AltWeeklies Wire
From Iran, the Oscar-winning A Separationnew
Far, far away from the stumbling American film industry, people still make movies not to further licensing agreements or to stoke self-serving nostalgia but to tell their stories. A Separation is the freshest, most deserving feature film that the Academy recognized.
Sadness and Stultification in Albert Nobbsnew
Glenn Close plays Albert Nobbs, a nonentity with a traumatic, largely suppressed past who has survived for three decades dressing and working as a man.
The Best (So-So) Movies of 2011new
Five lists from five film critics, and a few quibbles ...
INDY Week |
Craig D. Lindsey, David Fellerath, Neil Morris, Nathan Gelgud and Laura Boyes |
12-21-2011 |
Movies
Tags: Best Movies of 2011
Werner Herzog's Riveting Death Row Docnew
Herzog's fervent fans surely rushed out to see Into the Abyss over the weekend, but for those who need coaxing, let me urge you to do the same in the limited time left for this title.
The end of the world in Take Shelternew
Take Shelter is a valiant, worthy effort, but the film doesn't go far enough -- and doesn't succeed in escaping its influences.
The Thirty-Two Hundred Penny Operanew
To visit New York is to nibble on the crumbs falling from the table of capitalism, and it can be a very tasty meal. But in a small park downtown, there is a contingent determined to deliver a message: All is not well for the rest of us.
The Story of a Painting in The Mill and the Crossnew
Lech Majewski's film revels in the earthy details of 16th-century Flemish life even as it employs up-to-the-minute CGI techniques to bring this wonderfully complex painting by Pieter Bruegel to life.
Mozart's Sister acknowledges complexity even as it invents factsnew
Filmmaker Rene Feret doesn't massage what we know about how Nannerl's talents were allowed to wither, purely on account of her gender, in order to create a comforting narrative.
The Watchful Eyes of Intelligent Young Girls in Higher Ground and The Hedgehognew
In two films hitting art houses this weekend, the watchful eyes of intelligent young girls become an effective lens into the mystifying, sad and sometimes violent ways of adults.
Coogan and Brydon take their shtick on the road in The Tripnew
The reliably adventurous Michael Winterbottom has latched onto a pretty foolproof low-budget gambit with this amiable, often riotous road film.
Terrence Malick's Latest Visual Epic, The Tree of Lifenew
Malick claimed the prestigious Palme d'Or with The Tree of Life, and with this effort, he's tripping along at a rate of about one film per decade.
Digging Up Secrets in the Intense and Absorbing Incendiesnew
Their late mother's instructions are shocking and cold: "Bury me with no casket, no prayers, naked, facedown, away from the world."
France's Bloody 16th Century Comes to Lifenew
The Princess of Montpensier tells the story of a 16th-century noblewoman whose body is not her own, and who lives in a world in which marriages are political alliances and prudent women suppress their romantic feelings.
Well-Timed Danish Drama In a Better World Examines Violence and Vengeancenew
It's to the credit of Susanne Bier's film that, even as it sets up fairly Manichean conflicts, it discourages us from taking pleasure in easy violence.
Photographing Warnew
After the deaths of Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros, looking at the work of war photographers.
Tags: Chris Hondros, Tim Hetherington
