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The film is filled with absurd and sometimes fantastic images; a layer of unexpected tragedy keeps the viewer riveted. (AEL: 4/5)
You can watch Pelin Esmer’s 10 to 11 as part of Turner Classic Movies “Women Make Film” series on 9/16 at 5:15 AM. TCM will feature films from 12 decades—and representing 44 countries—totaling 100 classic and current titles all created by women. Read more about this here! Pelin Esmer wrote and directed 10 to 11 based on her uncle, who actually […]
Directed by Sam Mendes and co-written with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, 1917 is a straightforward but wildly creative drama set over one day in World War I. Starring George MacKay in a memorable lead role that increases in intensity over two hours, the visually-fascinating film also features Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Scott, Colin Firth and Richard Madden in […]
306 Hollywood is an eclectic attempt to document what is left of someone after they die. After their grandmother passes away, Elan and Jonathan Bogarin process the loss of a loved one by piecing together her life from the belongings left in her home and taped interviews they collected over her last 10 years. What […]
93QUEEN is the empowering story of Rachel “Ruchie” Freier and the efforts of her team of powerful women to go against the deeply ingrained gender roles of the Hasidic Jewish community and create the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in NYC. In what documentarian Paula Eiselt calls “a Hasidic variation of the Me Too movement,” […]
Although no actors could recreate the climactic take-down precisely like the men who lived through it, their (expected?) lack of acting ability does a disservice to their true, inspirational story worth telling. (BKP: 3.5/5)
32 Pills: My Sister’s Suicide is Hope Litoff’s directorial debut and depicts her experience of coming to terms with her sister, New York artist, Ruth Litoff’s suicide seven years earlier. Unfortunately, the film is hampered by an unfinished storyline and overlooked details. (MJJ: 3/5)
Pamela Yates’ 500 Years is a political documentary about her native country, Guatemala, and the violence and oppression that has plagued its indigenous people for hundreds of years. However important the topic may be, boiling down centuries of context, turmoil and prejudice into a two-hour documentary is an ambitious task, leading to a film fit […]
13 Minutes, written by Léonie-Claire and Fred Breinersdorfer, isn’t bad. In a strange way, it might be perfect in its mediocrity. It is all very well told of a story of a forgotten hero, Georg Elser, a fiercely independent and out-of-luck assassin of the Führer. Not a scene missing. Not a sequence misplaced. But it’s […]
While not always successful, Gaby Dellal’s 3 Generations seeks to give a voice to the complexity of being transgendered through this family driven drama that follows the struggles of a transgender teen seeking to undergo hormone replacement therapy. (EML: 3.5/5) Review by FF2 Associate Eliana M. Levenson “Ray” (Elle Fanning) has never been normal. Born […]
Writer/Director Minhal Baig tests the boundaries of time in a reflective drama about young love, fading love and one eventful night at a Los Angeles hotel. Anna Camp and Justin Chatwin star as a married couple who are reminded, by an unlikely source, of why they fell in love in the first place. A sweet […]
When an innocent Palestinian woman is thrown into a jail cell with Israeli women, her life becomes a living hell as she struggles to survive. Unfortunately, it is only the beginning for this young schoolteacher, she faces almost a decade of long nights, hard days, and endless fighting. 3000 Layla, also known as 3000 Nights, […]
Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th is one of the most masterful documentaries released this year. It compels its viewers to sit upright, and pay close attention to every percentage, statistic and fact handed to them in this in-depth look at the American prison system, and its inextricable ties to racial inequality in the United States. 13th is […]
Writer/Director Puk Grasten retells the infamous story of Kitty Genovese, the 28-year-old woman stabbed to death as 37 bystanders watched, listened and failed to intervene. Focusing on a handful of fictional characters, Grasten captures the eerie, stomach-churning atmosphere of the Kew Gardens (Queens) apartment complex on March 13, 1964. (BKP: 4/5) Review By Managing Editor […]
