Movie Reviews

Roman Polanski's Rarely Seen Formula 1 Racing Doc 'Weekend of a Champion' Is Restored and Updated at Cannes

In May 1971, Roman Polanski went to Monaco with documentarian Frank Simon to shadow the world's greatest Formula 1 racer, Jackie Stewart. The result, a personable chronicle in which Polanski appears on camera casually chatting with Simon and hearing about his craft, never received a proper U.S. rele...

Review: Visual Grandeur Of ‘Epic’ Undone By Undercooked, Rote Story

Let’s get one thing out of the way: “Epic,” the latest from Blue Sky Studios (the “Ice Age” films, “Robots” “Horton Hears a Who” and “Rio”) is at times breathtakingly beautiful. The Chris Wedge-helmed feature presents a visual step-up for Blue Sky and we are luckier for it. The film features a rich ...

Cannes Review: James Gray’s Careful, Poised 'The Immigrant' Builds Slowly To A Resonant Climax

A strangely chimeric movie, that only reveals its truest colors in its closing moments, James Gray’s “The Immigrant” which screened In Competition this morning in Cannes is a meticulous reframing of the director’s familiar themes and concerns that mostly lived up to our high expectations, while neve...

James Gray's Marion Cotillard-Starring Period Drama 'The Immigrant' Is the Most Divisive Film in Cannes Competition

Moments after leaving an early morning press screening of James Gray's "The Immigrant" in the final stretches of the Cannes Film Festival, I immediately encountered two extreme perspectives on the movie. Conversing with a pair of knowledgable cinephiles, one extolled the classical virtues of directo...

The Hangover Part III

Sequels are the curse of modern-day moviegoing. Occasionally you find a good one, but more often the second or third installment dissipates all the fun and sense of discovery that made the original a hit in the first place.

Fast & Furious 6

Apparently I’ve been misreading the success of this series. I thought it was all about street racing, muscle cars, and eye-popping stunts. But, as I learned from the latest installment, it’s really about “family.”

Before Midnight

If you’ve followed the saga of Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, from their initial flirtation in "Before Sunrise" (1995) to their Paris reunion in "Before Sunset" (2004) you’ll definitely want to see "Before Midnight."

Review: 'Nancy Please'

We've all known people like Nancy. The title character of Andrew Semans' "Nancy, Please" is a real pill, dark eyes, slumped shoulders, and an eternal pout. There's always drama in Nancy's life, and she's always expressing it physically. She's always impetuous, always difficult, and frequently nasty,...

Review: 'RE-EMERGING: The Jews of Nigeria' Inspires w/ Passion, Knowledge & Conviction