Out to own today:
The Voices
 | “I was afraid to say yes, and said yes,” Jerry Hickfang (Ryan Reynolds) Russians used to be cast as the baddies, then the British. Lazy cinema loves a shorthand. Mental illness, especially schizophrenia, is still a go-too modus operandi for unimaginative, insensitive filmmakers. One can forgive the use in pioneering fare like PSYCHO or FIGHT CLUB, but the likes of De Palma’s DRESSED TO KILL and RAISING CAIN and many others have the whiff of dubiousness. In KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER, apparent clinical depression is an excuse for a quirky mini-adventure. Beyond race, gender and sexual orientation, disability is the next frontier for enlightenment. As much as THE VOICES has charisma to spare, the portrayal of someone charmingly disturbed, as the motivator for comedy homicide, is misguided at worst, a bit tired at best. [To read more, click here.] |
X+Y
 | “I find any communication, of a non-mathematical nature, very difficult,” Nathan (Asa Butterfield) And so begins an unusual genre mash-up, part: Coming-of-age, love story, disability drama and pseudo-sports movie. Occasional voice-over from lead, Nathan (Butterfield – ENDER’S GAME), gives some insight into the mind of a young person on the Asperger’s syndrome spectrum. The unusual/difficult is deftly conveyed through competition, creating superficial stakes among the emotional ones. [To read more, click here.] |
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death
 | “Our worst enemy is ourselves,” Jean Hogg (Helen McCrory) The original WOMAN IN BLACK in terms of scares: Film > novel > play Screenwriter Jane Goldman, director James Watkins and team delivered a potent haunted house horror, in an era when genuinely frightening movies are thin on the ground. Sidestepping a need for gore, or cheap jump-in-your-seat moments, elevated their achievement all the more. Stiff upper lip, buttoned down Victorian era Brits made the terror they faced hit home harder. [To read more,click here.] |
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