Film Threat » Jeremy Mathews

FEAR(S) OF THE DARK (DVD)

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

BACK IN BLACK FOR HALLOWEEN 2009! "Fear(s) of the Dark" is a visually exhilarating trip through the darker regions of the subconscious.

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AMERICAN SON

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2008 LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL FEATURE! Cannon's performance as Mike carries the film. He expresses fear of the uncertain and a premature nostalgia for the life he left behind...

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REPRISE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN LIMITED RELEASE! "Reprise" is an energetic romp through creative frustration, stagnant relationships, the fear of change and romance-fueled insanity...

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THE VISITOR

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2008 SXSW SPECIAL SCREENING! Writer/director Thomas McCarthy displays the same knack for emotionally connected, well-acted performances as he did in his last work, "The Station Agent"...

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CHICAGO 10

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN LIMITED RELEASE! Full of new and old protest songs, rebellious thinkers and pride for the country that was built on them, "Chicago 10" is a fitting love song to misfits who might not be quite sure where they're going, but are intent on getting there...

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IN BRUGES

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN LIMITED RELEASE! The content may initially seem daunting, but the film presents it in an accessible, entertaining manner that dares you not to enjoy yourself...

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ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN LIMITED RELEASE! The film is most remarkable when it exposes the ease with which the press and a self-obsessed judge can pervert the country's justice system...

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THE BROKEN

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2008 SUNDANCE AFTER MIDNIGHT FEATURE FILM! The closer "The Broken" moves to its conclusion, the more clear it becomes that it's all smoke and mirrors...

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TRACES OF THE TRADE: A STORY FROM THE DEEP NORTH

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2008 SUNDANCE DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION FEATURE! A film rarely expresses everything that's wrong with it in such a succinct manner...

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THE LAST WORD

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2008 SUNDANCE DRAMATIC COMPETITION FEATURE! When a film only shines while deviating from its main plot, it's time to write a new film...

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NANKING

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN LIMITED RELEASE! While at times the film begins to feel like a laundry list of bad deeds, the first-person accounts pack a wallop. A scene in which a man describes the violent killing of his mother and baby brother is particularly astonishing...

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GRACE IS GONE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Cusack's performance is a revelation. The role of a suburban father is not a common one for the hip actor, and he plays this disheveled and heartbroken man with great understanding...

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AMERICAN DIRECTORS KILL AT 2007 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

The American directors have had a good couple of days in the 2007 Cannes Film Festival's Official Competition...

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CANNES 2007 OPENS WITH A VARIETY OF FLAVORS, INCLUDING WONG’S ‘BLUEBERRY’

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

The Cannes Flm Festival has been underway for only an opening night and a day, and the Official Competition has already featured an obscure, low-budget Romanian film and David Fincher's "Zodiac"...

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FAY GRIM

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN LIMITED RELEASE! Revisiting his characters from 1997's "Henry Fool" nine years later, Hartley moves them from a story about a rise to literary fame with satanic implications to a bastardized spy thriller...

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CHASING GHOSTS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION FEATURE! "Chasing Ghosts" reminds us of the time when the basics were plenty fun and the kings of the arcade could rule for several hours (or days) on one quarter...

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SUMMER RAIN

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE PREMIERE FEATURE! Banderas, and cinematographer Xavi Giménez create some lush, alluring visuals that just cry out for the movie to be loved. But they squander them on a limp, increasingly tedious story whose climax makes you wonder why it existed at all...

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DRIVING WITH MY WIFE’S LOVER

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE WORLD DRAMATIC COMPETITION FEATURE! Two questions circle around "Driving with my Wife's Lover:" What is the main character planning to do, and will he actually do it?

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SNOW ANGELS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

David Gordon Green's cinematic adaptation of Stewart O'Nan's novel poetically studies the divide between innocence and tragedy, discovery and disappointment. With a deep understanding of his characters, Green has crafted a film that's devastating and uplifting without sounding a false note...

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FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE SPECIAL SCREENING! Jennifer Fox's series "Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman" may be presented as a six-hour film at the Sundance Film Festival, but I can describe it in one word: Unwatchable...

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CHAPTER 27

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE PREMIERE FEATURE! With the weight gain, makeup and glasses, Leto does actually look quite a bit like Chapman, but that means little in terms of the actual performance, which is limited to the script's depth and scope...

