Authors

Shared Darkness

Rating Title | Year Quote Author
78%

Iron Man 3 (2013)

"Crackerjack popcorn entertainment done right, Iron Man 3 is a robust example of what Hollywood can do right when it puts its mind to it."

Brent Simon

18%

Aroused (2013)

"An uncommonly intelligent doc exploration of the inner lives of 16 women in the adult film industry; has an easy, unforced quality to go with its acuity, allowing the humanity and vulnerability of its subjects to come through."

Brent Simon

16%

A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2013)

"A light (and slight) surrealistic comedy of emotional waywardness -- intriguing enough to qualify as a playful lark."

Brent Simon

47%

The Lords of Salem (2013)

"Zombie fails to fully wrestle to the ground any of the movie's themes in an engaging or meaningful way... so its swan-dive into arbitrariness from the second act on is fairly complete."

Brent Simon

——

Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Times of Tim Hetherington (2013)

"A warm, fitting capstone for a man who saw the best in people during some of the worst circumstances, and helped notably reshape notions of war photography."

Brent Simon

——

Phil Spector (2013)

"A strange thing -- a film that at times feels like it's trying to cancel out the very reason for its existence -- powered by the magnetic watchability of its two leads."

Brent Simon

91%

Gimme The Loot (2013)

"A slim, low-budget coming-of-age tale whose richness lies entirely in its interstices. A keenly observed work that celebrates the unfettered joys of youth, and rewards by reminding of the power of a simple tale told well."

Brent Simon

56%

Oblivion (2013)

"A boldly rendered film with faulty nuts, bolts and wiring is still, at its core, a movie that doesn't work. Witness Oblivion."

Brent Simon

66%

The We and the I (2013)

"An artful, scrambled, energetic blend of youthful connection and hormonally charged carousing [that] works more as a caffeinated conveyance of feeling than an actual plotted story."

Brent Simon

89%

Koch (2013)

"The gift of Koch is that it embraces the clutter and volume of opinion about the man."

Brent Simon

29%

Upside Down (2013)

"What begins as a grand concept full of unusual possibilities quickly succumbs to a frustrating mixture of pretentiousness and torpor in this threadbare narrative that unfolds in perpetual pursuit of memorable images over narrative sense."

Brent Simon

55%

The Company You Keep (2013)

"A decidedly American story of graying moral certitude to match graying temples, Robert Redford's ninth film as a director is about secrets, principles and the melting value of absolutes."

Brent Simon

89%

A Place at the Table (2013)

"A smart, poignantly argued documentary [which] casts obesity and hunger as neighbors, and makes a persuasive case for important social investments."

Brent Simon

83%

Uprising (2013)

"The authoritative behind-the-scenes snapshot of a watershed event in human history -- the first digital age people's revolution."

Brent Simon

44%

Thale (2013)

"Ultimately all wind-up -- a work that dances around a couple moods and genres without ever really wholeheartedly committing to one in particular."

Brent Simon

98%

Beware Of Mr. Baker (2012)

"By turns sad and darkly comedic, but never less than mesmerizing -- a moving and morally conflicted portrait of a true questing spirit."

Brent Simon

96%

Blancanieves (2013)

"A loving tribute to European silent films of the 1920s; a reminder that cinema need not be constrained by words."

Brent Simon

66%

Spring Breakers (2013)

"An audacious, synth-pop mélange of ecstatic heaven and drugged-out hell -- an allegory for the corruption of innocence and the fear of blossoming female sexuality."

Brent Simon

77%

42 (2013)

"Skimming pleasantly enough along the surface of more potentially roiling drama, and lacking an inner boil, 42 is a biopic of carefully crafted but ultimately superficial uplift."

Brent Simon

94%

Room 237 (2013)

"Powered by a deep and abiding affection for both The Shining and Kubrick in general, Room 237 is an amuse-bouche of remix culture."

Brent Simon

8%

K-11 (2013)

"A pulpy, psychologically hollow and emotionally indiscernible mélange of phony jailhouse intrigue and showy gender-politicking, with a bit of anal rape sprinkled in."

Brent Simon

40%

Mental (2013)

"If one wants to see Toni Collette light a fart on fire, well, this misguided reunion with her Muriel's Wedding director may be the only chance they get."

Brent Simon

56%

Come Out And Play (2013)

"An unnerving, humid slice of elemental horror that conjures up memories of Children of the Corn by way of George Romero. It mostly works, until it doesn't."

Brent Simon

69%

The Croods (2013)

"The Croods tells a pleasant story about family, the utility of man, and letting go -- all of which I will demonstrate in review with caveman-speak."

