|
A
|
98%
|
Rosemary's Baby (1968) |
"
Rosemary's Baby is suffused with Polanski's style and preoccupations."
—
AV Club
Posted Oct 7, 2013
|
|
2.5/5
|
80%
|
I Used To Be Darker (2013) |
"
There's some discordance between the film's overheated dysfunctional-family clichés and Porterfield's relaxed, watchful approach."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Oct 3, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
75%
|
Dark Touch (2013) |
"
Dark Touch is meant to touch a nerve, not merely spook. It's about deeper fears, and realer monsters."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 30, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
17%
|
The Secret Lives Of Dorks (2013) |
"
It has a good heart and a good cast...But the movie is strenuously, exhaustingly unfunny, in a way that makes its phoniness harder to bear."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 30, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
78%
|
Metallica Through the Never (2013) |
"
Even at its goofiest, Through The Never brings back the communal appeal of those early concert films."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 26, 2013
|
|
2.5/5
|
45%
|
Men at Lunch (2013) |
"
But just as the documentary doesn't really have the goods when it comes to solving the photograph's mysteries, it only skims across the surface of what the picture represents. "
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 19, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
95%
|
Behind the Candelabra (2013) |
"
Soderbergh and LaGravenese go deep beneath this voyeuristic fascination with wealth, fame, and the secret lives of celebrities."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 18, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
95%
|
The Fly (1958) |
"
The Fly is a study in how the boldness of new discoveries is compromised by science's need for precision, but it's also a nightmarish tale of a comfortable little family, and a nagging little buzz."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 18, 2013
|
|
|
81%
|
The Wind Rises (Kaze tachinu) (2014) |
"
Though The Wind Rises is based on a real person, it's very much a Miyazaki film, blending dream sequences, gentle character comedy, and shattering eruptions of violence into its sketch of early 20th-century Japan."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 15, 2013
|
|
|
73%
|
Can a Song Save Your Life? () |
"
By the end of this movie I was so far in the tank for it that my opinion probably can't be trusted."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 13, 2013
|
|
|
88%
|
Under the Skin () |
"
The visionary, extraordinary, unsettling mash-up of Species and Morvern Callar that the world never knew it needed."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 13, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
88%
|
Informant (2013) |
"
Jamie Meltzer's outstanding documentary Informant is either a study of one man's evolving political views, or of a man whose psychological issues have granted him the gift of self-justification. "
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 12, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
95%
|
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2013) |
"
It's a little frustrating at first to realize that Huber isn't going to get much explanation of anything from Stanton. But she ends up making a virtue of the actor's Zen calm...He's so present, it's as though he's burned into the screen."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 11, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
80%
|
The Painting (2013) |
"
The Painting may be too mature for younger kids...[and] may also be too simple for grown-ups. But for those able to overlook the obviousness, The Painting is both beautiful and affecting."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 11, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
100%
|
Red Obsession (2013) |
"
Red Obsession is informative, and entertainingly so, with its honeyed Russell Crowe narration and sweet tracking shots through sun-dappled vineyards."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 5, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
60%
|
La Maison De La Radio (2013) |
"
The most memorable moments in La Maison De La Radio are purely visual, as DJs hold court from behind a stack of CDs, and broadcasters bustle their way through the curved halls."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 4, 2013
|
|
2.5/5
|
63%
|
Liebe ist Kälter als der Tod (Love Is Colder Than Death) (1969) |
"
Love Is Colder Than Death is heavily abstracted, with the characters more like models in a fashion layout than people in a story. "
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 4, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
100%
|
Katzelmacher (1969) |
"
That's what Katzelmacher is: a punishment, via art, leveled at all the ignorant, egotistical racists Fassbinder had known."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 4, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
82%
|
The American Soldier (Der amerikanische Soldat) (1976) |
"
Fassbinder toys with the imagery of noir and pulp, peppering The American Soldier with long scenes of men in hats driving through darkened city streets, and throwing in references to Batman comics and science-fiction. "
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 4, 2013
|
|
2.5/5
|
80%
|
Gods of the Plague (Gotter der Pest) (1977) |
"
Gods Of The Plague is rich with pathos, treating these petty thieves and murderers as tragic figures."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Sep 4, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
88%
|
The Idolmaker (1980) |
"
The movie's two main aims -- to blow the lid off the music business and to exalt some of the unsung heroes of American pop culture -- are somewhat contradictory, and haven't been worked into a polished narrative."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 27, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
100%
|
Tokyo Waka: A City Poem (2013) |
"
'Tokyo Waka' is mostly about crows, but it's in no way a conventional nature doc, because Haptas and Samuelson use the relationship between these birds and their habitat to contemplate how animals adapt to the modern world."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 27, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
99%
|
Short Term 12 (2013) |
"
This is a small film about a society of castoffs, and while it's beautifully acted and often moving, it's also predictable, because it keeps wresting itself into familiar forms."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 27, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
89%
|
The Trials Of Muhammad Ali (2013) |
"
Ali's greatest fight, covered in this film as it never has been before, was to be accepted as himself, not as anyone's symbol. "
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 27, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
50%
|
Devil's Pass (2013) |
"
