Author:   Ken Hanke

Showing 1303-1323 of 5225 results
Starring: Lake Bell, Fred Melamed, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Alexandra Holden

In a World…

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A young woman finds herself breaking down the boys' club barrier in the world of trailer voice-overs. The Lowdown: Funny, charming, sweet-tempered comedy from first-time writer-director-star Lake Bell. Its fresh setting — the world of voice-over artists — and a perfect cast matched with a clever script make it one of the most…
Starring: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Keith Carradine, Nate Parker

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Tragic romantic crime drama about a prison escapee trying to return to the woman he loves and the daughter he's never seen. The Lowdown: Strong on visuals, atmosphere and performances, but perhaps a little too deliberately paced and enigmatic for all audiences. Those interested in the art-film scene should definitely take notice.
Starring: Ryan W. Martin, Nathanial Perz, Danna Kennelly, Marty Danekind

Bad Ideas

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: There's really no glossing it over — Ryan W. Martin's Bad Ideas is aptly named. It comes under the vague heading of experimental cinema, which in this case is a mind-numbing two hours of navel gazing. According to the movie description, "A Stranger has awoken in an unknown world, the Astral Field; the…
Starring: Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin

Cavalcade

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Frank Lloyd's 1933 film adaptation of Noel Coward's stage play won Oscars (best picture and best director) and was one of the big prestige pictures of its year. Today, the luster of this time-spanning (1899-1932) ode to the British character has dimmed considerably. It is, however, a worthy film that ought to be…
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne, Benedict Wong

Sunshine

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: It can certainly be argued that Danny Boyle's Sunshine (2007) is more science-fiction than horror film. However, it's hard to deny that its last act — at least up to its mystically transcendent ending — owes a great deal to the horror genre. In fact, at the time of its release, this horror…
Starring: Robert Morse, Jonathan Winters, Anjanette Comer, John Gielgud, Lionel Stander

The Loved One

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: It was the film "with something to offend everyone," and it's my guess that while Tony Richardson's The Loved One is less shocking today than it was in 1965, it still contains more than its share of outrages against anything approaching good taste. Its tale of Hollywood funerary practices, movie studios, pet cemeteries,…

Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler September 11-17: Ain’t Them Bodies in a World Still Insidious

Posted on by Ken Hanke

Well, this is certainly tastier than last week, which produced the absolute worst grosses I’ve seen in … well, a very long time. This week looks better. I say that based on both things I’ve seen and my level of interest in at least one thing unseen. This is also one of those weeks in which there are, I fear, more art titles than the market will bear.

Starring: Kim Ashdown, Ken Balcomb. Samantha Berg, Dawn Brancheau, Dave Duffus

Blackfish

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Documentary about the killer whale that killed three people. The Lowdown: Very basic activist documentary. Its message is a worthy one, but its delivery is never as compelling as it should be.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson, John C. Reilly

Gangs of New York

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Martin Scorsese's Gangs on New York (2002) is an epic in the best and truest sense of that oft overused word. It's big, it's sprawling, it's filled with larger-than-life characters. It's also quite violent and long — both of necessity to the story being told. The film marks Scorsese's first work of the…
Starring: Silvia Monfort, Philippe Noiret

La Pointe Courte

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Agnès Varda's first film, La Pointe Courte (1955), has somewhat mystifyingly come to be viewed as the first New Wave film, but this assessment has more to do with its low budget and being made outside the industry than for any aesthetic reason. In terms of style, the film is more connected to…
Starring: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Shawn Hatosy

The Faculty

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Odd — and oddly appealing — 1998 throwback to 1980s horror from Robert Rodriguez. It's an alien-invasion yarn — not unlike Invaders from Mars (1953) where most of the authority figures have been taken over by an alien force. This, however, is very much in the 1980's teen-centric mold (with most of teens…
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Olivier Martinez, Pierre Arditi, François Cluzet

The Horseman on the Roof

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: The Horseman on the Roof may have been made in 1995, but it feels like a film from a much earlier era — even with its outbursts of nudity and grisly images of a cholera plague. It's utterly romantic, but in an almost absurdly chaste manner. In fact its stars, Juliette Binoche and…

Cranky Hanke’s Weekly Reeler September 4-10: This? This Is It?

Posted on by Ken Hanke

Unless there’s something hiding in the recesses of the listings I haven’t seen — thanks to Labor Day — this has all the earmarks of being the lamest week of 2013. We have one mainstream title and one documentary headed our way. It’s not really surprising — the summer is over and awards season hasn’t started — but that doesn’t keep it from being dispiriting.

Starring: Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffman, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Augustín Silva

Crystal Fairy

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: An American, his Chilean friends and a woman called Crystal Fairy go in search of a San Pedro cactus and a mescaline trip. The Lowdown: A shaggy, shambling road trip of a movie that lacks much in the way of a story, but boasts an oddly compelling — even moving — feeling.
Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyle Chandler

The Spectacular Now

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Coming-of-age teen romance involving an unlikely couple. The Lowdown: Much-praised teen drama that I found a good bit less than terrific. The leads are likable enough, even when their characters are less so.
Starring: Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Ciarán Hinds, Riz Ahmed, Jim Broadbent, Julia Stiles

Closed Circuit

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Defense lawyers for a sensitive case involving an alleged terrorist bomber find themselves embroiled in something more than they bargained for. The Lowdown: An unusually smart legal thriller that appeals more to the intellect than your standard action-oriented flick. (Think Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.) A strong cast, solid direction and a well-rounded script…
Starring: Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, AJ Bowen, Joe Swanberg

You’re Next

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Gory home invasion movie with a twist ... and a few dollops of black comedy. The Lowdown: Overrated but reasonably adequate horror of the splattery kind. Nothing special.
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike

The World’s End

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Five old friends are talked into getting back together to re-stage an epic pub crawl they didn't quite pull off 20 years ago. The Lowdown: Surprisingly deep — even moving — comedy of the very British variety. Not as wildly funny as Hot Fuzz, but consistently amusing and quite possibly better made.
Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz, Irv Gooch

Be Kind Rewind

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Calling Michel Gondry's 2008 film a comedy does it a great disservice. This incredibly warm and gentle film is much more than that. Its premise — VHS video store workers replace the accidentally erased movies with decidedly low-rent versions of their own — is really just a springboard to examine much broader concerns…
Starring: Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Robert Manuel, Janine Darcey

Rififi

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: Jules Dassin's Rififi (1955) is the grandfather of all heist movies, and its standout, 28-minute safe-cracking sequence (done with neither dialogue, nor background score) remains a harrowing piece of filmmaking on its own. But the striking thing is that this centerpiece is not the conclusion of the film, nor is it really the…
Starring: Maggie Smith, Robert Stephens, Pamela Franklin, Gordon Jackson, Celia Johnson

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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In Brief: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie hasn't quite retained the allure it had in 1969, but neither is it easily dismissed. It snagged an Oscar for Maggie Smith, which was a good thing, and popularized that gooey Rod McKuen theme song, which wasn't. Smith's portrait of the largely delusional — and probably phony…