Australian writer / director Madison Pelzer’s Ice is a near text-book perfect example of visual storytelling. Haunting visuals captivate from the first frame, with DP Matt Wilson’s deft camera work giving a great sense of […]
review – the ideal
This unique and highly stylized film hails from the country of Latvia. The surreal journey opens with a decidedly less than “ideal” aging rock star and a young beauty immeshed in a bizarre relationship, where […]
review – welcome to the last bookstore
This touching short documentary from filmmaker Chad Howitt chronicles, as the title suggests, the Last Bookstore and its self-effacing owner, Josh Spencer. Growing from humble beginnings in 2005, the store has arguably become a center-piece […]
2016 LAFR Award Winners Announced!
Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 LAFR Independent Film Awards. All winning filmmakers should have received an email by now, and if not, please check your spam folder. The complete list of winning films […]
review – batman vs. superman: dawn of justice
With Batman vs. Superman, the march of comic books turned into movies continues its seemingly never ending parade. It’s perhaps not surprising considering the ridiculous amounts of money these titles command at the box office. […]
review – the revenant
I have to warn you: what follows is a minority opinion. Although this movie (or its cast or crew) is nominated for an Oscar in twelve categories and although some critics are calling this “epic […]
review – carol
This is the story of two restless women in a repressed time. It’s almost Christmas 1952. Therese (Mara), a young waif-of-a-shop-girl works in Frankenberg’s Department Store where Carol (Blanchett), a sophisticated almost-a-divorcee, is shopping for […]
review – star wars: the force awakens
Oh, but this movie is so much fun. Everything you’ve heard about it is true. It was worth waiting for. If you’re a fan, you don’t need to read any further. You’ve already seen it […]
review – joy
Sometimes, it’s all just so obvious, right from the very beginning. The first scene comes on screen and we just know: this movie is not going to be very good. And yet, we keep watching […]
review – room
This is generally not my kind of movie; it’s dark, depressing, a bit of a downer. And yet, this is the most emotionally powerful movie I’ve seen in a very long time. There were times […]
review – the big short
In the end, they finally lost me. I understood the basics of course: the American housing bubble finally burst, taking down the livelihoods and futures of millions of people and leaving the bankers wealthy in […]
review – alvin and the chipmunks: the road chip
“As long as Alvin is around,” Simon observes at one point, “we’ll always be in trouble.” Three chipmunks making trouble – mixing mayhem, mischief and music – has created this family-friendly franchise: three prior movies […]
review – the danish girl
Last year, Eddie Redmayne was physicist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything;” now he’s the male painter Einar Wegener who becomes Lili, “The Danish Girl.” Once again, he plays a man born in a […]
review – the secret in their eyes
This is a movie that did not need to be made. In early 2010, a far-superior film by the same name – from Argentina — was the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Movie (it’s […]
review – brooklyn
“We need more Irish girls in Brooklyn.” That’s the opinion of Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) – and maybe he’s right. But for sure, we need this Irish girl’s story to be on screen much longer. […]
review – spotlight
Tom McCarthy knows how to tell an engaging story. He proved it in “The Station Agent;” he proved it in “The Visitor;” and as writer-director of this film, he proves it again here. The story […]
review – trumbo
Think of this as the flip side of “The Intern.” That movie was a fictional comedy; this one’s a fact-based drama. But both are the stories of a man with experience — who wanted to […]
review – spectre
We begin with a brief quiz called: “Here’s the Plot; Name the Movie.” Plot: In an airborne stunt, our hero attempts to thwart a worldwide terrorist organization led by someone presumed dead. Back home, a […]
review – our brand is crisis
This may be an important movie; it’s probably a very accurate one (it’s based on a true story); it may even be one that will help you understand what’s going on in the political arena […]
review – suffragette
Trailers lie. The trailer for this movie made it appear that it had a gripping and visceral story to tell, that Meryl Streep had a central role to play, and that the characters had a […]
review – steve jobs
What an amazing piece of work. This isn’t constructed as a typical movie. Instead, it’s a series of revealing episodes, taking us backstage before three major product launches. In every case, it’s Jobs (Fassbender) berating […]
review – bridge of spies
It may be a borderline sacrilege to say this about the 27th Steven Spielberg-directed movie – and the fourth one starring Tom Hanks — but it’s true: this is a disappointing film. It starts so […]
review – the walk
This is an exhausting movie. Depending on your ability to “look down,” there may be scenes in here you simply can’t watch. But whatever your tolerance of heights, Philippe Petit’s (Gordon-Levitt) performance on the high […]
review – the intern
There’s a gentle sense of maturity in every Nancy Meyers-written and directed movie. She tells stories born of experience and in the process proves “experience never gets old.” Here, that’s not just the tagline, it’s […]
review – the martian
“I’m going to have to science the s**t out this.” That quote – from Mark Watney (Matt Damon) – from a point in this movie where he’s faced with yet another impossible obstacle – does […]
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 