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WONDERS ARE MANY

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE SPECTRUM FEATURE! The film oddly attempts to combine the backstage production footage with history-lesson segments featuring voice-of-god narration by Eric Owens. While skillfully crafted, the two stories never quite mesh, and neither go deep enough to work on their own...

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AUTISM EVERY DAY

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE SPECIAL SCREENING! The documentary is too short to really go into details with these specific people's lives and personalities, yet the last 15 minutes still feels partly recycled...

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WAITRESS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN LIMITED RELEASE! Adrienne Shelly's film is a fun but sincere exploration of this conundrum, full of off-kilter characters who don't talk like anyone in real life, but sound a truthful chord...

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BANISHED

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION FEATURE! While Williams fails to create a compelling argument or discovery about the reparations issue, "Banished" contains enough insights into race relations to be worth watching...

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GHOSTS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE WORLD DRAMATIC COMPETITION FEATURE! This isn't a movie to watch while devouring a bag of popcorn unless you have a stomach of steel or enjoy watching globs of random meat and unclean bathrooms as you swallow...

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HOT HOUSE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION FEATURE! Whether you agree or disagree with Israel's policies, it's hard to argue against the imprisonment of the inmates, all but one of whom admits to involvement in terrorist attacks that killed innocent civilians...

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PROTAGONIST

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION FEATURE! Director Yu offers no introductory overview of who the four men — all from different backgrounds — are, what they will become or why they were selected as subjects...

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ONCE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN LIMITED RELEASE! John Carney's direction is unassuming and without a hint of pretension, and his short screenplay lets the music do a lot of the talking...

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JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION FEATURE! "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten" searches for the truth about the musician who shifted from hippie to punk, expanded the scope and possibility of his newfound genre, then quit at the pinnacle of the fame he initially craved...

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AWAY FROM HER

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE PREMIERE FEATURE! With the exception of some questionable flash forwards, Polley manages it all nicely in her feature debut, confidently relying on the strength of her actors, but with a strong visual sense...

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THE ISLAND

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE WORLD DRAMATIC COMPETITION FEATURE! Director Pavel Lounguine intends to continually change the background and credibility of Anatoly, but never shows any evidence that any of his advice and/or antics have helped anybody...

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OFFSCREEN

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE NEW FRONTIER FEATURE! In the age of videotape, anyone can turn themselves into a protagonist by flipping around their digital-video camera. At least, some people let themselves believe that's the case...

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DRAINED

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE WORLD DRAMATIC COMPETITION FEATURE! "Drained" is the kind of film that requires the most delicate tonal precision from its director. It wants to be funny, dark, shocking and emotionally resonant. But it's a dissonant mess, as frustratingly bad as it is boldly ambitious...

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DELIRIOUS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

2007 SUNDANCE SPECTRUM FEATURE! The story's surprises range from clever to annoying, but DiCillo manages to hold it all together with his consistently amusing cast members, who make you laugh at their characters' self-absorbed folly...

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LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! If a film is going to yank an audience around for its duration, the least it can do is avoid belabored explanations of rather obvious twists. This simple guideline could have helped provide a better ending for "Lucky Number Slevin..."

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BRICK

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS MARCH 31ST! Joseph Gordon-Leavitt plays the film’s hardened, shutoff hero, who has been eating lunch in the back of the school for the past three months. It might not make sense at first, but it’s about time the dark, seedy underworld of the detective noir was transferred to high school...

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THANK YOU FOR SMOKING

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! The state of discourse in modern news no longer depends on the facts, but on who can better twist them to their will. Jason Reitman's "Thank You for Smoking" provides a very observational study of the sort of rhetoric used to distort the facts and win over public opinion, but places these observations into a conventional and predictable story...

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NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SXSW 2006 REVIEW! After making the best concert film of all time in 1984, you'd think that Jonathan Demme would quit while he's ahead...

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GAME 6

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS MARCH 10TH! While it may be a clever idea to make a film about life’s failures and disappointments to the backdrop of the Red Sox’s disastrous World Series loss in 1986, Michael Hoffman’s “Game 6” fails to make use of its clever dialogue and concepts as it attempts to become something more profound...

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THE ILLUSIONIST

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE 2006 PREMIERE REVIEW! While it might have made a good short, as a feature film "The Illusionist" comes across like a magician whose tricks are transparent. The most insight the film provides is that turn-of-the-century Vienna looks pretty...

