Posted in July 2015

Review: Felt, 2015, dir. Jason Banker

Review: Felt, 2015, dir. Jason Banker

“If there’s one objective statement to make about Felt, the third film by Jason Banker, it’s that it’ll make you deeply uncomfortable. Felt is easier to admire than to straight-up love, a symptom of the ways it uses unease as a tool for setting atmosphere and tone. But whether we like or dislike movies like … Continue reading

Review: Big Significant Things, 2015, dir. Bryan Reisberg

Review: Big Significant Things, 2015, dir. Bryan Reisberg

“Channeling its theme of millennial ennui and disaffection, Bryan Reisberg’s handsomely crafted indie road trip comedy Big Significant Things has little to say, but says it with wit and style. Reisberg doesn’t pretend to have the answers, which doesn’t feel like a cop out since Craig Harrison–the neurotic, effete protagonist–doesn’t have any solutions. Harry simply … Continue reading

Interview: Joshua Oppenheimer, The Look of Silence

Interview: Joshua Oppenheimer, The Look of Silence

“Joshua Oppenheimer has dedicated the last decade of his life to exposing the Indonesian genocide that occurred between 1965 and 1966, but he first began to tell his story to the world back in 2013, when Drafthouse Films released Oppenheimer’s film The Act of Killing to critical acclaim and an eventual Oscar nomination. The doc … Continue reading

Review: Trainwreck, 2015, dir. Judd Apatow

Review: Trainwreck, 2015, dir. Judd Apatow

“Think of Trainwreck as Amy Schumer’s comedy fed through Judd Apatow’s directorial dehydrator: It’s 124 minutes of everything we love about Schumer deprived of just enough bite and flavor to keep us tantalized, and not enough to make the experience special. To the credit of both Apatow and Schumer, who wrote the whole damn thing, … Continue reading

Review: Court, 2015, dir. Chaitanya Tamhane

Review: Court, 2015, dir. Chaitanya Tamhane

“Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court is the writer-director’s first feature, but it’s so accomplished that he might fool you into thinking that he’s been doing this for years. Partly, that’s a credit to his technique and his craft. Tamhane favors a style that emphasizes long takes, steady cinematography, and careful editing. Every shot he photographs, every image … Continue reading

Interview: Sean Baker, Tangerine

Interview: Sean Baker, Tangerine

“If you keep up with the buzz humming off the festival circuit, then no doubt you’ve heard of Sean Baker’s Sundance hit Tangerine, which he shot using a handful of iPhone 5s (outfitted with anamorphic lens adapters). But please, make no mistake:Tangerine isn’t a movie about iPhones. It’s a movie about Alexandra (Mya Taylor) and … Continue reading

Review: The Gallows, 2015, dir. Travis Cluff & Chris Lofing

Review: The Gallows, 2015, dir. Travis Cluff & Chris Lofing

“Congratulations, The Gallows: You’re this year’s As Above, So Below, which means that you’re this year’s Chernobyl Diaries, and on and on throughout found footage’s rich history as a hotbed for horror hack-work. (For every Trollhunter, there’s an Apollo 18. For every Creep, there’s…well, something like this.) It doesn’t take much to make found-footage movies … Continue reading