November 15, 2015

Spectre (Sam Mendes, 2015)

After the tragic death of M and to honour her memory, James Bond uncovers a conspiracy of influential individuals called Spectre, a secret society responsible for strategic terrorist attacks around the world. As Bond strives to thwart their plans, fundamental changes are affecting the secret services back home, leaving Bond to fend for himself.  
March 29, 2010

Gone, Baby, Gone (Ben Affleck, 2007)

WHAT IT IS: Boston: A private investigator is enlisted to find a little girl who’s been abducted in his old neighborhood. HOW IT IS: In his directorial debut, Ben Affleck borrows from many of the great living directors, from Eastwood to Van Sant. Most notable is the latter’s influence in the cinema vérité shots. A Bostonian himself, Affleck’s neighborhood seems […]
March 26, 2010

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Tom Tykwer, 2006)

WHAT IT IS: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born destitute, has the most gifted olfactory sense ever bestowed on a human being. He yearns to learn how to distill all smells, including a woman’s. HOW IT IS: Twyker’s Perfume is strange but mesmerizing, like a song you can’t forget. It slowly creeps in, half serial killer movie, half meditation on life, talent and […]
October 1, 2010

What is independent cinema?

What is independent cinema? Critics and film scholars have wrestled with a definition of independent for most of cinema’s existence.
December 10, 2010

Little Big Soldier (Shen Ding, 2010)

Little Big Soldier tells the story of an army deserter who captures the general of a warring faction, planning to deliver him for the reward.