Director Gareth Edwards (“Monsters”) is not new […][...]
Review: Crave
— by RON WILKINSON — Director Charles de Lauzirika’s atmospheric thriller aims to get at what makes us tick; those countless, terrifying moments that we live with all of our life. These are the moments when we should have done something, but did not. These are the lost opportunities that fill our lives with misgivings. […][...]
Review: The Wind Rises (aka Kaze Tachinu)
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 2013 New York Film Festival, Hayao’s first feature length directorial release since “Ponyo” in 2008 starts off as a striking peon to animated steam punk fantasy but ends up as an interminable repeating link of soap opera slush. The opening scenes of incredible flying machines, heroic actions […][...]
Review: Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?
— by RON WILKINSON — Yes, it may be impossible to consider the consequences of describing a river that becomes a highway, or of attributing possession of a ship that has been completely reconstructed or of converting the title of this film from a question to statement by moving the first “Is” to near the […][...]