Being called “undateable” is sort of like a team player being labeled “uncoachable,” not a strong recommendation. This label tags maturity-challenged Frances (Greta Gerwig) in Noah Baumbach’s warm-hearted comedy Frances Ha, a film that has genuine affection for its characters. Co-written by Baumbach and Gerwig and supported by an eclectic soundtrack that includes music by…
By now those chosen few who’ve sought out Ben Wheatley’s latest, Sightseers (his next film, the English Civil War-set “A Field in England“, opens in UK cineplexes in July), have gotten their fill and hopefully developed an opinion. The film, unleashed upon U.S. audiences in limited release, is one of the darkest I’ve experienced and…
If you thought conspiracies about the grassy knoll were captivating, then you would love to hear what movie enthusiasts have to say about the perceived meanings behind Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” in the mesmerizing new documentary, Room 237. From archived clips of vignettes from Kubrick’s impressive filmography, to detailed analysis and careful camerawork, this IFC…
If, as the famous line from “Love Story” says, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” then Alex (Gael García Bernal) and Nica (Hani Furstenberg), a young couple engaged to be married in a few months, are on the right track. Summer vacationing in the Caucasus Mountains in the Republic of Georgia, Julia Loktev’s…
In 1968 in Paris, France, the something in the air was revolution. In March of that year, a single spark began a revolt when a small group of students at Nanterre University took to the streets to protest conditions at the University. By July, workers had shut down Paris with a general strike in which…
Two people in a long-term relationship can know practically everything about the other person but still be in the dark about some of the most major issues. In the semi-autobiographical Sleepwalk With Me, Matt and Abby have been together for eight years, ever since their second year of college — they live together, they share…
Even though Your Sister’s Sister is set mostly in the open air of a secluded area of a Puget Sound island, it feels a bit claustrophobic because of the very small cast. There are only three characters who perform 99% of the film’s interactions and there are only so many combinations a screenplay can invent…
