SANFIC 11: Kill (f)or Love: Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s ‘The Assassin’
Jaime Grijalba on Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine
Review: Bob Byington’s ‘7 Chinese Brothers’
“While framed as a film about learning some great lesson about life and happiness, 7 Chinese Brothers never really builds from this assumed groundwork.”
Review: Alex Ross Perry’s ‘Queen of Earth’
“An intimate character study of a shifting, indefinable character, Queen of Earth pushes the already exceptionally talented Elisabeth Moss to new levels of intense frenzy and naked emotion.”
VOD Review: Jonas Alexander Arnby’s ‘When Animals Dream’
“This recurring theme of women fighting against their suppression and abuse at the hands of men who fear them, despise them, or sometimes both, is by far the most interesting aspect of When Animals Dream.”
Locarno 2015: ‘I Remember Nothing’ (Zia Anger, 2015)
“Creating something beyond just an experience of mood and sensuality, Zia Anger offers a film that is consistently engaging and fun.”
Review: Sarah Violet-Bliss and Charles Rogers’ ‘Fort Tilden’
“A refreshing and dryly-hilarious glimpse into life at a certain time in a certain place, Fort Tilden brilliantly captures the “struggles” of two women who are uncertain of their roles in life.”
Locarno 2015: ‘88:88’ (Isiah Medina, 2015)
“The style of 88:88 has been compared to Jean-Luc Godard, specifically his recent projects like Film Socialisme (2010) and Adieu au langage (2014). What sets this film apart from Godard is an intimacy approaching a breach of privacy.”
Review: F. Gary Gray’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’
“As the music industry continues to evolve and both Dr. Dre and Ice Cube remain icons of the entertainment industry, Straight Outta Compton serves as a reminder of underground mentality and how a simple idea can change one’s life forever.”
Locarno 2015: ‘Right Now, Wrong Then’ (Hong Sang-Soo, 2015)
“Even seasoned film writers struggle to put into words the enduring appeal of Hong Sang-Soo.”
Locarno 2015: ‘Chevalier’ (Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2015)
“Masculinity has been the love-theme of this year’s edition of Locarno, and Chevalier further indulges in the dank impulses and fragility of the male ego.”
Review: Carol Morley’s ‘The Falling’
“Morley pushes the film’s “mystery” beyond any audience guessing games to a level of bewilderment above any useful analysis, leaving viewers in a state of excited shock.”
Locarno 2015: ‘Cosmos’ (Andrzej Zulawski, 2015)
“Cosmos feels more like a parody of Zulawski’s work than a larger part of it.”
Review: Christopher McQuarrie’s ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’
“Matched by the acrobatic ferocity of Ferguson’s Faust, Cruise’s antics transform Rogue Nation into an explosive Cirque du Soleil performance on the grandest of scales.”
Review: Kris Swanberg’s ‘Unexpected’
“Throughout Unexpected, little is ever gained or lost, ultimately raising the question (albeit a rather absurd one when considering film): for whom was this made, and what is its intended purpose?”
Review: Jason Banker’s ‘Felt’
“In choosing to cover so much breadth of ground, Felt falls well short of any meaningful examination of the gender issues plaguing American and world culture.”
Review: Bill Condon’s ‘Mr. Holmes’
“The tender performance of McKellen, as might be expected, is a reliable anchor keeping things afloat; the actor seemingly relishing a major turn free of mutants and wizardry — a fantasy icon on fine form as a man not fond of the fantastic.”
Review: Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin’s ‘What We Did on Our Holiday’
“A BBC Films production from the minds of Outnumbered, What We Did on Our Holiday often looks and feels like an extended sitcom episode rather than a film.”
VOD Review: Patrick Brice’s ‘Creep’
“An interesting, indie-minded horror, Creep’s simplicity adds to its effectiveness as a taught, jarring film.”
Review: Charlie Manton’s ‘Beneath Water’ (Short Film)
“Charlie Manton (The Imitation Game) shows incredible promise as a filmmaker with Beneath Water, as the visual techniques and character staging project someone in command of their own personal style.”
Review: Josh Lawson’s ‘The Little Death’
“Billed as a comedy about sex, Josh Lawson’s The Little Death only manages to explore a small margin of the current sexual landscape.”