Brent Simon

87%

Trashed (2012)

"A vividly sketched doc of environmental warning which deploys co-producer Jeremy Irons as its inquisitive guide, Candida Brady's film serves as a compelling indictment of modern profligacy."

Brent Simon

75%

Murph: The Protector (2013)

"A moving chronicle of some of the traits that should be more widely venerated in a media and pop cultural landscape too driven by the elevation of the trivial."

Brent Simon

94%

The Bitter Buddha (2013)

"Forget the tears of a clown as it pertains to inner psychology of a comedian -- what about the rage of a clown? That's the principal focus of The Bitter Buddha, a doc that's too polite and removed."

Brent Simon

57%

The Power Of Few (2013)

"A jumbled, offbeat mash-up of conspiracy-tinged action and armchair philosophizing that is hamstrung by a strange combination of slapdash plotting and its own self-importance."

Brent Simon

10%

If I Were You (2012)

"An odd little duck of a film [that] kicks around enjoyably for a while in the same sandbox as some of Woody Allen's mid-career farces, before eventually pivoting and skipping off into less rewarding territory."

Brent Simon

80%

Warm Bodies (2013)

"A funky, fresh tale of adolescent self-doubt and blossoming love funneled through the prism of post-apocalyptic zombiedom, Warm Bodies conjures a lovely, commingled tone of wistfulness and witticism."

Brent Simon

39%

The ABCs of Death (2013)

"Weighed down by some sub-par entries and lacking some great genre minds, this compilation overall pales in comparison to other recent anthologies."

Brent Simon

28%

Knife Fight (2013)

"A fun, tack-sharp political drama with satirical underpinnings, buoyed by crisp characterizations."

Brent Simon

87%

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2013)

"A stirring meditation on the human spirit in extreme conditions, Happy People also reflects Herzog's passion and fascination for the often unforgiving nature of the wild."

Brent Simon

15%

A Good Day To Die Hard (2013)

"Unquestionably the worst entry of the once-great action franchise and, worse, totally drained of the vital spirit, charm and meticulous smarts that made the original movie such a breath of fresh air."

Brent Simon

57%

$ellebrity (2013)

"A smart, noteworthy socio-cultural snapshot, $ellebrity evinces a surprising depth."

Brent Simon

65%

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2013)

"An art collage project that unnecessarily obscures its sizzle and raison d'être when a more straightforward tack would have worked better."

Brent Simon

71%

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (2012)

"A wildly engaging documentary that not only details the exploits of Anonymous, but also delves substantively inside the roots and culture of the group."

Brent Simon

60%

John Dies at the End (2013)

"Sort of like if Franz Kafka drank a bunch of absinthe and then wrote an homage to Sam Raimi, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Donnie Darko. And that's a good thing"

Brent Simon

100%

The Waiting Room (2012)

"One of 2012's better documentaries... the gut-punch effectiveness of Peter Nicks' film lies in its forthrightness, and how it avoids speechifying."

Brent Simon

60%

Electoral Dysfunction (2012)

"An irreverent, civics-minded offering that's catnip for politicos and documentary film fans."

Brent Simon

93%

Girl Model (2012)

"A vivid and surprisingly emotive exploration of fashion modeling and the refracted reality and cost of the economic opportunities it presents for prepubescent Eastern European girls in particular."

Brent Simon

37%

The Brooklyn Brothers Beat The Best (2012)

"An offbeat, hipster-inflected road movie that steadfastly refuses to conform to expectation and sense. A to-scale victory of quirky charm and feeling over sagacity."

Brent Simon

93%

The Trouble with the Truth (2012)

"A spare but winning romantic drama that taps into the same talky, intellectually stimulating vein as Richard Linklater's Sunrise/Sunset collaborations with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy."

Brent Simon

81%

In Another Country (2013)

"An intriguing little cross-cultural curio that plays like a woozy, jazz-improv riff on romantic futility and destiny."

Brent Simon

64%

The Good Doctor (2012)

"A solidly constructed little character study of dark romantic bloom commingled with slipping-knot mental instability."

Brent Simon

78%

The Ambassador (2012)

"A wild, darkly comic slice of nonfiction branded 'performative journalism' by its creator. Ballsy, attention-grabbing and a lot of fun for anyone with an interest in matters geopolitical."

Brent Simon

85%

Side Effects (2013)

"A moody, neo-noir-style psychological drama with thick, intertwined veins of tragedy, romantic obsession, legal consequence and revenge."

Brent Simon

52%

Where Do We Go Now? (2012)

Brent Simon

65%

The Campaign (2012)

Brent Simon

50%

FrackNation (2013)

"FrackNation starts from a bogus and willfully cordoned off point-of-view, and exhibits a desire to grind axes more than uncover truth."

Brent Simon

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