— by BEV QUESTAD — Happiness, a big loping dog, runs through Beijing streets chased by his owner, San Bao (Duan Bowen), on his motorbike. An ill-timed stop manned by a traffic cop restricts Bao from following free-running Happiness, so Bao hauls off and decks him. Like a row of dominoes clicking back against each […][...]
Review: In the Family
— by BEV QUESTAD — Patrick Wang has a gentle, honest, remarkably charismatic onscreen presence. What’s remarkable is that besides having the lead role, he produced, directed and wrote this tender legal gripper as well. All this surprisingly artsy involvement is from a Massachusetts Institute of Technology grad. The intelligence shows. Wang plays Joey, a […][...]
Review: Despicable Me 2
— by ADAM DALE — “Despicable Me” was a global success on all counts. Not only did it make more than $540 million at the worldwide box office, but was a tent-pole film that launched the new animation studio Illumination Entertainment onto the map of major contenders in animated films. The movie has thrived since […][...]
Review: Terms and Conditions May Apply
— by BEV QUESTAD — I’m glad we caught the bros who bombed the Boston Marathon so quickly. Surveillance cameras and private cell phones did their job. This act of wanton hurt is justification for an entire camera grid of all streets, malls, schools and government buildings. Yes, it sounds like Big Brother, but if […][...]
Moscow film festival winners named
Awards for the 35th annual Moscow International Film Festival went to filmmakers from Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Russia and Poland, with 16 films participating in the main competition. The main award, The Golden George, went to the film “Particle” from Turkey. Opening the ceremony, Nikita Mikhalkov congratulated Georgiy Daneliya with the semicentenary of his film […][...]
Review: The Way, Way Back
— by ADAM DALE — Movies about adolescents finding themselves have been popular for decades and a source of many classic films, but it begs the question: “Do we need more of them?” That is the question the writing and directing duo Nat Faxon and Jim Rush are hoping audiences will say “yes.” Typically seen […][...]
New Terminator trilogy will begin in 2015
Skydance Productions, Annapurna Pictures and Paramount Pictures have jointly announced they will partner on a rebooted “Terminator” movie to be released by Paramount Pictures on June 26, 2015. займ за минуту на карту без отказа все займы тут рф The first in a stand-alone trilogy, “Terminator” will be produced by Megan Ellison of Annapurna and […][...]
Review: Pretty Butterflies
— by RON WILKINSON — Sara Podda and Maya Mulas star in Salvatore Mereu’s new wave Italian neorealist romp in small town Italy. Not unlike small town America, the big dreams of two young girls are hemmed in on all sides by the small mindedness of their provincial environment. Screened at Open Roads: New Italian […][...]
Review: The Act of Killing
— by RON WILKINSON — Every now and then, a film comes along that defies description. Typically these films are so horrible and so irresistible that the viewer wants to forget he or she never saw the film, but is terrified that may be impossible. When Werner Herzog & Errol Morris team up to produce […][...]
Review: Leviathan
— by BEV QUESTAD — Sip some Ginger Ale, the sailor’s stabilizing brew, to get you in the mood to travel on this grueling ship of hardy yeomen. Using photography that defies the wet, windy, turbulent, listing life at sea, this ship experience off the coast of New Bedford, famed 19th century whaling seaport, takes […][...]