Movie Reviews

In Brief: Widely considered — at least by those who consider such things — to be Dario Argento's best film, Deep Red (1975) is perhaps more of a gory (except that people all seem to bleed red paint) giallo than an outright horror film. One thing is certain — it makes more sense (in strictly…

In Brief: Ida Lupino is an underexamined icon of the proto-feminist cinema, and The Hitch-Hiker (1953) stands as a perfect case in point. Directed and co-written by Lupino, who was also an accomplished actress probably best remembered for her role opposite Humphrey Bogart in High Sierra (1941), The Hitch-Hiker is widely considered to be the first film noir helmed by a woman —…

In Brief: Gregory La Cava’s Gabriel Over the White House (1933) isn’t a particularly good movie, but as one of a handful of peculiarly pro-fascist movies floating around from that time, it takes the prize for the most alarming of the lot. Walter Huston stars as a shallow party-man politico (which party is never specified) who…

The Story: A bitter Swedish widower wants nothing more than to maintain order in his community and to join his wife in the afterlife, but the chaotic lives of those around him constantly interfere with his plans. The Lowdown: An expertly balanced confluence of black humor and heartwarming sentiment, A Man Called Ove delivers a touching message of acceptance without…

The Story: Two young men in a small French mountain town deal with the confusion and turmoil of newfound homoerotic feelings. The Lowdown: A moving and affective portrayal of the basic human need for connection and intimacy, Being 17 transcends the sexuality of its protagonists to deliver a universal message.

The Story: The daughter of a famous painter navigates her own artistic and personal growth in 19th century Japan. The Lowdown: A beautifully understated film, Miss Hokusai utilizes creative narrative conceits and exceptional animation to provide a unique insight into a little-known historical figure.

The Story: A widowed medium and her two daughters get more than they bargained for when they incorporate a Ouija board into their seance con. The Lowdown: Surprisingly solid spook cinema that won't disappoint those in need of a Halloween fright fix.

The Story: Tyler Perry’s recurring characters must babysit teenage Tiffany and prevent her from sneaking out of the house to attend a Halloween frat party. The Lowdown: Fairly predictable seasonal TV special stretched into a big-screen special for stereotypical middlebrow laughs.

The Story: Ex-military drifter Jack Reacher is back, but his plan for a hot date with an Army major he's never met goes awry when she's charged with treason and he's saddled with an unexpected paternity suit. The Lowdown: A painfully predictable and redundant revisitation of the Jack Reacher character that lacks the charm and off-kilter sensibility of…

The Story: A young girl flees a life of desperation and poverty to join a band of other disaffected teens selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door, a life she finds to be largely characterized by desperation and poverty. The Lowdown: Showcasing the worst proclivities of art house cinema, American Honey is a painfully overlong meditation on youthful irresponsibility that never…

The Story: A suburban married couple, bored with their marriage, discover their new neighbors are spies. The Lowdown: A flat, rote little comedy that, while mostly harmless, has nothing to recommend.

In Brief: Just when you thought it was over, the AFS extends its grisly reach into November for one last Halloween horror film. Join us for a very special Budget Big Screen ticketed presentation of Alfred Hitchcock's perennial classic, Psycho. It's a definitive work in both Hitchcock's oeuvre and the genre as a whole, and opportunities to see it…

In Brief: Halloween is upon us, which means it's time for the Asheville Film Society's month of monstrosities to draw its dying breath with one last double feature, and in memoriam I've scheduled an undisputed classic alongside a heavy dose of classic camp. First up we have the final Hammer pairing of Christopher Lee's Dracula with Peter Cushing's Van Helsing,…

In Brief: The Hendersonville Film Society will be hosting a double feature this week starting with John Huston's second foray into Frank Capra's Why We Fight series of WWII documentaries, The Battle of San Pietro. If you've never seen any of Huston's documentary work this is great place to start, and it might have been seasonally appropriate had…

In Brief: It's the X-rated classic where Dracula becomes spectacularly unwell whenever he drinks the blood of anyone who's not a virgin (prompting the magnificent outburst, "The blood of these whores is killing me!") — and if that appeals to you (and it should), this movie is right up your alley. It's all about Dracula going…

The Story: A working-class immigrant rescues a retired plow horse bound for the dog food factory, and together they take the aristocratic world of competitive horse jumping by storm. The Lowdown: This straightforward documentary showcases the touching partnership between a unique man and his remarkable horse as they overcome long odds, a genuinely moving story that will inspire even…

The Story: An American professor of Jewish history must confront a Holocaust denier in the British legal system, where the burden is on her to prove that his denials are false. The Lowdown: Based on a true story, Denial boasts a few outstanding performances but doesn't quite do its subject justice.

The Story: An autism-spectrum assassin with a knack for numbers finds himself between a rock and a hard place when a routine job goes awry, while federal agents close in on his carefully concealed identity. The Lowdown: An action flick simultaneously worse than it could've been and better than it has any right to be, The Accountant is fun but…

The Story: Comedian Kevin Hart's latest stand-up film, shot in front of 50,000 people. The Lowdown: A perfectly fine, mostly needless comedy feature that's really for fans only.

The Story: Teenager awakens his superpowers and embarks on a quest to find out what happened to his deceased father and the scientific work that killed him. The Lowdown: Predictable, almost humorless superhero movie that is neither super nor heroic.

In Brief: The Asheville Film Society keeps on creepin' on with our October schedule of historic horror. Next up is Georges Franju's poetic masterpiece of fairy-tale fright, 1960's Eyes Without a Face. A film of almost unparalleled aesthetic beauty (within the genre, at least), this is possibly the best-remembered work of Cinematheque Française co-founder Franju despite being almost…