“Fruitvale Station”: an American tragedy
Ryan Coogler gives us Fruitvale Station as a symbolic recapitulation of the Stations of the Cross, recounting the last 30-plus hours of Oscar Grant III's life.
Pacific Rim: a great giant monster film!
Del Toro is a master of visual design. The monsters and robots are so full of detail they become characters. The scale is truly immersive and the action is spectacular.
“The East” probes ultra-left minds in twisted plot
Ellen Page is wonderful in "The East." I've never seen her in a movie when she wasn't wonderful.
Student debt crisis: an American horror story
The movie is about a recent college graduate, Kate. Everywhere she goes, her debt follows her, symbolized by a creeping red mist.
“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs”
This radical icon remains full of grace: Bogged down she's not, as she remains ready for the revolution, whatever form it may take.
“Dormant Beauty:” a searing look at death and politics
The topical Dormant Beauty is about - depending on your point of view - the right to die, or rather, perhaps, the right to life.
Tricky Dick rides again in “Our Nixon”
Our Nixon, shown at the 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival, is a compilation film by Penny Lane about the only U.S. president who resigned and left office in disgrace.
Costa-Gavras thrills fans with “Capital”
Costa-Gavras is back with a new thriller about the banking industry.
"Man of Steel" is the definitive Superman
How do you make a super-powered, cape-wearing alien work in the eyes of a cynical, seen-it-all-before 2013 audience?
"Far Out Isn't Far Enough": unique art of Tomi Ungerer
Contrast, courage, and challenge ... these are the words one may think of when viewing "Far Out Isn't Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story," written, produced, and directed by Brad Bernstein.
