Wild (2014)
Dir: Jean-Marc Vallée
Much of the talk surrounding Wild will likely be about Reese Witherspoon and her immersive central performance. She’s in almost every frame of the movie and does career best work, bringing a real person to the screen in a rounded and believable way. But is the movie surrounding her any good? (more…)
Dear White People (2014)
Dir: Justin Simien
Are we living in a post-racial (North) America? Or does such a thing even exist? And what does it mean to retain your identity against a sea of otherness? (more…)
Frank (2014)
Dir: Lenny Abrahamson
The concept for Frank sounds like an unbearably quirky indie movie: an experimental rock group retreats to the wilds of Ireland to record their magnum opus with a new keyboardist in tow – hijinks ensue and lessons are learned. Oh yeah, and the band is fronted by an enigmatic genius who never (he has a certificate!) removes his giant paper-mâché head. (more…)
A Most Wanted Man (2014)
Dir: Anton Corbijn
The 9/11 attacks were partially planned in the port city of Hamburg, Germany. Since then the city’s been on high alert, with government agents assigned to monitor and stop any potential terrorism. This is the setup for A Most Wanted Man, adapted from a John le Carré novel by Anton Corbijn. (more…)
Calvary (2014)
Dir: John Michael McDonagh
It sounds like a bad joke that becomes deadly serious. A priest walks into a confessional. The parishioner, shrouded by a veiled divider, states that in one week’s time he’ll kill the priest. (more…)
Starry Eyes (2014)
Dirs: Kevin Kolsch, Dennis Widmyer
How far would you go for a role? Would you sacrifice your body and soul? Starry Eyes seeks to answer that question by combining Hollywood satire with grisly body horror to detail the surreal journey of an amateur actress looking to land her big break. (more…)
Escobar: Paradise Lost (2014)
Dir: Andrea Di Stefano
Pablo Escobar finally makes it to the big screen* but ends up playing second-fiddle to a Canadian surfer dude in the drug world thriller Escobar: Paradise Lost. (more…)
Foxcatcher (2014)
Steve Carell steps out of the office and into the dark mind of John du Pont in Bennett Miller’s gripping drama Foxcatcher. Bolstered by a trio of awards-worthy performances and heavy on the verisimilitude, it’s an exceedingly dark tale of classism, corruption, and how the strong prey on the weak. Returning to the true crime genre that he so successfully mined in his debut feature Capote, Miller’s Foxcatcher takes its time in its portrayal of a distinctly American tragedy and says a lot about the country that spawned it, much of it unflinching and bleak. (more…)
Interstellar (2014)
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan’s latest opus is an imaginative science fiction yarn married to a familial narrative about fatherhood, human ambition, and the propagation of the species. Remarkable visual effects and breathtaking action brush up against groan-worthy dialogue to create a whiplash experience, where one moment a parent teacher conference devolves into a literal examination of The American Dream, followed by a thrilling representation of that bootstrapping spirit as a spaceship rockets into space to save all of mankind. Despite occasionally great turns of phrase (“Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to die here.”), Nolan works best when he shows instead of tells. (more…)
John Wick (2014)
Dirs: David Leitch, Chad Stahelski
Do you like Keanu Reeves? Do you like him in full-on action mode, kicking all sorts of ass in a hyper-stylized revenge pic? Do you like movies that create a fully formed world and populate it with insane avatars of violence, all portrayed by well known character actors? Does the idea of a downtown New York hotel that caters exclusively to world class assassins – with its own hierarchy and internal rules – sound cool to you? If you answered yes to any of the above, then John Wick‘s for you. (more…)
Glen On Film 