Movie Reviews

In Brief: The first of the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby/Dorothy Lamour "Road to..." films, The Road to Singapore may not be my favorite of the series (or even in my top three, which would be Zanzibar, Morocco and Utopia in no particular order) but all of the constituent pieces were in place for the unassailable greatness that was to come. It was…

In Brief: Apart from the enjoyable business of seeing actually pleasant, attractive people in a cleverly written romantic comedy (something we see far too little of these days), Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? is generally representative of the kind of star comedy that no longer seems to be made. You know the…

The Story: A harried Italian director struggles to balance personal and professional responsibilities, helming a problematic film production as her aging mother nears death. The Lowdown: A densely layered psychological statement with a prevalent sense of humor, Mia Madre is a deeply personal film with broad relatability and appeal.

The Story: A young girl from the slums of Uganda discovers a prodigious aptitude for chess that will change her life. The Lowdown: An uplifting family film with little of the cloying sentimentality that designation typically implies, Queen of Katwe is an underdog story that transcends its genre.

The Story: The based-on-actual-events story of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, one of the worst ecological disasters in history. The Lowdown: A commendable film in many respects, especially in its intentions and approach, but one that can't rise above its flimsy characters and disaster-flick DNA.

The Story: Literate-slave-turned-preacher Nat Turner orchestrates a violent uprising against Virginia slave masters in 1831. The Lowdown: While the subject matter still reverberates today, the director’s attempt at artistry often detracts from the story’s otherwise powerful narrative.

The Story: A group of inept criminals pulls off one of the largest cash heists in U.S. history, but their rampant idiocy leads to their inevitable capture. The Lowdown: A comedy that works more often than it doesn't, Masterminds isn't (quite) as dumb as it looks.

The Story: A young boy is drawn into a mysterious world of children with unique abilities and must help them defeat a monstrous threat. The Lowdown: A remarkable adaptation of an unremarkable story, Tim Burton's latest fails to break free of its trite young-adult source material.

The Story: A bucolic British suburb struggles to recover after a serial killer starts stalking its streets. The Lowdown: An inventive but ultimately incoherent musical that tinkers with the form in profoundly interesting ways, London Road is a bit too clever for its own good.

In Brief: As the Asheville Film Society/Thursday Horror Picture Show continues its month-long celebration of the horror genre, it's time for the first of three double features: F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu and Carl Theodor Dryer's Vampyr. Murnau's Nosferatu, called by Ken Hanke "the stuff legends and nightmares and lawsuits are made of," is one of the earliest vampire films…

In Brief: The classic tale of relatives gathering at an old mansion for a late-night reading of the will — one of those documents with an alternate heir that is little short of an invitation to drive the real heir (or heiress in this case) insane in order to usurp the inheritance. Still shuddery, with…

In Brief: DeMille's pre-code Romans vs. Christians epic incensed censors and studio heads alike, and while his take on the subject matter is still pretty salacious, it probably didn't warrant the outcry it received (you never actually see Claudette Colbert's nipples in the milk bath, despite what some historians will tell you). Still, it's DeMille doing…

In Brief: World Cinema is bringing back Chicken with Plums, a film that didn't get the attention it should have when it was released a few years ago. Playful, gorgeous to look at, cinematically brilliant and finally heartbreakingly sad, Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi's 2011 film is one of those movies that ought to have…

The Story: A young man is possessed by a wrathful spirit at his wedding. The Lowdown: Equally unsettling and thought-provoking, Polish director Marcin Wrona's final film is an exceptional masterpiece of genre cinema.

The Story: A carefully considered examination of the political and economic pressures confronting America's system of publicly funded higher education. The Lowdown: Documentarian Steve Mims deftly dissects a difficult debate, laying bare the mechanisms threatening a cornerstone of our society. A must-see doc for anyone interested in education.

The Story: The tale of author JT Leroy, the creation and pseudonym of writer Laura Albert, from his creation to his rise to the ranks of celebrity. The Lowdown: An often unfocused and wandering doc that details an interesting story but, because of its one-sided nature, doesn't feel like it truly gets down to the truth.

The Story: Anthropomorphic bird species stops delivering babies to become the equivalent of Amazon.com until one of their own must intervene in a boy’s request for a baby brother. The Lowdown:  The non-Pixar animation eschews anything cerebral for physical comedy, but one can only look at goofy cartoon faces for so long before wondering why.

The Story: A town of simple farmers hire a band of mercenaries to defeat the tyrannical despot hellbent on stealing their land. The Lowdown: A fun (if somewhat frivolous) Western that works more often than it doesn't.

The Story: Documentary following unassuming impresario Danny Fields, who changed the face of American music in the '70s. The Lowdown: Brendan Toller's doc shines new light on a man who cast a long shadow, exploring Fields' involvement with the most prominent bands of the late-hippie and early-punk eras.

In Brief: The Asheville Film Society has scheduled an October celebration of the horror film to coincide with Frank Thompson's month-long lecture series on the genre's history at the Asheville School of Film. We're kicking things off with what arguably constitutes the first "true" horror film, 1920's The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. While earlier examples of films with…

In Brief: One of Roger Corman's best pictures and easily my favorite Dick Miller performance, A Bucket of Blood (1959) is an unquestionable cult classic. Few films so successfully blend black comedy and horror, and Corman's characteristic camp serves the subject matter perfectly. Charles B. Griffith's scathing script satirically skewers the beatnik subculture of the '60s, but might…