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Moira Sullivan

"I am not greedy. I do not seek to possess the major portion of your days. (Maya Deren)"

Agrees with the Tomatometer 81% of the time.

Biography:: I am a film critic based in Europe and the USA. I cover international film festivals such as Venice, Cannes, Udine Far East Film Festival, G�teborg, Stockholm, San Francisco Cr�teil Films de Femmes and Cineffable (Paris). My specialty is world cinema, festival films and film critical ideas and feminist film criticism. I have written extensively about Maya Deren on the creative use of cinematography and am invited to lecture about her work around the world.
Favorites:: Favorite directors: Maya Deren, Jean Cocteau. Favorite films: Meshes of the Afternoon, Orpheus, Le Testament d'Orf�e , Le Sang d'un Poet, Beauty and the Beast. Other favorites: Terminator 2, Blackboards, Eraserhead, Thelma and Louise, Last Year at Marienbad, Aliens, Alien Resurrection, Amelie, Lilya 4-ever, Persona, In the Mood for Love, Fire, All About Eve, Blade Runner.
Publications:: FilmFestivals.com , Movie Magazine International , Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Total Reviews:: 80
Total QuickRatings:: 30

Location:: San Francisco

Best Reviewed Films

Showing 1 - 50 of 79

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
A	46%	Bobby (2006)	" Emilio Estevez has done a terrific job with Bobby , a film that explores the lives of people who were at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles the day that Robert Kennedy won the California primary and was shot to death." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
A	100%	Queen Christina (1933)	" Rueben Mamoulian may have taken great liberty to change the historical facts to fit his film but it's a very entertaining one especially because Garbo is in every scene." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
A	85%	Bamako (2006)	" Bamako is a film that grows on you. Its power is subtle and you don't really feel the impact until it's all over. And when it has, its left with you something unshakeably real." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
A	90%	Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (2006)	" Shut up & Sings shows that it is all about freedom of speech and expression and how we had better not forget it. Freedom of speech, speaking out and having a voice. Yeah! On to the Grammies Dixie Chicks. You go girls!" — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
A	85%	Donnie Darko (2001)	" The directors cut of Donnie Darko by Richard Kelly was screened at the Venice Film Festivals a couple of years ago, a film I missed for sure when it was released in 2001 and one of those pearls like Blade Runner that just is haunting screening after scree" — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
A	64%	Broken English (2007)	" Zoe Cassavetes' new film Broken English is a delight, and as a debut film shows that we can expect good things from her." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
A	69%	Babel (2006)	" Babel directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is one of the most compelling films to date." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
A	94%	Away from Her (2007)	" The strength of Away From Her rests on the laurels of an excellent director and Julie Christie whose demanding role is interpreted with subtlety, humor and wisdom. Polley said she only had Christie in mind when the film was to be cast." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
5/5	98%	The Player (1992)	" An enticing, brilliantly scripted film about the movie industry and how the deals are made." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Jan 27, 2004
5/5	88%	Delicatessen (1991)	" Sublime, edible film with exquisite art direction." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Jan 27, 2004
A	82%	Monster (2004)	" "Monster" is no "Pretty Woman" or Cinderella story and Theron's role is a fuse that ignites controversy." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Jan 27, 2004
5/5	94%	The Fugitive (1993)	" The opening scene is powerful and puts you on the edge. This film works!" — Movie Magazine International Posted Sep 30, 2003
5/5	94%	2 ou 3 Choses que je Sais d'Elle (Two or Three Things I Know About Her) (1967)	" Time honored film worthy of deconstruction." — Movie Magazine International Posted Sep 30, 2003
5/5	100%	Laura (2005)	" A classic murder film worth seeing over and over." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
5/5	90%	Georgy Girl (1966)	— FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
A	82%	Secret Ballot (2002)	" The sophistication of the Western democratic machinery seems absurd and its elaborate schemes for representation unreal by comparison." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
5/5	81%	The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)	" Fun!" — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
A	90%	The Magdalene Sisters (2003)	" Mullan's film is strong, and his philosophy is powerful: "teenage girls are an exploited 'ethnic group'", said the director at the 59th Venice Film Festival." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
5/5	100%	Orph�e (Orpheus) (1950)	" This is one of the most exquisite gems of cinema history. Cocteau's film of the Orpheus myth. Many moments are enchanting such as cryptic messages broadcast from a car radio." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 5, 2003
A+	88%	Fa Yeung Nin Wa (In the Mood for Love) (2001)	" Violins tactilely pull at your heartstrings and induce memories of all the unrequited love affairs or unhappy memories you ever had." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 11, 2003
A	93%	The Circle (Dayereh) (2001)	" The Circle basically shows that Iran is a police state with severe measures for keeping women in control." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 11, 2003
A	88%	Boys Don't Cry (1999)	" Four years ago, said director Kimberly Peirce, she could not have made this film and thought it was spectacular to see the Oscars flash the subject of the story across America and around the world." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 11, 2003
A	74%	Blackboards (2002)	" ...a poignant and powerful narrative that reveals that reading writing and arithmetic are not the only subjects to learn in life." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 11, 2003
