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Satire

Nymphomaniac: Volume 1

Written and Directed by Lars von Trier Produced by Louise Vesth Released by Magnolia Pictures. Denmark/Germany/France/Belgium/UK. 117 min. Not rated With Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Uma Thurman, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Connie Nielsen & Udo Kier Lars von Trier is a strange case. He’s built himself a lasting reputation as […]

Better Living Through Chemistry

Written and Directed by Geoff Moore and David Posamentier Produced by Joe Neurauter and Felipe Marino Released by Samuel Goldwyn Films. USA. 91 min Not rated With Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Michelle Monaghan, Norbert Leo Butz, Ben Schwartz, Ken Howard, Ray Liotta, Harrison Holzer & Jane Fonda Better Living Through Chemistry has wonderful opening credits: […]

Live-Action Oscar Shorts 2014

Released by ShortsHD 97 min. Not rated “Do I Have To Take Care of Everything?” The briefest, by half, of this year’s Oscar nominated live-action shorts makes more of an impact than its tone and brevity might suggest. The Finnish short covers a morning in the chaotic life of the Ketonin family, scrambling like mad […]

The Great Beauty

Directed by Paolo Sorrentino Produced by Nicola Giuliano & Francesca Cima Written by Sorrentino & Umberto Contarello Released by Janus Films Italian with English subtitles Italy/France. 142 min. Not rated With Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli, Carlo Buccirosso, Iaia Forte, Pamela Villoresi, Galatea Ranzi, Massimo De Francovich, Roberto Herlitzka & Isabella Ferrari A beguiling […]

The Wolf of Wall Street

Directed by Martin Scorsese Produced by Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Riza Aziz, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, and Joey McFarland Written by Terence Winter, from the book by Jordan Belfort Released by Paramount Pictures USA. 179 min. Rated R (and how!) With Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Rob Reiner, Jon Favreau, Spike Jonze, Kyle Chandler, Jon Bernthal, […]

Cockneys vs. Zombies

Directed by Matthias Hoene Written by James Moran & Lucas Roche Produced by James Harris Released by Shout Factory UK. 88 min. Not rated With Harry Treadaway, Michelle Ryan, Alan Ford, Ashley Thomas, Honor Blackman, Rasmus Hardiker & Georgia King From years back, you might remember a little movie called Shaun of the Dead, where […]

Moon Man

Written, Produced & Directed by Stephan Schesch, based on the picture book by Tomi Ungerer Released by Tribeca Film France/German/Ireland. 96 min. Not rated More than four decades after the 1966 publication of Moon Man, a children’s tale by author/illustrator Tomi Ungerer, Stephan Schesch brings this simple story to life through animation. Maintaining the simplicity […]

The Tribeca Grindhouse

This year at the Tribeca film festival, now in its 12th year, films from all over the world included some by major names (Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight and David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche) and newcomers trying to make their mark, not to mention the countless documentaries and short films. But not to be overlooked amid […]

Reality

Directed by Matteo Garrone Produced by Domenico Procacci & Garrone Written by Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Garrone & Massimo Gaudioso, based on a story by Garrone & Gaudioso Released by Oscilloscope Laboratories Italian, with English subtitles Italy/France. 115 min. Not rated With Aniello Arena, Loredana Simioli, Nando Paone, Graziella Marina, Nello Iorio, Raffaele Ferrante & […]