John Petrakis
Take Shelter
Take Shelter deals with the end of the world in a creepier and even more metaphoric manner than von Trier's Melancholia.
Melancholia
Lars von Trier has been churning out grim tales of human frailty and
moral depravity for almost 20 years. His latest is a disturbing tale of personal pain juxtaposed with an eerie end-of-the-world story.
The Devil’s Double
The Devil's Double seems destined for midnight screenings on college campuses, maybe on a double bill with Scarface.
Another Earth
Another Earth, a Sundance darling that has gained attention by
word of mouth, follows the latest cinematic trend by combining two
genres into one mysterious, if uneven, film.
A Better Life
When Vittorio De Sica helped craft the
cinematic movement known as neorealism, he was intent on finding lead
actors who lacked experience. If you didn't know that Demián Bichir was a star in Mexico, you might assume that director
Chris Weitz was following De
Sica's blueprint.
Meek’s Cutoff: Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Meek's Cutoff has been labeled everything from a revisionist
western to a feminist allegory. It rejects
the conceit of a romanticized West, instead questioning the various roles and realities that accompanied the pioneers
on their journeys.
The Tree of Life: Written and directed by Terrence Malick
For years, rumors abounded that Terrence Malick was working on a screenplay version of
the book of Genesis. Though Genesis: The Movie has not yet come to fruition, The Tree of Life comes close to being such a film.
Incendies: Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Incendies is a
disturbing layover at the crossroads of forgiveness and revenge. It's a
challenging film on several levels. Not only is there a hearty helping
of violence to be digested over the film's 130 minutes, but audiences
must also wrestle with a complex narrative structure.
Certified Copy
Certified Copy, the first English-language film by the Iranian writer-director Abbas Kiarostami, is a road-trip meditation on the complexities of marriage....
Of Gods and Men
Although the French film Of Gods and Men is set in Algeria in 1996, it could just as easily be set in any Middle Eastern or African country that is struggling with the rise of Islamic extr...
Blue Valentine
Marriage is a juicy topic for filmmakers, but few movies get made about happy ones. More common is the dissection of a once-happy union that is coming apart at the seams....
The Fighter
Boxing movies are hardly ever about boxing. This one's real subject is the pull of family.
The King’s Speech: Directed by Tom Hooper
The King's Speech is the latest in a long line of "there'll always be an England" movies....
Black Swan
Director Darren Aronofsky performs a psychological pas de deux with composer Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky in Black Swan, a fractured, fascinating study of the high-pressure world of big-time N...
Never Let Me Go
Based on the award-winning 2005 novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, who also penned The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go is that rare story that doesn't rely on a revelatory plot twist to make its...
The Kids Are All Right
The Kids Are All Right has been on a roll since its premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It is directed (and co-written) by Lisa Cholodenko (High Art, Laurel Canyon),
a filmmaker who favors stories about characters who initiate change.
Sometimes this change is intentional, other times inadvertent, but by
the end the status quo is reshaped.
Wild Grass
What is most startling about the iconic French director Alain Resnais is not that he is still making movies at the age of 88, but that his films still demonstrate such an unbridled love of cinema a...