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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

Worst Reviewed Films

Showing 1 - 50 of 79

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
F	56%	Irreversible (2002)	" The detached clinical methodical style of some reptilian film critics since its release scrutinize the positioning of the camera in the rape scene-- almost like an autopsy." — Movie Magazine International Posted Sep 30, 2003
1/5	83%	Dead Ringers (1988)	" Trite, weird, ridiculous, uneventful, sick. Cronenberg at his worst." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
Overripe	85%	The Tree of Life (2011)	" A young couple raises three boys in the 1950s. Both Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain as the couple function from textbook gender roles, like Father Knows Best with an axe to grind." — FilmFestivals.com Posted May 26, 2011
C-	91%	Domestic Violence (2001)	" So why is Wiseman afraid to call this 'violence against women' in such a lengthy expose?" — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
2/5	40%	Ulysses' Gaze (1997)	" This ambitious film fails to compel. Too many closeups of disposed Lenin statues." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
2/5	62%	Twin Peaks - Fire Walk with Me (1992)	" Not as good as the TV show, not one episode." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
2/5	32%	The Bodyguard (1992)	" The relationship between Houston and Costner is mighty strange one, albeit profoundly problematic." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Jul 5, 2003
C	——	Musikk for bryllup og begravelser (Music for Weddings and Funerals) ()	" Straume is excellent in creating mood with objects, such as a study of intrusion, a bathroom, complete with the accouterments of a male guest or the cold design of interior landscapes." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
C	80%	Jap�n (2003)	" The sacrificed female body is used to resurrect a condemned soul and with her ascension comes the spiritual renewal of (The) Man." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
C+	44%	Angel-A (2005)	" The film is slickly constructed with a hip soundtrack and art direction, but its empty, a glowing travelogue for a beautiful city and two maudlin characters that are predictable and two dimensional. I love Paris too but would rather see its reality ...." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jul 22, 2007
C+	25%	The Da Vinci Code (2006)	" Clipped at the wings in Howard's adaptation is a rich pagaent of esoteric knowledge and French history. Beneath every calling card is a better, truer story... the information is out there in the public domain for modern tropes, however twisted." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 27, 2006
C+	91%	Y Tu Mam� Tambi�n (2001)	" The allegorical name of the beach (Mouth of Heaven) is one of several obvious sexual innuendoes of the film but in the fantasy of world Cuaron, they all seem ordinary and predictable." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
C+	85%	Spider (2002)	" Spider (Please Not Another Tall Tale by Freud)" — Movie Magazine International Posted Apr 10, 2003
3/5	100%	High Fidelity (1989)	" Too hard to follow." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
3/5	43%	Shaft in Africa (1973)	" Slow action film with Roundtree misplaced, overdone, overshown." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
3/5	75%	Nixon (1995)	" The film could have worked. There was Hopkins and Allen to make it work. But maybe the curse of Nixon had a whammy effect." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 24, 2003
3/5	100%	Jean De Florette (1986)	" Beautiful, carefully groomed, French epic." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
B	87%	Black Swan (2010)	" Most definitely actress Natalie Portman is a strong contender for an Oscar this year, in what may be one of the defining roles of her career. She is absolutely brilliant in the film." — Movie Magazine International Posted Jan 4, 2011
B	93%	Summertime (1955)	" Summertime was shot exclusively in Venice. And for those who have been to Venice, the film is a rare treasure;" — Not Coming to a Theater Near You Posted Jan 8, 2004
B	53%	Invincible (2002)	" Herzog, a man of detail became enraptured with his subject and was unable to use his editing shears." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 11, 2003
B	88%	Roger Dodger (2002)	" ...Rogers's mouth never stops shut about the war between the sexes and how to win the battle." — Movie Magazine International Posted May 11, 2003
B	34%	But I'm A Cheerleader (2000)	" But I'm a Cheerleader may seem too elementary to a sophisticated crowd" — Movie Magazine International Posted May 11, 2003
	93%	Persona (1966)	" [Persona] is persistently compelling, primarily due to its contemplative thematic structure, partially devoid of language that allows the spectator to inscribe meaning." — Not Coming to a Theater Near You Posted Sep 30, 2003
	83%	Panj � asr (At Five in the Afternoon) (2003)	" 24 year old Samira Makhmalbaf is changing the way we see the Middle East." — Movie Magazine International Posted Sep 30, 2003
	84%	Swimming Pool (2003)	" At the press conference for Swimming Pool, the wondrous Ozon is asked "How many women will you put in your film next time?" "I will think about it", he laughs." — FilmFestivals.com Posted May 21, 2003
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
4/5	100%	Lenny (1974)	" Dustin Hoffman succesfully transmits to screen some of the rage of Lenny Bruce, a hard role to digest and project." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
4/5	91%	Help! (1965)	" It really was phenomenal for the time, but even then, a bit thin around the edges. Our boys got to joke and meander about in a spy time spoof. Fun." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
4/5	67%	A Time to Kill (1996)	" Gripping suspense in this southern set drama. Sandra Bullock is oddly matched to McConaughey who lights the fire. Unfortunately, Samuel L. Jackson waits in the wings." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Apr 23, 2003
B+	62%	By Hook Or By Crook (2002)	" It's a buddy movie, albeit the queerest buddy movie ever that makes Midnight Cowboy look tame in comparison." — 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
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
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

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