February 23, 2011

Domino (Tony Scott, 2005)

Domino is stylistically intricate, using several techniques developed by Scott through his commercials and his latest films that enhance the narrative.
February 26, 2013

Mitsuko Delivers (Yuya Ishii, 2011)

Mitsuko Delivers is a great beginning to the festival for me, starting with what could be the best acting performance of the year. Riisa Naka plays the eponymous Mitsuko, an energetic and pregnant young woman who travels back to her old stomping grounds and quickly befriends a cast of quirky local characters, forcing them to seek happiness, whether they’re open […]
January 2, 2012

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai, 2011)

Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai are two of the best Hong Kong directors of their generation (and To is one of the world’s best) and their production company, Milky Way, is a prominent example of industrial filmmaking without sacrificing quality and creativity. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart is an example of Milky Way’s effective filmmaking formula, and both filmmakers love […]
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 3, 2011

Legendary Assassin (Chung Chi Li and Jacky Wu, 2008)

In Legendary Assassin, following the murder of a triad boss, an assassin is trapped on the small island where the deed occurred due to weather conditions.