Movie Reviews

film review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Locarno Review | Singing Serbian Depression: "White White World"

In the Serbian drama "White White World: The Miner's Opera" ("Beli Beli Svet"), the characters sing, but never dance. Formulated as a modern day Greek tragedy set in the decrepit southeastern mining town Bor, the movie follows a close group of alienated locals through misguided love affairs and othe...

Daniel Cockburn's Enigmatic "You Are Here" Is "Inception" With More Puzzles

A man trapped in a room answers questions in Chinese without comprehending the language. Confused pedestrians wander the city streets, taking meaningless orders from a control center that guides their movements. A child tells the story of a mad scientist whose ubiquitous computer-eye threatens ...

Big Screen | Sundance Hit "Kingdom" Comes To America

Set in the underground of Melbourne, Australia, David Michôd's "Animal Kingdom" received considerable approval at this year's Sundance Film Festival, winning the Grand Jury Prize in the festival's World Narrative Competition. Sony Pictures Classics picked up the film shortly thereafter, and is relea...

Locarno Review | A Man Copied: Benedek Fliegauf's "Womb"

The prospects of human cloning have provided fodder for decades of science fiction stories because they always contain a kernel of truth. Unlike the far-fetched conceits of alien invasions and deep space travel, cloning is tangible to the point where it doesn't demand extreme suspension of disbelief...

Silent Stars Still Mesmerize

At the recent San Francisco Silent Film Festival I acquired several recently-published books I hadn’t seen before. Now that I’ve spent time with them I feel duty-bound to spread the word.

Locarno Review | Diary of a Filmmaker: Christophe Honoré's "Man At Bath"

Christophe Honoré has cranked out a series of critical favorites over the last few years, garnering enough praise to place him among the giants of contemporary French cinema. Popularity often gives artists room to play around, a freedom reflected in the relative smallness of his latest feature, "Man...

Locarno Review | Santa Gone Wild: Jalmari Helander's "Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale"

In 2003, Finnish director Jalmari Helander made a zany short film about smugglers in the business of hunting Santa Claus and inadvertently created a viral sensation. The short, "Rare Exports Inc.," and its 2005 follow-up, "Rare Exports: The Official Safety Instructions," con...

Review | There Will Be a Crime: David Michod's "Animal Kingdom"

Equal parts crime thriller, neo-western and coming-of-age story, the Australian drama "Animal Kingdom" puts its moral compass into a tailspin. Initially, first time writer-director David Michod introduces a basic sense of right and wrong adopted by the most casual entries in good-versus-evil sagas, ...