5/5	83%	They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)	" Jane Fonda and Michael Sarrazin portray one of the more sordid depression stories about survival on a dance floor to bring home the bacon." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
5/5	89%	Bonnie and Clyde (1967)	" Some scenes are violent even by today's standards. Robbing during the depression is highly glamourized, especially with the youthful good looks of Beatty and Dunaway." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
5/5	100%	Salt of the Earth (1954)	" Unavoidable classic on a 1950 mine strike, made by McCarthy era blacklisted filmmakers." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
5/5	92%	Evil Angels (A Cry in the Dark) (1988)	" 'Set in Australia, a couple is hurled into the media spotlight, unsuspecting of its power to twist the truth overnight. Streep proves she is a towering inferno of an actress.'" — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
5/5	81%	Total Recall (1990)	" While it may seem dated today, the film showcases Sharon Stone, evil wife to Schwarzenegger. You may want to take notice of how precious air is after seeing it." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
5/5	82%	Woyzeck (1979)	" Klaus Kinski is exceptional and Herzog's narrative captivating." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
A	87%	Lilya 4-Ever (Lilja 4-ever) (2003)	" Victorious is this Swedish director who succeeds in playing with dream and reality where fantasy and oblivion are welcome reprieves from harsh daily life." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
A-	94%	Milk (2008)	" The film is not only the story of Harvey Milk but the galvanization of the gay community in San Francisco and while Milk would have been quick to point out that there are very few lesbians in this film - something that Van Sant seems to miss - he would ha" — Movie Magazine International Posted Aug 1, 2009
A-	78%	Dreamgirls (2006)	" Dreamgirls opened on Xmas day and it was every much of a brilliant holiday movie. I guess the only complaint I have is it is too slick." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
A-	55%	Marie Antoinette (2006)	" A period piece is expected from directors with two or three successes under their belt. However, in this respect Coppola has modernized the historical epic, with rock music and an occasional converse footed actor." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 27, 2006
A-	94%	The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde inseglet) (1957)	" Jons and Plog converse about how Lisa should be killed, as all women, for their deception, harking back to the garden of Eden." — Not Coming to a Theater Near You Posted Sep 30, 2003
A-	88%	Never on Sunday (1960)	" While the film serves to exploit the myth of the happy prostitute, it reveals the charm and powerful simplicity of the Greece people." — Movie Magazine International Posted Sep 30, 2003
A-	100%	A Huey P. Newton Story (2001)	" The film is one long monologue of Huey's inner mind , culminating in a riveting shadow boxing dance by Smith, who then sits down for the final end." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
A-	——	Stranger Inside (2001)	" STRANGER INSIDE 'Dunye puts into question how issues of race and class have become a caste system for the incarcerated." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
3.5/4	84%	King Kong (2005)	" Why make a King Kongfilm now? Since it has been recycled several times, trotting out a new version exposes the story to how it still uses black and white tropes. " — FilmFestivals.com Posted Jan 26, 2006
B+	80%	Last Tango in Paris (1972)	" But when we look at this film, it signals a feeble turn towards art house eroticism which is tame by today's standards. For as Maria Schneider herself says ', we've seen much worse'. " — Movie Magazine International Posted Feb 5, 2011
B+	88%	Cache (Hidden) (2005)	" Haneke has made a fine study of guilt and betrayal, and tries to convey what is hidden. Perhaps what is best hidden in the film is the claim that lies are conveyed at 24 frames a second." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 27, 2006
B+	87%	Brokeback Mountain (2005)	" If Brokeback Mountain is not about 'gay cowboys', perhaps it should be seen as a film about hate crimes and bullying against gays." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Jan 26, 2006
4/5	33%	Gummo (1997)	" Its an underground wonder." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
4/5	84%	JFK (1991)	" The conspiracy theory of the murder of JFK is given front stage by Stone. Intriguing and thought provoking piece." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 5, 2003
4/5	94%	Scener ur ett �ktenskap (Scenes from a Marriage) (1973)	" The shelf life of a marriage is meticulously plotted by Sweden's leading arthouse director. Not that the plotting is over: Saraband, is the master's newest edition to the marriage saga-- years after and will be released this year ( 2003)." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 5, 2003
B+	74%	Barbarella (1968)	" Why did Jane make a film like this? Even she does not know herself." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 11, 2003
4/5	83%	For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)	" Ingrid Bergman in an unusual role as an enabler to stoic Cooper during the Spanish Civil War." — FilmFestivals.com Posted May 11, 2003
B+	60%	Madame Sat� (2002)	" Karim A�nouz' Madame Sat� has the exquisite cinematography of Walter Carvalho and a unique structure that breaks up narrative linearity." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 24, 2003
B+	83%	L.I.E. (2001)	" Cuesta has succeeded in making a clear and captivating narrative involving the issues of trust, loss and deceit, all of which take place within the space of a week." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 24, 2003
B+	83%	The Warrior (2005)	" Cross between Sergio Leone and Akira Kurusowa,The Warrior was made during 11 months in the Rajasthan desert with 600 'extras': horses, camels, scorpions, wild dogs." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 24, 2003
4/5	91%	Barton Fink (1991)	" Hopelessly depressing epic starring John Turturro and John Goodman. The Coen brothers have perfected the dark comedy to an art form." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003

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