At the outset, cinematographer Kirsten Johnson asks us to consider this collection of footage she shot for various documentaries as her memoir, because while only a few actually depict her personal life (as mother to twins and as daughter of an Alzheimer’s sufferer), she says that “these are the images …
True story, mid-19th-century, about an upper-class Argentine debutante who runs off with a priest. After the tough-talking historical prologue, the misty soft-focus photography might be seen as ironic, but this is an interpretation harder to maintain when things get around to the remarkably smooth passion-consummation in a jouncing horse-drawn coach. …
Greta Garbo reminds you of a swan (she's all throat), and Robert Taylor reminds you of a clothes dummy (stiffly uncomplaining), in this enervated version of the Dumas fils play about a Parisian courtesan who sensuously savors every morsel of life on her way (cough) to an early demise. The …
Radley Metzger's deluxe, air-conditioned model of the durable romantic drama by Dumas fils (Metzger's second recruitment, after Carmen Baby, from the ranks of the classics), updated to the pop-art and jet-set era of sterilized, plastic, inflatable furniture and of sexual partners of similar description. Daniele Gaubert, Nino Castelnuovo.
Isabelle Adjani at the edge of madness again (edge of petulance for a long time before that). A feminist lesson in art history, giving us to understand that the gifted protégée and mistress of Auguste Rodin would have been recognized as a greater sculptor than he if only she had …
If the goal is to reheat a chestnut, the least a director can do is hold the material to the flame. That’s precisely how Francisco Varone’s debut feature manages to keep fresh this timeworn two-hander about a pair of mismatched souls placed in close confines and sent on a spiritual …
The Amateurville Horror. Gifted youths -- girls and gays, plus one "honest-to-God straight boy" -- gather together at Camp Ovation for a summer of acting, singing, dancing, and self-affirmation. You could just scream. With a cast of unknowns, not counting an as-himself cameo by Stephen Sondheim. Written and directed by …
A pair of CEOs (Zach Galifianakis and Jason Sudeikis) see an opportunity to oust a long-seated North Carolina congressman (Will Ferrell) when he commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election.
Mischievous foster teen Noah (Ethan Drew) finds himself in trouble again. After one such petty crime and crossing paths with two foes, he chooses summer camp over juvenile hall. Upon arrival, Noah quickly comes to realize the camp's notorious owner, Falco (Christopher Lloyd) and his dog Lazaraus ironically loathe children. …
For No One. Well, for Children's Liberationists, actually, or Children's Bootlickists and Backpattists: a summer camp without adult supervision, not counting a way-cool defrocked drama teacher (Christopher Lloyd, hammy even for him). With Jonathan Jackson; directed by Jonathan Prince.
This above-average Sundance fodder stars (Kristen Stewart) as a buck private stationed in Guantanamo who slowly begins to exhibit more compassion for a falsely abducted veteran detainee (Payman Maadi) than her fellow soldiers. Set largely inside a temporary detention facility at Gitmo, first-time writer-director Peter Sattler and cinematographer James Laxton …
After being arrested for the murder of a white classmate, a young black man's father fights in court for his son's vindication. Against all odds, they embrace their undying trust in each other and find faith in God.
Dr. Lonnie Thompson is an explorer who went where no scientist had gone before and transformed our idea of what is possible. Daring to seek Earth’s history contained in glaciers atop the tallest mountains in the world, Lonnie found himself on the frontlines of climate change—his life’s work evolving into …