Giddy comedy/horror mash-up from India has all the familiar Bollywood elements–gorgeous people dancing around sumptuous sets–so expect it to be what it is… and enjoy. (JLH: 3.5/5) Review by FF2 Managing Editor Jan Lisa Huttner “Princess Shivangi” (Meera Chopra) arrives at her family home, runs up the stairs, and throws herself into the arms of her […]
Written, directed, and starred in by Negin Farsad and Jeremy Redleaf, 3rd Street Blackout is a quirky comedy about a tech-loving couple who must reevaluate their relationship when a storm hits Manhattan causing a blackout. (JEP: 3.5/5) Review by Contributing Editor Jessica E. Perry “Mina Shamkhali” (Negin Farsad) and “Rudy Higgins” (Jeremy Redleaf) are a […]
Based on the novel of the same name, The 5th Wave, directed by J Blakeson is a high stakes teenage science fiction thriller that feels part Hunger Games, part alien apocalypse. The “Others” need our planet, and they intend to do anything in order to take it. The aliens attack in waves, slowly wiping out […]
Filmmaker Tara Subkoff brings us #Horror a horror film based on real life events and the harsh truth about the effects of cyber bullying. While dealing with a very important topic, #Horror unfortunately misses the mark. (JEP: 3/5) Review by Contributing Editor Jessica E. Perry Written and directed by Tara Subkoff, #Horror deals with the […]
Directed by Patricia Riggen, The 33 is a powerful drama based on the real-life mining accident in Chile in 2010, where 33 miners were trapped 2,300 feet underground for 69 days. The incredible circumstances of the real-life events make for a highly suspenseful and emotional film. (JEP: 4/5) Review by Contributing Editor Jessica E. Perry […]
Filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini throw a lot of love–and an excellent cast–at Eleanor Henderson’s novel Ten Thousand Saints, but success eludes them. Unfortunately, their adaptation is a bit of a “paint by numbers” exercise that never manages to fully engage. (JLH: 3/5) Review by Managing Editor Jan Lisa Huttner (with additional two cents […]
The harrowing but critically important French film 24 Days opening today in selected theatres (including NYC & Chicago). Also available on iTunes. When the 2014 Jerusalem Film Festival gave 24 Days their Lia Award celebrating films dealing with Jewish Heritage, they wrote: “This suspenseful drama manages to avoid clichés and intricately presents the experience of anti-Jewish […]
For advocates of women filmmakers, the arrival of Fifty Shades of Grey should be a day of celebration. Here at last is a big budget film with a female heroine that was directed by a woman (Sam Taylor-Johnson!) written by a woman (Kelly Marcel!), and based on a best-selling novel by a woman (E.L. James!). Fifty Shades of Grey has […]
New BioDoc is like a big, fat, wet Frat House kiss to Peter Pan director Richard Linklater, which is ironic because this latest film is, in fact, Boyhood. We have liked many of his films, so it should be fun to run through old clips, but Dunaway/Wood are too star-struck to do justice to their […]
NYC Shout-Out: 7 Boxes opens today (2/7/14) at the Cinema Village. Kudos to directing team Juan Carlos Maneglia & Tana Schembori from Paraguay. Their amazingly propulsive new feature takes Hollywood crime tropes & spins them into home-grown gold! “Victor” (Celso Franco) is a teenager who works as a delivery boy in the Asunción market. Thru […]
Congratulations to all the women just named as one of 21 Leaders for the 21st Century by Women’s eNews. I am especially thrilled about the inclusion of Lynn Hershman Leeson, who is described by WeN as follows: “Recording the stories of female artists who visited her during her career, prize-winning artist Lynn Hershman Leeson created […]
Fascinating doc (co-directed by Annabel Park with Eric Byler) focusing on immigration debate in suburban Virginia also provides insights into role of “new media” in politics at grassroots level. Film ends with Obama”s ’08 election, but has obvious implications for looming mobilization for Nov ’10 campagns. Asian-American filmmaking team stays resolute even as they become […]
Much like THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, Aline Brosh McKenna”s wonderful new screenplay uses comedic “top notes” to create a bittersweet after-taste. The real story here is about a woman (Heigl) who lost her mother when she was very young, & has spent the years since trying to be perfect so people will love her. Bravo! […]
