Movie Reviews

The Story: After a gun deal goes bad, a disparate group of quirky criminals find themselves trapped in a warehouse, pitted against one another. The Lowdown: A curious concept with some entertaining characters and smart moments, but these get dragged down when the film's muddled action scenes take hold.

In Brief: Robert Wiene never quite outgrew the shadow of his German Expressionist masterpiece The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), but in the case of 1924's The Hands of Orlac, he did manage to come close to recapturing the magic of his earlier film. Reteaming with Caligari star Conrad Veidt, Wiene adapted a celebrated French novel about a concert pianist…

In Brief: World Cinema is revisiting this frequently overlooked Ingmar Bergman film. The U.S. title, The Passion of Anna, or The Passion (1969) is misleading, since it’s difficult to conclude that the film is really about Anna’s (Liv Ullmann) passion. Perhaps the American distributor simply thought it sounded sexier. In any case, the film is…

In Brief: Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov (I Am Cuba), The Cranes Are Flying (1957) is the only Russian film ever to win the coveted Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival — and not without good reason. This postwar melodrama eschews the traditional rigidity of Russian formalist montage techniques in favor of a more free-flowing camera, which perfectly…

The Story: An explorer finds the remains of an ancient civilization while mapping an uncharted river in South America and dedicates the rest of his life to finding the lost city he believes to be hidden in the jungle. The Lowdown: Writer/director James Gray relies on classical cinematic forms in his compelling adaptation of author David Grann's nonfiction best-seller…

The Story: A mysterious young Frenchman befriends the family of a fallen German soldier following World War I. The Lowdown: Timely social commentary in a weepy melodrama's clothing, François Ozon makes a rare misstep by overreaching in both style and narrative.

The Story: A man raising his niece, a promising young math prodigy, is drawn into a contentious legal battle when his mother challenges him for custody of the girl. The Lowdown: A predominantly unobjectionable film, but one whose only gift is a talent for emotional manipulation.

The Story: After their leader is turned into their nemesis by a nefarious hacker, a crew of car-driving outlaws must save him and the world. The Lowdown: The usual nonsense, namely lots of car chases and explosions, all absurdly accomplished, but not very memorable.

The Story: A husband leaves Mexico to track down his wife, who's unexpectedly left him for a writing workshop in Iowa. The Lowdown: Despite some great performances and occasional flashes of insight, this is a generally overlong and unfortunately unlikable portrait of a failing marriage.

The Story: Paul Cezanne and Emile Zola share a turbulent friendship that spans decades and involves some of the most famous artists of late 19th-century France. The Lowdown: Watching paint dry may well be more fun, depending on the painter.

In Brief: Quite possibly the best thing legendary schlockmeister William Castle ever turned out prior to producing Rosemary's Baby — and certainly the best remembered of his films due to its incredible theatrical gimmick (Percepto), The Tingler is an absolute must see for fans of Castle's unique brand of low-budget exploitation horror. Castle's films are generally less notable for their…

In Brief: To commemorate Armenian Genocide Day, World Cinema is showing Atom Egoyan's much misunderstood Ararat (2002), which deals with the Turkish government's 1915 genocide of its Armenian population. This is heady stuff. It's also heavily layered and told in an unusual manner, presenting the story from the perspective of an Armenian filmmaker and linking…

In Brief: Yes, it’s My Big Fat Greek Drag Queen — even if Connie and Carla might more appropriately be better dubbed Some Like It Hot Meets Victor/Victoria. No matter how you slice it, though, this is yet another vanity project for Nia Vardolos — aided and abetted by producers Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks (who…

In Brief: One of my favorite films of all time is in a delicate position, and only you — the Asheville moviegoing community — can help me save it. Many of you have no doubt seen, or are at least aware, of 1984's This is Spinal Tap, the film that not only launched the cinematic careers…

The Story: A crew of formerly drug-addled miscreants reunites after two decades of bad blood to take stock of their misspent lives. The Lowdown: A fitting follow-up to an unquestionable classic that may not please the most ardent purists but makes a moving statement on the struggles of maturity and the pitfalls of nostalgia.

The Story:  A small-town cop stumbles into a world of cosmic monstrosity when he encounters a blood-spattered junkie on the run from a mysterious cult. The Lowdown: A love letter to gore fanatics and one of the best films yet to come out of the current throwback-horror renaissance.

The Story: Three elderly men on the verge of losing their pensions decide to rob a bank. The Lowdown: A charming cast makes the film watchable, but drab comedy and a lack of anything to actually say make the rest pretty forgettable.

The Story: The all-male Smurfs discover a village populated entirely by female Smurfs. The Lowdown: An entirely unnecessary and largely forgettable film that seeks to address the gender imbalance in the Smurfs universe but doesn't get much further than acknowledging that the franchise had a parity problem in the first place.

In Brief: Director Abel Ferrara (King of New York, Bad Lieutenant) made his feature directorial debut — at least if we're not counting his "adult" work — with this gory 1979 slasher flick. Ferrara also stars as the titular killer, a painter driven to madness by loud neighbors and mounting debts, but as is typically the case with…

In Brief: Though he’d made better movies before this one — and would make better ones after it — Rashomon (1950) is the film that put Akira Kurosawa on the map as a major force in international film. The secret probably lies in the picture’s unusual structure, which not only functions as a hook, but…

The 1920s and 30s were the high point of a certain kind of detective fiction — the puzzle plot mystery (often featuring an “impossible” locked room murder) built around a gentleman detective. These gentleman detectives were invariably wealthy, spent their spare time studying crime and indulging in the arts. They were well-dressed, well-spoken and invariably…