Category Archives: Reviews

DVD Pick of the Week: Kaboom

Posted on May 30, 2011 by | 2 comments

In light of recent discussion of Cannes here at The Filmsmith, it is all too fitting that Gregg Araki’s latest film, Kaboom, should come out on DVD this week. Last year at the festival, it inaugurated a brand new award – The Queer Palm, Cannes’ first LGBT prize – showcasing the best queer film at the fest. Kaboom had a very limited theatrical run, so now that it’s available on DVD it demands to be seen. It will be enjoyable for those familiar with the director’s previous works, or just as great for those interested in seeing a stylish, exuberant, youthful coming-of-age tale. Continue reading →

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DVD Monday: The Unloved

Posted on May 23, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Every now and then, an actor has the opportunity to work with great directors, and thereby learns a bit about the craft. These experiences can awaken a dormant passion to not just be a part of a film, but to create one. More often than not, these actors fall on their face, believing that money and influence will make a good movie without the talent possessed by their mentors and peers. But some actors-turned-directors, like Clint Eastwood, Charles Laughton and Ben Affleck, end  up making immense contributions to cinema. Out on DVD this week is the first film by Samantha Morton (Minority Report, The Messenger, Morvern Callar), and it turns out that one of the most underrated actresses of our time is well on her way to becoming one of the most underrated directors as well. Continue reading →

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Bridesmaids not just for the ladies

Posted on May 18, 2011 by | 2 comments

The ad agency responsible for Bridesmaids‘ promotional material should be fired, because this is not The Hangover for women.  It’s a comedy with heart that will have both men and women cackling with glee. Continue reading →

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DVD Monday: The Other Woman

Posted on May 16, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Ever since she snagged her Oscar for Black Swan, Natalie Portman  has been everywhere. From the unfortunately unfunny Your Highness to the comic book adaptation Thor, she has had 5 or 6 films in theaters lately, all making profits from her recognition by the Academy. IFC has dug up a film from two years ago they never properly released, and decided to give it a go, too.  The Other Woman, which never made it to most cities, is coming out on DVD this week, two years after it was finished. Does it hold up among her other recent performances? Continue reading →

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Serial killer superhero delightfully twisted in Super

Posted on May 12, 2011 by | 2 comments

In all likelihood, the 2000’s will be looked upon as the decade of the comic book movie, with plenty of vigilantes bouncing around in various forms of outlandish garb, dishing out justice from fists, claws, and expensive gadgets.  Of course, when these heroes take the screen, critics take them down, laying bare the genre’s love affair with violence as a problem-solving tool, as well as the recent trend of sexualized female killers (Sucker Punch). I don’t agree with many of these assessments (usually critics are picking on the wrong films), but Super is a superhero film critic’s rantings come to life; reveling in the usual tropes of the genre with a deliciously twisted bent, then showcasing their disturbing nature when placed within a context beyond comic panels or film frames – the real world. Continue reading →

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Certified Copy, Kiarostami’s latest enigma

Posted on May 11, 2011 by | 1 comment

Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian auteur par excellence, has offered up over 35 films since the 70s, but only the last dozen or so have received a wider audience than his native country. Certified Copy, his first filmed outside of Iran, is certainly his most assured film to date, if not his best. It’s the biggest head trip on the art-house circuit right now, and deserves to be seen ASAP. Continue reading →

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Thunder God Thor needs a better writer

Posted on May 9, 2011 by | 4 comments

Ever since Marvel took control of the films about their characters (Iron Man, then The Incredible Hulk) the superhero genre has matured beyond doe eyed children (Spider-Man) to cocksure teenagers with some justifiable swagger.  Despite not owning the rights to some of it’s most popular characters (the Spider-Man films are controlled by Sony, and the X-Men, 20th Century Fox), Marvel has its sights set high on an Avengers film in 2012, featuring Iron Man, Captain America (coming out this summer), Hulk, and Thor.  The ultimate question is if they will not just introduce interesting characters, but give us stories to care about.  Thor strives for such storytelling, but struggles to escape painful melodrama. Continue reading →

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Filmsmith Faves: Ugetsu Monogatari

Posted on May 2, 2011 by | Leave a comment

If you ask anyone what they know of Japanese cinema, they might mention Akria Kurosawa or his masterpiece, Seven Samurai. If you come across someone well-versed in the subject, they may bring up Yasujiro Ozu, whose catalog is filled with just as many great films as Kurosawa. You’re less likely to hear mention of Kenji Mizoguchi, a contemporary of Ozu’s who died a couple years after Kurosawa hit it big. About 70 percent of his films have been lost or destroyed, and what remains is scattered between historical epics, simple melodramas, and stories of strong women. Some are great, some aren’t, but his masterpiece Ugetsu is beyond that distinction. It may very well be the greatest Japanese film ever made. Continue reading →

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Fast Five’s heist mildly interesting

Posted on April 29, 2011 by | 1 comment

If you’re a film critic aiming to be taken seriously you draw up reviews of awesome little-known films like Night of the Hunter and level sniper shots at the latest Transfomers flick.  Anything heavily marketed to mass audiences is normally regarded as terrible before official screenings begin, and that sentiment isn’t without its reasons.  But even the most erudite critic has a guilty pleasure, and mine happens to be any film that tries to do as much real special effect work as possible before going to the computer, which is what made me curious about Fast Five.  Continue reading →

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Night of the Hunter a visual treat

Posted on April 27, 2011 by | 2 comments

The Classic Hollywood System is typified by films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, and The Wolf Man, where a kiss implied sex, the sound of a gunshot with dramatic music implied death, and Clark Gable’s famous line in Gone with the Wind was scandalous.  It’s the reason your grandparents complain about modern films being too dirty, thanks to the films they saw under the censorship of the  Hays Code (as opposed to milder censorship through the MPAA).  The code forbade nudity, exiled homosexuals, and put restrictions on the ways in which institutional authority could be depicted.  Which is what makes Night of the Hunter (1955), a tale in which parents and other adults in the community fail to protect two children from a widow-killing preacher, stand out as a haunting horror thriller. Continue reading →

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