Independent

There's no denying that Charlie Kaufman is a talented and creative filmmaker.  His work, however, can be an acquired taste, and more often than not, is a bit hit-or-miss.  Synecdoche New York is fairly representative of much of his other work, although this story tends to be a bit more bleak than something like "Eternal […]

RocknRolla is the latest film from British director Guy Ritchie.  I've always been lukewarm to Ritchie's frenetic style, but this movie was a gem.  Ritchie seems to be maturing as a writer, and it shows through in his characters.  This is an excellent ensemble of British (and a few American) actors, and the story gives […]

Chris' Rating:  9/10
Despite arriving to our shelves with very little advance buzz, and the fact that it has a very odd premise for the story, Lars and the Real Girl is a real hidden gem.  I still can't believe I became so emotionally invested in a story about a man's relationship with a fake girl.  […]

 
Rating:  8.5 / 10
I thought this was a clever film that makes use of a broad range of characters.  Excellent dialogue, and a touching story.  It hits that perfect balance of quirky and accessible.  It should appeal to a wide range of tastes.
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Similar in style to last year’s hit Little Miss Sunshine, King of California stars Michael Douglas in a role that won’t soon be forgotten by his followers. Mike Cahill directs this dark comedy about Charlie (Douglas), a man who has just been released from a mental institute to find that his daughter Miranda (Evan Rachel […]

8/10 
This clever and original film was directed by David Wain, kudos to him on the creativity front. I haven't seen a movie quite like this…maybe ever.
The opening scene cuts to a vast room with two stone tablets in the middle; of course they have the ten commandments written on them. Paul Rudd enters and, through […]

 
Indie films have always been hit or miss for me.  For every hidden gem that emerges from a major film festival, there are 2 or 3 pretentious, self-indulgent bombs that are the cinematic equivalent of watching your own toenails grow.  Most of these films get so bogged down in their own artistic aspirations that they […]

 
As I watched the film "Once”, especially some of the overlong scenes where lead actor Glen Hansard (The Commitments) works on fleshing out one of his songs, I couldn’t help thinking that this film felt like a vanity piece.  Depending on the viewer, this will either make the film even more compelling, or get on your […]

“The Interview” is a remake of the Dutch director Theo Van Gogh’s film of the same name.  Essentially what you get here is a play.  There are two actors (Sienna Miller and Steve Buscemi) who spar for 90 minutes on screen.  Buscemi plays an embittered political reporter who is assigned to do a pop bio […]

The Wind that Shakes the Barley covers an uncommon subject in the world of film: the Irish Civil War. European Director Ken Loach gives us an authentic look at the events leading up to the commencement of the Irish Civil War in 1920. This is accomplished through the fictitious story of two brothers, Damian and […]