It is among the most unwavering make-believe worlds I have ever seen in cinema... I can only wish the film's story lingered anywhere near as much as it's artistry.
Rick Deckard is a Blade Runner, an elite cop trained to hunt down and ‘retire’ rogue replicants, android beings designed to be ‘…more human than human’.
Although the film is nowhere near as terrifying as it's made out to be, its shunning of shock tactics in favour of distant sound effects and creepy environments creates a psychological terror which is far more disturbing.
Planchon shows plenty of skill as he layers on the absurdity until several of the plotlines begin to coalesce.
The Sauvage family just wants to be loved. Carole is trying to improve her poor reputation among her employees, while Jacques is trying to do the same with his friends. As for their son Blaise, politely, he's about to embark on a revolutionary, violent, and completely impromptu crusade for a girl.
Despite its share of mismatched moments, Young’s feature has a lot of creative flair.
Decades after the accidental drowning of her twin sister, a self-destructive young woman returns to her family home, finding herself drawn to an alternate dimension where her sister may still be alive.
The acting and the visuals are of the highest order, especially given the sensitive and personal nature of some of the revelations.
After overdosing on benzodiazepines and opioids, a young woman is picked up from the hospital by her father and the two embark on a road trip together. He was absent during most of her childhood due to addiction. In a last ditch effort to save her, he attempts to convince her to get sober.
The film has a personal touch and an honesty that surpasses clever writing and naturalistic acting.
In 1987 during the austere days of Thatcher's Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Cinematographer Fransisco Bulgarelli captures the angles perfectly: the theatrical glides, the lingering gaze, the suddenly intimate close-ups on faces when we don’t know whether to expect comedy or violence.
A reimagining of the Lon Chaney classic in which a desperate young man strikes a dark deal with an unhinged doctor, offering his mother as a subject for the physician's twisted experiments.
Director Alec Bonk knows the language of tough guy action films perfectly, and star George Fearing has the physique to make it work.
When an influx of illegal weapons trafficking explodes onto the scene, a grieving blind police officer must purge the city streets or risk mass chaos breaking loose.
Nikki has a light touch with a script that is able to see the funny side of things but which doesn't make light of the medical and societal situations that Jaakko and Sirpa are facing.
A blind man with MS encounters trouble on a day trip to visit a friend he has never met.
The sense of flow extends to the narrative, which weaves together a series of stories, connected not so much by plot intersection as by existential questions of purpose and loss.
A giant talkative frog, a lost cat, and a tsunami help a bank employee, his wife and a schizophrenic accountant to save Tokyo from an earthquake and find a meaning to their lives.
Despite its initial openness and the length of time it takes for subtle clues to build into something on which theories can be built, it's dramatically consistent throughout and very effective at mood-building.
A mysterious force lurks off the coast of Block Island, curiously influencing the surrounding town and wildlife.
Chevrollier captures the amplified mood of teenagehood.
Willy and Jojo are childhood friends who never leave each other's side. Training at the motocross track is their way to beat boredom. One evening, Willy discovers Jojo's secret.
After we take aside all well-intentioned intellectualising, and all the nice-looking shots, what we have are almost three hours of over-aestheticised torture.
A fictionalised chronicle of the inner life of Marilyn Monroe.
The sophistication of the storyline is impressive for the period, because what you expect is not what you get.
A German chorus girl marries an Englishman and becomes a star in the New York night clubs, before being seduced by a playboy and running away. Out to own now as part of Marlene Dietrich The Collection
Where previous versions have been inflamed with passion, this is icy cold, showcasing a different, more commonplace and obviously miserable form of mental illness.
A visit to a wealthy and reclusive friend lands a young man in a world of fear and despair.
The world presented by Radlmaier is a creation in which not only are the social relations absurd but the time is mixed up.
A penniless Soviet refugee who dreams of making a career in Hollywood at the end of the 1920s falls in love with a wealthy young vampire spending the summer at the seaside with her awkward servant – with unforeseen consequences.
While the roaming handheld cameras bring to mind observational documentaries, the aesthetic also evokes Robert Altman through its observational style and rich tapestry of characters.
In the shadows of the bright lights of Las Vegas, it's last call for a beloved dive bar known as the Roaring 20s. A document of real people, in an unreal situation, facing an uncertain future: America at the end of 2016.
Bloody Oranges is condemned to straddle between two half-baked tones.
A retired couple entering a dance contest, a corrupt politician, a girl eager to lose her virginity, and a young lawyer obsessed with social status - a seemingly benign look into these daily lives goes haywire in this shocking black comedy.
Light plays with contrast but knows when to step back and simply let the camera rest on Klug’s face.
When a recovering drug-addict named Massimo is bitten by an ancient, shapeshifting monster, he must fight to save his girlfriend Tien from the same bloody fate.
It's not that it's bad - it's certainly entertaining in places - but genre-aware meta-commentary can all too easily feel like the kind of parody where the 'joke' is in the relief of recognition.
Fans flock to a festival celebrating the most iconic horror movies, only to discover that the charismatic showman behind the event has a diabolical agenda.
A touching story of commonplace horror wrapped up in the trappings on Tinseltown, this is a thoroughly researched and carefully assembled piece of work that will intrigues fans of the director and newcomers alike.
A documentary about the uncommon life and unthinkable murder of the legendary no-budget exploitation filmmaker and the communities he inhabited in Seventies California.
There's an echo here of the kind of love that endures through everything, which is rather less poetic and rather more burdensome when one has to live with it.
A vampire's failure to adapt to the modern age creates danger for him and the former partner he doesn't want to let go.
The Blood of Hussain retains a bracing power nearly 40 years after its release.
The annual mourning procession for the murdered Hussain, grandson of the prophet Muhammad, is the setting for an allegorical tale of revolutionary struggle against injustice and oppression
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