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THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE 2006 PREMIERE REVIEW! Some people carry with them deep scars, physical and emotional, that shape the rest of their lives. We're often too busy to notice these people as they pass us, serve us and perhaps work with us every day. "The Secret Life of Words" follows a person who says and reveals little about herself, and investigates who she really is...

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THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE 2006 DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION REVIEW! "The World According to Sesame Street" examines the impact that this export has had on many of the world's cultures in the sweet tone that you'd expect from such inspirational subject matter...

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A LITTLE TRIP TO HEAVEN

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE 2006 PREMIERE REVIEW! Baltasar Kormákur's "A Little Trip to Heaven" opens in an insurance company's office, where a widow is bullied into signing for a check lower than the amount that her husband's policy indicated...

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MATCH POINT

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS DECEMBER 28TH! “Match Point” is one of Woody Allen’s strongest films this decade...With some recollection of “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” this dark tale of societal comfort combines Allen’s witty writing with the confusion and distress of making major life decisions...

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WOLF CREEK

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

The movie indicates that all is not right from the opening titles, which tell us the film is based on actual events and that of Australians who go missing, 90 percent are found within a month…but some are never found...

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AFTER INNOCENCE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! Jessica Sanders has observed a collection of lives dramatically altered by a flawed legal system...

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CRONICAS (DVD)

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

“Cronicas” attacks the rather alarming transition from TV news to entertainment, in which the only important parts of reality are those that will play well...

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FORTY SHADES OF BLUE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! Rip Torn creates a man who would like to be a good person, but would rather accept whatever whims of anger or sex come his way...

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DEAR WENDY

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! While the love for guns is well illustrated, the idea that building fear increases violence only comes through because it’s expected...

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MATANDO CABOS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! Beneath the surface, the film looks at a system in Mexico City in which the good are often punished and mean, wealthy people get away with whatever they please. Without the comic spirit, the film could have been dreary realism about a corrupt city damaged by crime and financial disparity...

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REEL PARADISE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! Steve James's "Reel Paradise" is an honest look at the experience of a family who lives a yearlong tropical movie adventure on a remote island in Fiji...

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THE CHUMSCRUBBER

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS, AUGUST 5TH! The film exists in a landscape of similar houses, adults who don’t communicate with their children and high school students who medicate themselves with antidepressant pills to become numb to the outside world...

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2046

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS, AUGUST 5TH! The fascinating visuals and performances by Leung and the assortment of actresses like Gong, Zhang Ziyi and Maggie Cheung ensure that the film is still worth watching...

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HAPPY ENDINGS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! Writer/director Don Roos has a gift for creating multidimensional, funny characters and putting them in whatever stories, no matter how contrived and manipulative, pop into his head...

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MURDERBALL

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! "Murderball" goes beyond the obvious subjects to explore the lives that quad rugby affects. The documentary, by Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro, follows the members of the U.S. Paralympic quad rugby team...

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MARCH OF THE PENGUINS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! The impressive spectacles depicted include mass migration in which the penguins walk and slide on their stomachs to reach the mating grounds, protect their babies from bereaved mothers who try to steal them, and share moving moments of intimacy...

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HEIGHTS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! In her best performance of three Sundance 2005 movies, Glenn Close stands out as a legendary actress who lectures at Juilliard about how it is hard to pull off Shakespeare in this modern age when passion has disappeared...

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THE TALENT GIVEN US

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

IN THEATERS! “I’m not in therapy five days a week because you were a good mother..."

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: DARDENNES PALME ANOTHER

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

FILM THREAT'S 2005 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE! While perhaps in a different order than a poll of critics might have arranged, the Cannes Film Festival gave its three major awards to the three most beloved films in the official competition...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: THE COMPETITION ENDS AND THE GUESSING BEGINS

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

FILM THREAT'S 2005 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE! This year’s fest has revealed many strong contenders, and the eclectic jury faces a difficult task narrowing them down to a few victors...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: COMPETITION LAGS TOWARDS FESTIVAL’S END

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

FILM THREAT'S 2005 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE! The last couple days of the Cannes Film Festival haven’t seen any competition films that stand up to the best works of those screened on Tuesday and prior...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: SIDEBAR SELECTIONS REVEAL HIDDEN TREASURES

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

FILM THREAT'S 2005 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE! While much of the coverage of the Cannes Film Festival focuses on the official Competition films and major Out of Competition premieres...there’s much more to the yearly showcase of world cinema...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: FATHERHOOD MASTERED

