Before Midnight (dir. Linklater)
A worthy end to what has become one of cinema's richest trilogies. The series has grown with its protagonists, offering an even more perceptive and satisfying outlook on life than the previous two installments. (A)
Blood Brother (dir. Hoover) (interview with director)
One of the most humbling and heartbreaking cinematic experiences of my life. This sleek, beautifully packaged gift is the rare film that makes one look at life differently. (A)
The Croods (dir. Sanders, DeMicco)
If you are looking for anything compelling, anything beneath the fun-tastic ride that the beautifully animated adventure shows on the surface, this is not the film for you. (B-)
Expedition to the End of the World (dir. Dencik) (review)
Hilarious, frightening, eye-opening and majestically beautiful all in equal measure. Expedition is uniquely designed to torture thalassophobics, but one can't take eyes away from the screen. (B+)
The Great Gatsby (dir. Luhrmann) (review)
Ambitious and undoubtedly Luhrmannesque, Gatsby is commendable for its immaculate, flashy, and admittedly over-saturated design, strong performances and the mere fact of its presence in today's film scene. (B+)
Like Someone in Love (dir. Kiarostami)
Kiarostami at his technical best and his concept-y worst. Love doesn't rank with the director's best but it's a gently thoughtful film that continues to grow on me the more distant I get. (B+)
Mama (dir. Muschietti) (review)
Eerie thrills in the first half become subdued in a repetitive, episodic structure full of cheap thrills. Ill conceived fairy tale finale brings the film down to farce. (D+)
Reality (dir. Garrone)
The real characters feel so plastic, one wonders whether they don't live their entire lives on an epic show of Truman's proportions. Rich visuals and a magnificent score fall victim to the unsatisfying script. (B-)
A Respectable Family (dir. Bakhshi) (review)
Confidently handling the juxtapositions in modern Iran between social classes and along the Islamic spectra, Bakhshi's film presents a unique take on Iranian Diaspora and the unscrupulous world of illegal commerce. (B)
Side Effects (dir. Soderbergh)
The final payoff doesn't resonate emotionally, but this formally adventurous film is beautifully atmospheric and slyly unpredictable. Law and Mara typically strong. (B)
Stoker (dir. Park)
An almost perfect technical achievement. Costumes flesh out characters and the production design makes us salivate, but the screenplay is as heartless as Charlie. (B)
Upstream Color (dir. Carruth)
Enigmatically, and perhaps deliberately, Carruth's icy universe is mostly inscrutable in the first search, but the abundance of interesting questions it raises about morality fade in the background behind its confusingly elliptical structure in retrospect. (B-)
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