Cassandra’s Dream (a quizzical review)

Name a great Woody Allen crime/punishment/guilt/searching for God thriller:
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Name a Woody Allen crime/punishment/guilt/searching for God thriller that would barely be worth $6.50 somewhere in Iowa, much less $14 at the Arclight in Hollywood:
Cassandra’s Dream
Which is more fun to watch, Colin Farrell as the bright spot in Cassandra’s Dream or Colin Farrell fucking a [...]

Posted in: best of, drama, reviews, thriller by FilmFemme 2 Comments

Double Patricia Clarkson Feature

Dear Patricia “Patty” Clarkson,
You are so beautiful and so talented and I really hope that
(1) You get to fucking star in something really soon.  Because you are totally awesome as a supporting actress, but I want someone to write something really spectacular (me, maybe?) FOR you.  Because you are awesome. and
(2) That I look half [...]

Posted in: double feature, drama, indie, reviews by FilmFemme No Comments

Double Feature: Atonement and There Will Be Blood

Atonement
Yes, we get it, your movie, your score, James McAvoy in a a suit and Keira Knightley in green satin are all very pretty.  Everyone is in love and/or dead and/or wracked with guilt and it’s all very tragic.
There Will Be Blood
Yes, we get it, Daniel Day-Lewis has three names and is a great actor [...]

Posted in: double feature, drama, reviews, romance by FilmFemme No Comments

Hard Candy

A word of advice for any dude who is thinking about watching Hard Candy, do yourself a favor and don’t eat beforehand.
In Hard Candy, this photographer, Jeff (hot hot in glasses Patrick Wilson) chats up a 14 year old girl Hayley (everyone’s favorite impregnanted precocious teen, Ellen Page at her pixiest) online. They meet for [...]

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Before and After

I look at this poster and think “Yep, that’s about right.”  Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson looming over an introspective Ed Furlong is pretty much what Before and After amounts to.  Which isn’t to say that Furlong doesn’t hold his own against those two thespianic behemoths, because he does, but he barely speaks for the [...]

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The Last Kiss

Painfully honest in so many ways, The Last Kiss is a well made and likable ensemble romantic (?) drama.  Zach Braff (what’s the deal with his lips?  they’re so puffy…) is totally in love with Jacinda Barrett (she is really lovely – I don’t think there is a better word to describe her) who is [...]

Posted in: drama, reviews by FilmFemme 1 Comment

At Sundance: Patti Smith: Dream of Life

On a whim, I found myself at the Sundance Film Festival last weekend. It’s a weird scene, like everyone that you bump into on Beverly Drive between 1 & 2 PM just decided to buy a puffy jacket and a scarf and head off to Utah. Like everyone’s all makeup’d with straightened hair [...]

Posted in: documentary, film festivals, indie, reviews by FilmFemme No Comments

Heath Ledger

When I was 15, I thought it would be cool to be a film snob. It’s hard to be a 15 year old girl and be a snob about anything – if you want to have any friends, which I did want. Actually, I needed friends, because I couldn’t drive yet and didn’t want to [...]

Posted in: industry news, obituaries, opinion by FilmFemme No Comments

Mondays in the Sun

So, that’s not totally what Javier Bardem looks like in Mondays in the Sun, this Spanish movie that I watched months ago, but omg, you guys, he is so fucking sexy. Like, pin me against the wall sexy. Like, I would do anything you asked me to, even if it meant cleaning my bathroom [...]

Posted in: drama, foreign, reviews by FilmFemme No Comments

Persepolis

Hey, a movie that I don’t feel compelled to tag with ‘misogynist’! Hooray!
Actually, I sort of love this movie. I saw it on accident because Atonement was sold out and didn’t know anything about it except someone “heard it was good” and “was based on a graphic novel or something.”
So.
Yes, it is animated. [...]

Posted in: animated, comedy, drama, foreign, indie, reviews by FilmFemme 1 Comment