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

FILM THREAT'S 2005 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE! Jim Jarmush’s “Broken Flowers” and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s “L’Enfant” (“The Child”) both offer thoughtful portrayals of incomplete parenting and both couldn’t have been made by other directors...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: THE PALME IS IN THE AIR

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

It’s the halfway point of the Cannes Film Festival, the “Star Wars” mania has ended, and people are beginning to speculate on what film will win the Palme d’Or...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: “SITH” AVENGES PREQUEL TRILOGY CRIMES

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

FILM THREAT'S 2005 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE! The audiences at the Grand Theatre Lumiere in Cannes were excited and relieved to discover that George Lucas found some of his old magic for the final installment of his epic saga...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: HANEKE EXPLORES HIDDEN MEMORIES IN ONE OF THE FEST’S BEST

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

FILM THREAT'S 2005 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE! Considering the promising entries yet to play, this year’s Cannes Festival is shaping up as a strong one, although not yet astounding...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: EGOYAN AND VAN SANT EXPLORE THE TRAGEDY OF CELEBRITY

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

FILM THREAT'S 2005 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE! Every day at the Cannes Film Festival, people who will not be able to see any films gather around the outside of the Grand Theatre Lumiere for hours in the hopes of spotting celebrities. If they could actually watch the two films that premiered in competition on Friday, they might rethink their routine...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005: “MATCH POINT” SCORES AND “KILOMETRE ZERO” DEVASTATES

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

FILM THREAT'S 2005 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE! The first full day of the Cannes Film Festival revealed a veteran in solid form and an emerging Iranian director with a distinctive style...

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CANNED FILM THREAT 2005

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

The giant posters are hung, the crosswalk lines have been repainted sparkling white at the last possible minute, the paparazzi have loaded their cameras, and the protesters are sure to show up any minute now. The Cannes Film Festival opened Wednesday night with Dominic Moll’s “Lemming” and the promise of a collection of work by several major directors and several unknowns in the following 10 days...

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LOVE, LUDLOW

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL 2005 REVIEW! Portrayed by Alicia Goranson as a feisty tough woman from Queens, Myra’s harsh exterior is partly a way to keep people out of her world, which she shares with her mentally disabled brother...

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ODESSA ODESSA

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

NOW PLAYING AT THE PIONEER THEATER IN NEW YORK! The film becomes like a piece of music, and the visual hypnosis of the locations is part of the theme that recurs in new variations...

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A BUCK’S WORTH

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SXSW ANIMATED SHORT 2005 REVIEW! If a homeless guy has a gun, but isn’t robbing you, should you give him a dollar out of gratitude, or get angry because you feel manipulated?

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ROCK SCHOOL

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SXSW DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 2005 REVIEW! The question isn’t whether Paul Green is a great teacher or a complete asshole. Don Argott’s documentary “Rock School” reveals that he’s both...

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THE MEANING OF LIFE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SXSW ANIMATED SHORT 2005 REVIEW! While not trying to be as funny, Hertzfeldt here shows even more maturation of form than the crumpled paper finale of “Rejected"...

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THE BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SXSW NARRATIVE FEATURE 2005 REVIEW! If it weren’t laughable enough to see a snake crawl out of a cage while a girl loses her virginity with an unexciting, unpleasant partner, the scene after, where she looks at her bloody sheet and does a happy dance, makes it hard not to laugh at out loud...

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THROUGH MY THICK GLASSES

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE ANIMATION SPOTLIGHT 2005 REVIEW! The stylized claymation creates a less serious representation of war’s horrors...

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FALLEN ART

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE ANIMATION SPOTLIGHT 2005 REVIEW! “Fallen Art,” Tomek Baginski’s computer animation about scarred and suffering soldiers in a sinister camp, confirms the promise shown in the director’s 2003 short, “The Cathedral"...

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SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM: TAKE 2 1/2

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE FRONTIER 2005 REVIEW! It’s worth watching if you want to consider the various degrees of the creative process and nostalgia...

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9

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE ANIMATION SPOTLIGHT 2005 REVIEW! “9” is like a cross between the Brothers Quay and Tim Burton...

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RYAN

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE ANIMATION SPOTLIGHT 2005 REVIEW! Chris Landreth’s “Ryan” brilliantly combines many styles and movements into one animated documentary short...

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THE BIRTHDAY

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE ANIMATION SPOTLIGHT 2005 REVIEW! Kari Juusonen’s “The Birthday” uses impressive stop-motion puppets to portray a man who works at a high-tech slaughter house and the cow who doesn’t want to lay down and die...

