|
84%
|
A Touch of Sin (2013)
|
"Zhangke is a throwback to the golden age of cinema, evoking Ray, Kurosawa and Sembene. Like them, he embodies the national idiom while addressing the universal human condition."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
——
|
Lost Rivers ()
|
"A reminder that ecology is not just about clean air and water but the right of urban dwellers to enjoy the spiritual and esthetic benefits of liberated rivers."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
——
|
Symphony Of The Soil (2013)
|
"Sets the standard for films about the ills of chemical farming and the need for organic alternatives. Not only is it educational in the deepest sense of the word but artistically captivating."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
100%
|
A River Changes Course (2013)
|
"Deeply compassionate and artistically realized study of the Cambodian poor by a Cambodian. Remarkable testimony to the power of committed film-making."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
56%
|
Inch'Allah (2013)
|
"The director stated she did not intend to make a political film. It shows."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
46%
|
Closed Circuit (2013)
|
"Can't make it up whether it is John Le Carre or Robert Ludlum. It ends up as quite a mess. "
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
94%
|
Fruitvale Station (2013)
|
"A good first film but not quite deserving of the hype. The best parts have nothing to do with Oscar Grant's murder but the quotidian tale of survival by a young man with the best of intentions."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
76%
|
The Help (2011)
|
"Lifetime Channel movie with paternalistic liberalism bordering on Paula Deen malignity."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
73%
|
Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)
|
"Maudlin claptrap"
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
87%
|
The Conjuring (2013)
|
"A pastiche of every horror movie you've ever seen but one that is enlivened by the screenplay written by the twin brothers who wrote the superlative 2006 remake of "House of Wax"."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
68%
|
Elysium (2013)
|
"The latest in a string of anti-corporate dystopian films that has the evil CEO's overthrown by a superhero rather than the workers. What would Karl Marx say, I wonder?"
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
54%
|
Spark: A Burning Man Story (2013)
|
"A documentary that examines the contradictions of staging an elaborate "subversive" art festival that relies on donations from hedge fund operators. Commerce once again trumps art."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
46%
|
Off Label (2013)
|
"If you haven't made up your mind that big pharma is a criminal enterprise, this documentary should close the deal. "
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
71%
|
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear (2013)
|
"Pure film poetry woven from the daily woes and joy of a most unpoetic people."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
88%
|
Informant (2013)
|
"Gripping documentary about a snitch responsible for two young men being entrapped by the FBI. In a period where federal agencies are breaking crimes left and right, a most topical offering."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
93%
|
Our Children (2013)
|
"The title can refer to the children whose tragic death the film is based on but more subtly on the dependency of Mounir, a North African, on his adoptive father and that of the wife on Mounir. "
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
57%
|
When Comedy Went to School (2013)
|
"Works equally as social history as a survey of standup comedians of the Borscht Belt. Will be enjoyed by everybody but particularly by those who spent time in the Catskills."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
97%
|
Drug War (2013)
|
"A sizzling crime melodrama seemingly inspired by "The French Connection". The best Hong Kong movie I have seen in years even remarkably filmed in China."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
71%
|
Terraferma (2013)
|
"Ignore the bad reviews from my jaded colleagues. This is not only a compelling story that goes to the heart of the immigration debate, it is a lovely work of art in the grand Italian neorealist tradition."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
40%
|
Colossus (2013)
|
"Orson Welles's "F for Fake" was obvious the inspiration for this film. It would have been better if the script was up Welles's more modest productions. But very few films are today unfortunately."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
83%
|
Computer Chess (2013)
|
"The film is very much in the vein of "Mad Men", laughing at the silly clothes and life-style of a past generation. Foolishly, I went expecting it to be an exploration of how computers became so good at chess."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
97%
|
The Act Of Killing (2013)
|
"A cynically exploitative film made in the name of human rights, which it has about as much to do with as the Punked show on MTV."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
20%
|
Breakaway (2011)
|
"Much better than the other reviews reflect. A feel-good entertainment that sheds light on the misunderstood but heroic Sikh peoples. Now available on Netflix streaming, see for yourself and don't rely on the critics."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
86%
|
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013)
|
"Exhilarating entertainment that is a great introduction to both Bollywood and the saga of the heroic Sikh people."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
——
|
Oxyana ()
|
"Unblinking study of the Oxycontin epidemic in West Virginia. Essential viewing for those who care about the transformation of the USA into a 3rd world country."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
85%
|
Terms And Conditions May Apply (2013)
|
"This film makes you understand why a whistle-blower like Edward Snowden emerged. The incestuous relationship between the Facebooks of the world and the NSA will certainly lead to a Stasi-like police state unless an aroused population takes action."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
64%
|
Israel: A Home Movie (2013)
|
"Soft-core Zionist propaganda in the vein of "Waltz for Bashir" or "The Gatekeepers"."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
——
|
Homegoings (2013)
|
"Wistful look at core institution of the Black community featuring the sweet and slightly off-kilter proprietor of a Harlem funeral parlor."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
70%
|
Student (2013)
|
"More Oliver Stone than Dostoyevsky. A go for the jugular attack on Khazakstan's business/gangster ruling class."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
89%
|
In the Fog (2013)
|
"Powerful existential drama about the tension between morality and the imperatives of warfare against the century's most immoral regime. A sign of the continuing health of Russian film after the devastating blow of Yeltsin's privatization."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
91%
|
Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story (2013)
|
"Children's book author, antiwar agitator and pornographer for the carriage trade, Tomi Ungerer is one of the more interesting artists of the past half-century. Be thankful that this documentary captures his essence. "
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
84%
|
This Is the End (2013)
|
"Michael Cera's coked out stud is insanely fun, but he's gone too soon and most of the comedy goes with him."
