In the original V/H/S, numerous tapes littered the apartment of the film's depraved gang of psychos, leaving the viewer to wonder what else those cassettes contained and whether the viewer can stomach to watch any more. S-VHS... more
There is an ebb and flow to the laughter between the men and women of my theater, during Before Midnight. As Jesse makes a salient point about the manic nature of women, the men laugh. When Celine talks about the self-serv... more
Part of me wants to wait until I fully understand every facet of Upstream Color before I review it, but a larger part of me suspects I never will. Might as well strike while the iron is hot. Upstream Color is mind-altering,... more
[This review was originally posted as part of our Sundance 2013 coverage. Since its initial publication, the film was renamed Don Jon and screened at SXSW 2013. Edits have been made to reflect the title change, as well as Geo... more
[This review was originally posted as part of our 2013 Sundance Film Festival coverage. It has been reposted to coincide with the film's theatrical release.] Some time between being handed a Chinatown bootleg of Oldboy in 200... more
Another Sundance, another 27 films reviewed. Though this is only my third year, Sundance 2013 is by far the greatest one I attended yet. Even bolder, I'll say that it may be the greatest in the festival's history. Looking bac... more
The losers of high school dramas are cooler than me. Anthony Michael Hall and Jesse Eisenberg would be my high school's presidents, not wallflowers. It happens so often: the seemingly hopeless male protagonist, that we are su... more
No longer just an alternative, divorce is practically inevitable. A.C.O.D. is a feel-good comedy with a cynical stance on marriage. Writer-director Stuart Zicherman doesn't say anything profound in this debut, but a strong comedic cast prop up his limp material. more
Some laugh at what scares them. This act can be perceived as obnoxious and puzzling to someone else in a theater, but it feels completely natural during Magic Magic: A hypnotizing balancing act between horror and comedy (but ... more
In Israel's Shin Bet, I find an intelligence agency not so different from the CIA. In Israel's religious zealots, I find an extremist terrorist group not so different from the Taliban that our government tells us to fear. The... more
Pornography is a dirty business and I'm not strictly speaking about the clean-up crew. One doesn't have to deeply penetrate the industry to dig up tales of manipulation, abuse, and self-destruction. 1972 hit Deep Throat set t... more
Sutter is the life of the party, and the joke of his high school. He is the embodiment of our YOLO teen culture. The one that turns Kendrick Lamar's lament on teenage alcoholism ("Swimming Pools") into a party anthem. With no... more
Dakota Fanning is now old enough to play the role of the older sister and it freaks me out. Witnessing a child actor, one much younger than me, mature into a young adult is a monumental event in life. It feels like a sign pos... more
Throughout the entirety of Sundance, Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes was the only movie I didn't take any notes on. I guess this is what is implied by "noteworthy," and Emanuel is not. For the life of me, I couldn't pick up my pencil and write anything of note, because something of note would have to exist in the first place. more
The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman is so forgettable a film that I started forgetting the plot while watching. Never to fear, all I had to do was recall the dozens of other films that cling to their genre tropes as tig... more
An hour into Sound City, the film takes an unexpected detour, suddenly documenting a jam session between David Grohl and friends instead of documenting a notable music studio's history. It's in this transition that my initial suspicions becomes resoundingly clear: Sound City is basically a film Grohl made to justify his purchase of a really expensive soundboard. more
It was the public's idolization of Jack Kerouac that spurred him to move to a remote cabin and write Big Sur. It's funny then that this biopic of the same name subjects Kerouac to a similar treatment of worship and tribute th... more
This guy is yanking his wiener. Next to me. In the restroom. And on the other side of me is an old guy that keeps farting. And then, right behind me, someone sneaks in and ransacks my Sundance water bottle. True story. Boring computer nerds, a post-Potter winner, and a horror film with slightly more gore than too much. This is Sundance and these are the reviews for day three and four. more
Dick Cheney's influence on America over the past decade is unparalleled. With each successive year of living with bossy TSA guards, unwarranted surveillance, and drones over the Middle East, his efforts as the vice president ... more
I can't even pretend to imagine what I'd do or how I'd feel if my father was a serial killer. We Are What We Are does it for me, and though I may not like what I see, the film is compelling because of it. more
I can forgive The Look of Love for operating within cliches and stereotypes of the '70s, because porn mogul Paul Raymond is one of the few that set the tone of the decade. Raymond is a man of excess, pushing the moral standar... more
I'm always grateful when a film reminds me of that unmistakable feeling of being attached to a seat cushion, physically changed by the film's end. My gut sinks, my vision narrows, and I lose myself in thought, while the audie... more
Rising (3+)
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