Harlan's film -- written by Vikram Weet -- is a routine low-budget genre picture, with blandly attractive young actors overmatched by the freakiness lurking in the wilderness."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 26, 2013
|
|
4.5/5
|
94%
|
Charulata (1964) |
"
The reason Charulata is often talked about as one of Ray's best is that so much of the story is told through images alone."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 21, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
89%
|
Mahanagar (The Big City) (The Great City) (1967) |
"
Mostly, The Big City is impressive for how Ray makes his observations about Arati's lot in life without saying anything directly."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 21, 2013
|
|
2.5/5
|
60%
|
Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013) |
"
In The Final Fight, the frequent full-combat interludes work against the truth-vs.-fiction themes of the rest of the film."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 19, 2013
|
|
2.5/5
|
50%
|
Drew: The Man Behind The Poster (2013) |
"
There's a context to Struzan -- not just biographically, but culturally -- and while Sharkey seems to understand that, his movie, ironically, doesn't illustrate it particularly well."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 15, 2013
|
|
2.5/5
|
89%
|
You Will Be My Son (2013) |
"
Everything is explicit; no one makes an unexpected move."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 15, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
83%
|
Adèle Blanc-Sec () |
"
The film lacks the more corrosive aspects of [Jacques] Tardi's work, but Besson replaces it with something that gives the story a larger shape and meaning."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 13, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
89%
|
The Muppet Movie (1979) |
"
With his Muppets, Henson found a balance between fuzzy post-hippie positivism and self-deprecating wit, and he added in the same quality that made many of the era's cultural phenomena so charming: simple problem-solving."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 13, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
77%
|
Kid-Thing (2013) |
"
Beneath the affectations, there's poetry in Kid-Thing, and truth in its depiction of how absolute freedom can be a kind of trap."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 7, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
27%
|
Ishtar (1987) |
"
If Ishtar has a personal stamp, it's not in what it has to say about Reagan-era militarism, but in what it has to say about collaboration, and how well-meaning people can goose each other to greatness-and folly."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 6, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
85%
|
Two Years at Sea (2012) |
"
Rivers' use of older camera equipment gives Two Years At Sea the look of an old piece of film that's been left behind by a long-gone civilization, capturing the last man on Earth, and showing how he made use of all the old junk society left behind."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 6, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
34%
|
Passion (2013) |
"
The movie is one long game of misdirection, playing tricks on viewers from scene to scene, and showing how easy it is to steer a crowd into missing something important."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 6, 2013
|
|
2/5
|
34%
|
Touchy Feely (2013) |
"
Shelton seems so preoccupied with making Touchy Feely feel natural and real that she's forgotten to add any incident."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Aug 6, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
84%
|
Smash & Grab: The Story of the Pink Panthers (2013) |
"
It's entertaining as far as it goes, but this doc's greatest value may be as research material for the next great international caper film."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 30, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
100%
|
Pavilion (2013) |
"
The lack of anything resembling a narrative at times makes Pavilion feel more like a demo-reel than a movie, but the fleeting moments Sutton has captured are so vibrant that they accumulate into something that hums."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 30, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
——
|
Moon Man () |
"
Ultimately, Schesch and Weber's deliberate rhythms prove to be an asset, as the lunar hero explores the wonder of this world, refusing to get roped into anybody's action-plot."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 26, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
97%
|
Drug War (2013) |
"
While Drug War is ultimately more an exercise in craft than a movie with a lot on its mind, it's a remarkably skillful exercise, and hardly devoid of ideas. "
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 24, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
67%
|
Vanishing Waves (2013) |
"
Plot and character sketchiness aside, though, Vanishing Waves is incredibly absorbing, because Buozyte and Samper are smart about how sexual urges can override all reason and obligation."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 23, 2013
|
|
4.5/5
|
97%
|
The Act Of Killing (2013) |
"
Ultimately, The Act Of Killing acknowledges that while Oppenheimer may have subtly tortured their conscience, these thugs are paying no real price."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 18, 2013
|
|
2.5/5
|
72%
|
Grabbers (2013) |
"
The biggest issue with Grabbers is that it's more slick than squirmy. Aside from a few good low-fi gross-out scenes ... Grabbers has the look and style of a big-budget action epic, not a scrappy little indie-horror."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 18, 2013
|
|
4/5
|
75%
|
Rabid Dogs (Cani arrabbiati) (Kidnapped) ( A Man and a Boy) (2006) |
"
As is often the case in the Bava-verse, Kidnapped turns out to be located at the intersection of every dime-paperback plot, in that wild space populated by crooks, vampires, astronauts, and cowboys, all tromping inexorably to The End."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 16, 2013
|
|
3.5/5
|
86%
|
Black Sabbath (I Tre volti della paura) (The Three Faces of Fear) (The Three Faces of Terror) (1963) |
"
Even with Boris Karloff providing a lighthearted introduction and sign-off, Black Sabbath is fraught with fatalism."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 16, 2013
|
|
2.5/5
|
33%
|
Beneath () |
"
There just isn't enough going on beneath Beneath."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 16, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
51%
|
Blood (2013) |
"
All four of the main performances are so strong that they deserve more space to develop and intertwine. "
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 12, 2013
|
|
3/5
|
93%
|
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2013) |
"
Nothing Can Hurt Me is a must for fans ... because so much of Big Star's story has been parceled out piecemeal over the years, in anecdotes and liner notes."
—
The Dissolve
Posted Jul 11, 2013
|
