Wim Wenders’ latest is an utter disappointment, one of the most regrettable things he has ever put his name to.
Queen of the Desert
Upon closer inspection, Werner Herzog’s Queen of the Desert reveals itself as a camp romantic epic deserving of a closer look.
Big Hero 6
Disney’s BIG HERO 6 delights in the creation of utopian hybrid metropolis San Fransokyo and huggable robot Baymax, but its promise of originality fails to be met by its descent into an overly formulaic superhero narrative.
Gett, the Trial of Viviane Amsalem
There is much to appreciate in the tragic and absurd GETT, THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM. It stands up as a visually and emotionally resonant, masterfully constructed courtroom drama of rare and unique quality, anchored by Ronit Elkabetz’s magnificent performance as Viviane.
Mr. Turner
MR. TURNER can be counted among the finest of Leigh’s films, an original and compelling vision of a “funny-looking fat little bloke who happened to be a genius.”
Rules of the Game
Claudine Bories and Patrice Chagnard’s observational documentary Rules of the Game focuses on a small group of disenfranchised youths as they attend an employment consultancy firm in northern France
The Mafia Kills Only in Summer
Pierfrancesco Diliberto’s The Mafia Kills Only in Summer is a political satire which ultimately drops the ball in its tonal juggling act of comedy and drama, ending up being neither particularly funny nor dramatic.
Amour Fou
Involving a darkly comic retelling of the infamous double suicide in 1811 of author Heinrich von Kleist, Amour Fou is a formally rigorous period piece crafted with exacting precision by Austrian director Jessica Hausner, perfectly evoking the claustrophobia and austerity of the aristocratic circle Kleist ultimately forced his exit from.
Stray Dogs
Tsai Ming Liang’s Stray Dogs is a perfectly realised, distilled-to-its-purest-essence poetic work of tremendous emotional power
Ping Pong Summer
Failing to deliver on its promise as a comedy, Ping Pong Summer is an aggressively forgettable film, for serious 80s diehards only.