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MOO(N)

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE ANIMATION SPOTLIGHT 2005 REVIEW! “Moo(n)” is an imaginative black-and-white cut-out-style animation about a girl, the cow she loves, and a mischievous bee who gets the cow stuck on the moon...

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TAMA TU

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE SHORT 2005 REVIEW! Taika Waitit’s “Tama Tu” offers a refreshing look at war by examining a childish Maori battalion camped out in a ruined building during World War II...

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ARE YOU THE FAVORITE PERSON OF ANYBODY?

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE SHORT 2005 REVIEW! In the black-and-white HD movie, John C. Reilly plays a man standing on a neighborhood street, asking people the titular survey...

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PURA LENGUA (ALL TONGUE)

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE SHORT 2005 REVIEW! Completely disorganized as it tries to deal with the problems of dating a closet lesbian and the prejudices and exploitation that a indigenous Xicana encounters...

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SWIM TEST

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE SHORT 2005 REVIEW! “Swim Test” quietly observes the life of a depressed high school senior who has to take off his shirt to go swimming and graduate...

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VICTORIA PARA CHINO

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE SHORT 2005 REVIEW! Claustrophobic darkness pervades in Cary Fukunaga’s "Victoria Para Chino”...

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THE YOUTH IN US

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE SHORT 2005 REVIEW! "The Youth in Us” is a clever bait-and-switch short that becomes more tragic as it reveals its true scenario...

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THE 3 ROOMS OF MELANCHOLIA

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION 2005 REVIEW! Nothing is sadder than a child who has experienced tragedy, but no trap is easier to fall into than that of dwelling on a moping kid until the image loses its meaning...

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LACKAWANNA BLUES

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE PREMIERE 2005 SCREENING! Actor/writer Ruben Santiago-Hudson adapted his autobiographical one-man show to the screen, but maintained its loose narrative structure of life lessons and memories...

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STEAL ME

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE AMERICAN SPECTRUM 2005 REVIEW! Ah, the life of a 15-year-old homeless kleptomaniac...

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PALERMO HOLLYWOOD

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE WORLD DRAMATIC COMPETITION 2005 REVIEW! While it doesn’t always live up to its promise, director Eduardo Pinto tries an ambitious range of techniques as he uses handheld cameras to tell the story of two friends from different classes who live in the underworld of Buenos Aires, in the neighborhood of Palermo Viejo, which is known for its restaurants and nightclubs...

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5TH WORLD

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE AMERICAN SPECTRUM 2005 REVIEW! The film is a promising but ultimately clunky debut by Blackhorse Lowe, who aims toward an ambitious poetic meditation on life but fails due to low-quality digital photography that clashes with the film’s style and some pacing mistakes...

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DRUM

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE PREMIERE 2005 REVIEW! Even in times of gross injustice, moments of humanity find a way of sneaking through. Film has always had a special power to emotionally communicate this, and Zola Maseko’s “Drum” is a solid work of classical storytelling that’s heartbreaking in its portrayal of Johannesburg at a time when its rulers had convinced many people that whites were born to command and blacks were born to obey and serve...

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PRETTY PERSUASION

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE DRAMATIC COMPETITION 2005 REVIEW! “Pretty Persuasion” kills itself with unrestrained negativism, but almost resuscitates itself with some great comedy...

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MARILYN HOTCHKISS BALLROOM DANCING & CHARM SCHOOL

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE PREMIERE 2005 REVIEW! “Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School” is a refreshing piece of emotional warmth that won’t induce a syrup overdose...

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DHAKIYARR VS. THE KING

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION 2005 REVIEW! The tribe leader Dhakiyarr shoots a policeman who had taken one of his village’s women, upholding the laws of his tribe, which a shark spoke long ago in the community’s river...

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WHO KILLED COCK ROBIN?

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE DRAMATIC COMPETITION 2005 REVIEW! “Who Killed Cock Robin?” is one of the few truly independent entries in this year’s dramatic competition, made on a small budget with no name actors or fancy connections, but unfortunately does not reflect the best that indie film has to offer...

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MITCHELLVILLE

Jeremy Mathews — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

SUNDANCE AMERICAN SPECTRUM 2005 REVIEW! “Mitchellville” is a mysterious dream in which plot lines wander in unexpectedly from the subconscious and add layers of meaning to the protagonist’s life...

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