|
Laura Clifford
|
|
89%
|
Koch (2013)
|
|
Mark R. Leeper
|
|
88%
|
Hannah Arendt (2013)
|
"Riveting biopic about the first target of the Israel lobby."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
78%
|
Bidder 70 (2013)
|
"Gripping documentary about a young man who risked a stiff prison sentence for doing something to stop global warming, a crisis that could lead to the deaths of 100 million people."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
——
|
Three Sisters (2013)
|
"Wang Bing is the cinematic bard of the Chinese working class and peasantry. The film is must viewing for those who want to understand the grim realities behind China's highly touted "economic miracle". In other words, their 99 percent."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
67%
|
Desperate Acts Of Magic (2013)
|
"Does for the world of magic what "The Wrestler" did for another profession based on illusion. Much better than "The Prestige" even though with a more modest provenance."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
78%
|
Juan of the Dead (2012)
|
"Not only is this movie funnier than "Shawn of the Dead", its obvious inspiration, it is proof that Cuba is not a totalitarian dungeon."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
98%
|
Mud (2013)
|
"Not quite as good as "Take Shelter" but still an intriguing story with a strong performance by Matthew McConaughey."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
88%
|
Herman's House (2013)
|
"Reminiscent in some ways of the Damien Nichols story but more about a father-daughter relationship. It also shows what a gifted conceptual artist can do, making the Whitney Biennial look like a bit of a joke."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
83%
|
The Revolutionary (2013)
|
"This aptly titled documentary draws upon the sharp memory and deep insights of a rueful nonagenarian. It might be of most interest to political people. If that describes you, DO NOT MISS IT."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
60%
|
American Meat (2013)
|
"Very informative documentary even if it allows the filthy Steve Ells of Chipotle's a platform."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
——
|
Smyrna: The Destruction of a Cosmopolitan City - 1900-1922 (2013)
|
"As an object lesson in the reactionary possibilities of a nationalist revolution, this documentary is most instructive. It is also a reminder that people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds can live together."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
55%
|
The Company You Keep (2013)
|
"The Way We Never Were (The Weather Underground never took part in armed robberies.)"
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
50%
|
You Don't Need Feet to Dance (2013)
|
"A great story about a great man and a reminder of why NYC remains one of the world's thriving metropolises. Hint: it makes it possible for someone like the film's subject to make a life for himself."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
47%
|
Olympus Has Fallen (2013)
|
"...when an obvious Secret Service baddie shows up to nervously have a smoke with Banning (as Hans Gruber did with John McLean), it's hard not to burst out laughing at the sheer chutzpah of the lift."
|
Laura Clifford
|
|
100%
|
Lost Angels: Skid Row Is My Home (2012)
|
"Both social history and a cry for social justice, this is the best documentary on society's lower depths since "Dark Days"."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
100%
|
Cuchillo de palo (108) (2013)
|
"A landmark documentary on gay people that will become a classic like "Before Stonewall" or "The Celluloid Closet". At once a great family drama and detective story."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
30%
|
Gut Renovation (2013)
|
"An all out assault on NY real estate developers and their nonstop drive to turn one of the world's great cities into a Tower of Mammon."
|
Louis Proyect
|
|
69%
|
Greedy Lying Bastards (2013)
|
"Next time NY won't be so lucky. A really big storm might kill thousands and leave us under water for months. This film shows us what forces are operating to make that more likely and what must be done to overcome them--starting with the Kochs."
|
Louis Proyect
|
