Angel-A

A strange lil French film by the director of The Fifth Element. A petty criminal hooks up with hedonistic celestial being and ‘funny and weird’ ensues. The B/W is quite striking, solidifying the ‘art-house’ quality of the picture as the two leads are as charmingly polar opposite as you can get. A treat for fans […]

A Prophet

An engrossing, well-acted French prison drama about a young Arab in the service of the Corsican mob and the web of deception he creates. Gritty and raw with an edgy look at the forced meldiing of Muslims and ‘French’ in a rigid, correctional setting. Strange, amusingly ‘human’ lil scenes scattered throughout help cut through the […]

Cargo

Finally!!! A smart, well-executed deep space thriller that very much pays stylistic homage to the Alien franchise.Whatever the budget, it was used well. Unusually high production design. Someone took a good page from The Book of Cameron/Scott/Fincher. If you appreciate a decent,suspenseful sci-fi movie and can handle the German..do it. July 13, 2011 at 8:28pm

Outlaw

A smart, vigilante thriller that cleverly notes the psychological toll that ‘planned violence’ has on ‘normal people’. Great acting from ‘who’s who’ of British actors that really manage to give the film ‘gravity’. It also asks some interesting questions of the audience. Definitely worthwhile. July 10, 2011 at 11:05pm

Hard Revenge Milly

An action-packed Japanese tale of futuristic revenge told as a Manga-come-to-life short film(43 min). Deleriously over-the-top in the spraying blood dept. with some well-choreographed, well cut fight sequences and a general air of fun Asian ridiculousness and boundary-pushing. It’s a fun lil ‘watch’. And again…subtitles. July 2, 2011 at 9:47pm

Days of Darkness

A surreal, dark comedy from Quebec about the hallucinatory ‘unraveling’ and subsequent psychological reinvention of an unhappy gov’t worker’s life. Interestingly paced and often quirkily hilarious with a complex tone and a plot line that’s seemingly all over the place. Interested in strangely amusing Canadian cinema and are able to stomach subtitles…? July 2, 2011 […]

Storage

Woah!! A sweet lil Aussie gem that packs a punch! This well-stylized and atmospheric flick’s high production value gives this an entertainingly sinister ‘graphic novel’ feel. And when the ‘twists’ hit, they hit without warning. The easy pacing leads nicely into a couple abrupt(but not jarring)shifts in tone. It just plain works…and works well. Looking […]

Altered

A surprisingly cool alien invasion horror from the Blair Witch crew. The no-name actors really give it their all and they give it well. Damn gross make-up and a now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t approach to the monster really spruce this B-movie up. And there’s a gnarly intestine gag that I guarantee you haven’t seen before. You want a […]

Pride and Glory

Intense and realistic cop drama boasting a slew of believeable performances from a well-versed cast, with Norton and Farrell standing out noticeably. The two enthusiastically engage in one of the best down-n-dirty fisticuffs I’ve seen in a while. It also has a nicely subdued, decidedly un-Hollywood finale’. A decent addition to the Cop Movie genre […]

The Plague Dogs

What a trippy ‘find’! A strange, sombre and suspiciously intelligent ‘curiousity’ of English animated storytelling from ’82. A gloomy look at the ‘lives’ of a pair of escaped lab animals that definitely gets the intelligent mind ‘going’. There’s an eerie sadness to it. A cool, cinematic gem that deserves to be seen. So NOT for […]