Movie Reviews

The Story: A philosophy teacher suddenly finds herself amidst a slew of life changes. The Lowdown: Though propped up by a strong Isabelle Huppert performance, the film doesn't offer more than character study.

The Story: A long-running war between vampires and werewolves continues, as a high-ranking vampiric hit-woman finds her estranged daughter at the heart of the conflict. The Lowdown: The Underworld saga continues — despite being a bit long in the tooth — with this tepid and uninspired fifth installment.

In Brief: Despite its full title, Spider Baby (1968) probably isn't the maddest story ever told, but it's in the running — at least as schlock exploitation film is concerned. Enjoyably trashy and occasionally downright amateurish, it's the fairly silly story of a house full of folks suffering from some inexplicable form of mental degeneration that turns…

In Brief: François Truffaut’s Shoot the Piano Player (1960) is one of those celebrated films that I had somehow just never seen till this weekend. Oh, I’d seen clips and knew a little about it — and I’d suspected that the phony gangster-movie opening of Ken Russell’s 1966 TV film on composer Georges Delerue, Don’t…

In Brief: While it's not exactly to my taste (pun intended), I can certainly appreciate why Danish writer-director Gabriel Axel's Babette's Feast took home the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1988. Axel's adaptation of, Isak Dinesen's story (Dinesen being a pseudonym for Karen Blixen) of a French refugee confronted with the Puritanical strictures of her involuntarily adopted Danish community is replete with…

In Brief: William A. Wellman’s very aptly titled Nothing Sacred (1937) begins with a series of titles informing us, “This is New York, skyscraper champion of world, where the slickers and know-it-alls peddle gold bricks to each other, and where truth, crushed to earth, rises again more phony than a glass eye.” That effectively captures the…

The Story: A young Indian man raised in Australia uses the internet to track down the family he lost early in his youth. The Lowdown: A proficient — if occasionally underwhelming — story of one man's triumph over adversity, with an uplifting ending that narrowly avoids cloying sentimentality.

In Brief: Danish director Benjamin Christensen's silent masterpiece Häxan (1922) is a strange beast — Satanic pun largely intended. A bizarre blend of documentary, narrative fiction and animation, the film showcases Christensen in more ways than one; in addition to demonstrating his remarkable acumen as an early visual stylist, the film also features the director himself in the role…

In Brief: One of Yasujiro Ozu's earliest successes, and still one of his most popular films, I Was Born, But... (1932) is a true gem of early Japanese cinema from one of its greatest masters. Very little was added to Ozu's 1959 loose re-working of the premise, Good Morning, that isn't accomplished as effectively here — and for my money, Born is…

In Brief: Franco Zeffirelli’s The Taming of the Shrew (1967) wasn’t the first time this Shakespeare play was served up with a famous married couple in the lead roles. No, that honor goes to Sam Taylor’s 1929 version starring Hollywood royalty of that era, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. (And whether or not the main title really…

In Brief: A remake of Jean Renoir's La Chienne (1931) —  itself based on a play of the same name by Georges de la Fouchardiere, which was based on the book by André Mouezy-Eon — is easily the darkest and most psychologically bleak of Fritz Lang's American output, which places it high on the list of the…

The Story: A bitter man tortured by thwarted ambitions and crushing responsibilities slowly alienates everyone he loves against a backdrop of the African-American experience in 1950s Pittsburgh. The Lowdown: A distinctly theatrical adaptation of the classic August Wilson play showcases Denzel Washington and Viola Davis' remarkable talents as thespians while adhering just a little too closely to its…

The Story: Two dreamers with goals of making it in LA become entangled, struggling to make their dreams come true on their own terms. The Lowdown: With engaging leads, the film mostly works, faltering when its main selling point (the musical numbers) are a bit of a letdown.

The Story: A man with a failing printing company is appalled to learn his daughter has begun dating an oafish internet mogul while at college in California. The Lowdown: Better than it has any right to be due to the strong comedic performances from a talented cast that elevates the material it was given.

The Story: A death row convict becomes ensnared in an ancient conflict between two warring factions when he is revealed to be the genetic heir to a long line of assassins whose actions over the centuries have preserved humanity's capacity for free will. The Lowdown: Not a great film by any stretch, but far better than most video…

The Story: Anthropomorphic animals voiced by various Hollywood talent compete for fortune and fame during an attempt to save a failing theater from foreclosure. The Lowdown: Bits of 45 popular songs from the 1940s to the present may make audiences smile, but there is little new or notable here.

The Story: A space vessel bound for a colony planet malfunctions, waking one of its passengers from suspended animation too early. He then proceeds to make decisions that are both heroic and reprehensible. The Lowdown: Even the appeal of two generally charismatic lead actors can't redeem the tedious snoozefest and highly questionable moral compass.

In Brief: François Truffaut stepped significantly outside his comfort zone when he undertook this adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic dystopian novel in 1966. It was Truffaut's first film shot in color and in a studio, first English language film and first shot outside of his native France. It was also the first of the Nouvelle Vague…

The Story: God lives in a small Brussels apartment, splitting his time between tormenting humanity with petty suffering and antagonizing his wife and daughter — until that daughter decides to follow in her brother's footsteps by taking matters into her own hands. The Lowdown: A subversive comedy, with a heart of gold, that may alienate some. But those open to…

The Story: The daughter of one of the Death Star's chief architects must steal its plans, allowing the Rebels a chance to destroy it, while redeeming her father in the process. The Lowdown: The bleakest Star Wars film since The Empire Strikes Back, Rogue One is a great film that doesn't quite ascend to perfection.

The Story: A New York ad exec struggles to find meaning in the sudden death of his young daughter by addressing his anger in a series of letters to Love, Time and Death, while his friends try to exploit his downward spiral into psychosis for their own financial benefit. The Lowdown: Treacly, exploitative melodrama with an accomplished cast, this…