The Playlist

Review: 'Cat Run' A Fizzy Soda Of Old School Action

By Gabe Toro
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April 1, 2011 2:12 AM
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1 Comment

John Stockwell's movies as a director pop and fizzle like the sensation of opening a soda can. He's focused primarily, almost cynically, on the youth market, with films like "Blue Crush" and "Turistas" exploring the exoticism of sensual, almost exclusively American youthful exuberance. Unfortunately, the budgets and grosses have shrunk, and Stockwell finds himself on the periphery of a filmmaking culture, as someone who makes punchy cinematic candy that no one wants to consume.

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Review: David Schwimmer's 'Trust' A Thoughtful Look At A Tricky Subject

By Danielle Johnsen
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April 1, 2011 1:47 AM
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2 Comments

In 2011, we are so used to relationships blossoming through the internet and various social channels that it takes awhile into "Trust" to foresee the danger lurking. Directed by David Schwimmer, the triggering thriller manages to avoid the easy pitfalls of what could resemble an afterschool special and brings depth to the uneasy subject matter of sexual predators, internet safety and parental protection.

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Review: 'Insidious' Is A Haunted House Movie That Leaves Us Cold

By Drew Taylor
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March 31, 2011 12:08 PM
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2 Comments

The following is a reprint or our review from the Film Comment Selects program at Lincoln Center.

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Review: 'Source Code' Is A Decent, But Familiar 'Groundhog Day' Meets Action, Sci-Fi Thriller

By Drew Taylor
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March 31, 2011 11:37 AM
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1 Comment

The following is a reprint of our review from SXSW.

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Review: James Gunn's 'Super' With Rainn Wilson & Ellen Page Is Twisted, But Uneven

By Gabe Toro
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March 31, 2011 11:05 AM
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2 Comments

The following is a reprint of our review from SXSW.

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Review: 'Rubber' Is The Convention Defying Movie You Would Expect From A Pic About A Killer Tire

By Gabe Toro
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March 31, 2011 3:44 AM
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1 Comment

"Rubber" is the story of a tire that gains consciousness and decides to kill. He doesn't talk, dance, or sing, and he doesn't develop any lasting relationships with any humans, animals, or fellow tires. How do you tell a story like this? "Rubber" seems to have already asked that question, which is why the first impression of the film is not of the tire itself, but rather the audience.

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Review: 'Essential Killing' An Intense, Provocative & Slightly Absurd Survival Tale

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 31, 2011 2:19 AM
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0 Comments

The name Vincent Gallo is a fairly divisive one. Just the very mention of it usually follows with an impassioned argument for or against the actor and certainly, he's done himself no favors. After breaking out in a big way with "Buffalo '66" the writer/actor/director/musician/sperm entrepreneur wasted no time in using any interview opportunity to slag off pretty much anyone and everyone. He followed up his gritty little indie with the infamous "The Brown Bunny," a road trip movie about a guy on a quest for a resentment filled blowjob. It was savaged by critics at Cannes and when it eventually arrived in a new edit, not even a climatic scene of explicit oral sex could get anyone to care.

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Review: Oscar Winner 'In A Better World' Morally Complex, Well Made, But Not Quite Transformative

By Kimber Myers
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March 30, 2011 4:19 AM
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1 Comment

When you see Susanne Bier’s “In a Better World” and people ask you if you had a good time at the movies, the answer will most certainly be “no.” Like Bier’s other work (notably “Brothers,” “Open Hearts,” “Things We Lost in the Fire” and “After the Wedding”), this 2010 Danish Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film is a serious, emotional drama about how tragedy simultaneously unites and divides us. There’s little enjoyment or entertainment to be had--and there isn’t meant to be--but Bier has crafted another solid film, and it’s easy to see why “In a Better World” won the votes of the mind-numbingly traditional Academy Award voters, particularly against the jaw-dropping Greek oddity “Dogtooth.”

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SXSW Review: The Politics Of Sex In 'Weekend'

By Gabe Toro
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March 25, 2011 5:09 AM
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1 Comment

Last year, Julio Medem’s “Room In Rome” was released. While there was a strong titillation factor implicit in the film’s erotic pairing of two would-be lesbians over the course of an extended lovemaking session, the film was an erotic but honest account of a wounded soul finding sanctuary in the arms of another. Sexuality faded into the background, and what was initially considered sensual was soon significantly weighty. The film, of course, never lost its flirt, its central healing occurring with a fourth-wall-breaking wink.

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SXSW Review: 'Bellflower' Shows Us A Vision Of The Apocalypse, Hipster-Style

By Gabe Toro
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March 25, 2011 4:11 AM
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2 Comments

It’s always exciting to see new voices emerge from film festivals, and you can add one more to the SXSW heap with “Bellflower” writer/director/star Evan Glodell. In “Bellflower,” Glodell and Tyler Dawson play Woodrow and Aiden, two Texas hipsters who believe they stand at the edge of the known world. In bits and pieces, their response is to piss and laugh drunkenly into the abyss. Mostly, it is to prepare for the apocalypse.

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