Moira Sullivan Movie Reviews & Previews

Critics » Moira Sullivan

Moira Sullivan

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

Agrees with the Tomatometer 82% 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, Göteborg, Stockholm, San Francisco Créteil 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'Orfée , 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

Listing Of All Reviews & Articles

Showing 1 - 50 of 80

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Rating	T-Meter	Title \| Year	Add Date
—	——	The Visit (1964)	— Not Coming to a Theater Near You Posted Oct 14, 2011
Overripe	84%	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
B+	81%	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	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
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	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	88%	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
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
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
B+	89%	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
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
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+	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
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
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
	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
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
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
3/5	100%	High Fidelity (1989)	" Too hard to follow." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
2/5	33%	Ulysses' Gaze (1997)	" This ambitious film fails to compel. Too many closeups of disposed Lenin statues." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
4/5	33%	Gummo (1997)	" Its an underground wonder." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
5/5	100%	Laura (2005)	" A classic murder film worth seeing over and over." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
2/5	59%	Twin Peaks - Fire Walk with Me (1992)	" Not as good as the TV show, not one episode." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Sep 30, 2003
5/5	90%	Georgy Girl (1966)	— FilmFestivals.com 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
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
	85%	Panj é 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
F	57%	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
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%	Japón (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
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	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
3/5	43%	Shaft in Africa (1973)	" Slow action film with Roundtree misplaced, overdone, overshown." — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
C+	91%	Y Tu Mamá También (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
5/5	81%	The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)	" Fun!" — FilmFestivals.com Posted Aug 1, 2003
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
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	96%	Orphée (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
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

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