Night of the Hunter | Charles Laughton , 1955|

Three Colors : Red | Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994|

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders | Jaromil Jires, 1970 |

La Notti Bianche | Luchino Visconti, 1957 |

The Tree of Life | Terrence Malick, 2011 |

Secret Sunshine | Chang-dong Lee, 2007 |

Drive | Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011 |

Scent of the Green Papaya | Anh Hung Tran, 1993 |

Poetry | Chang-dong Lee, 2010 |

The King of Comedy | Martin Scorsese, 1983 |

Sweet Smell of Success | Alexander Mackendrick, 1957 |

Crumb | Terry Zwigoff, 1994 |

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives | Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010 |

Children of Heaven | Majid Majidi, 1997 |

13 Assassins | Takashi Miike, 2010 |

Super 8 | J.J. Abrams, 2011 |

Melancholia | Lars von Trier, 2011 |

A Prophet | Jacques Audiard, 2009 |

Hobo with a Shotgun | Jason Eisener, 2011 |

Another Earth | Mike Cahill, 2011 |

Big Time | Chris Blum, 1988 |

Animal Kingdom | David Michôd, 2010 |

The Invention of Dr. Nakamats | Kaspar Astrup Schröder, 2009 |

Certified Copy | Abbas Kiarostami, 2010 |

Tucker and Dale vs Evil | Eli Craig, 2010 |

Up the Yangtze | Yung Chang, 2007 |

Cave of Forgotten Dreams | Werner Herzog, 2010 |

Buck | Cindy Meehl, 2011

Black River Killer- Blitzen Trapper

High Violet- The National

Blackjazz- Shining

False Priest- Of Montreal

Cosmogramma- Flying Lotus

Coyote- Kayo Dot

Kick-Ass |Matthew Vaughn, 2010|

Kick-Ass is a graphic novel adaptation that is a rather weak study of our contemporary disconnect between reality and fantasy, and the influence of dysfunctional domestic life. Our adolescent protagonist, Dave Lizewski, is living alone with his recently widowed, reticent father. He’s a social outcast at his high school, has few friends and loves comic books. He decides to fight crime as a superhero but it’s not an idea born of a desire to do good but of narcissism; he wants to break away from the monotony of everyday life and to be famous. His first attempts at thwarting thugs are clumsy and even life threatening but he gains notoriety as his presence becomes widely known.

We are later introduced to two other superheroes, Big Daddy and his 11-year-old daughter, Hit Girl, who are seeking revenge for the death of Big Daddy’s wife. They spend much of their initial screen time preparing Hit Girl for her crime-fighting debut which entails being shot at close range wearing a Kevlar vest, training with weapons, reading comics, and playing violent video games. She is raised within her father’s macabre, insular world filled with an obsession of violence and vengeance without any sense of it’s realistic consequences of death or suffering. This is displayed in a scene in which she ruthlessly kills a room full of men in a style similar to the mindless first person shooters she was raised on, or in her abundant use of foul language she undoubtedly cribbed from her games and comics, adding a level of tragedy to her character.

Tragic also is how the film sells these elements as entirely comical or as stylized action sequences. It’s too in love with it’s own iconography and violence to be taken seriously and it’s message is confused and softened under the mire. They kill dozens of criminals, some that are unarmed and could be considered innocent bystanders, yet there’s a complete lack reflection regarding these actions. Much like Hit Girl’s upbringing, we are shown little to no consequences for these characters’ fringe lifestyles and quite literally ride off into the sunset to live another day. It’s a film that could’ve been more profound but falls flat in an attempt to pander to and entertain a mainstream audience.

Ryan Shultz

Jamie Salmon

Tom French

Watchmen |Zack Snyder, 2009|

The Watchmen remains one of the most ideological graphic novels ever produced and thus the Watchmen film remains to one of the most ideological films of 2009. Despite the superhero protagonists the narrative centers on their self-reflection rather than action or violence. They exhibit problems and flaws of the everyman– the search for identity and the need for self-worth. They are capable of doing anything but are not beyond the world’s influence. However the emotional resonance is lost in a few key moments thanks to director Zack Snyder’s inability to evoke and capture actors. It’s lost in the film’s visuals at times and the performances suffer. (More to come…)

Black Narcissus |Powell & Pressburger, 1947|

Powell & Pressburger greatly admired the talent of Walt Disney and it certainly shows in every frame of Black Narcissus. The surreal tone of the film comes through in the use of studio sets and matte paintings, like the one shown above, rather than on-location shots. Based upon the novel by Rumer Godden, a group of nuns are sent to set up a school and hospital in an old palace in the Himalayas located near Darjeeling. They mean to convert and “civilize” the natives who reside there, but their unfamiliarity with the exotic location and the presence of a seductive British agent begin to test their limits.

The sparse dialogue doesn’t spoil the sensual, evocative imagery the nuns attempt to endure, allowing the tension to play out by formal rather than dramatic means. The overt eroticism is a bit startling coming from a film made in the 1940′s, but it’s a story dealing with controversial subject matter; sexual repression, jealousy, colonialism, and the lack of understanding between cultures and adapting to their geography. The tension between the nuns and their surrounds brings the film to it’s inevitable crescendo and they must return to England and away from the Himalayas; a place they never belonged to or could comprehend.

Natalia Vetrova

Joe Sorren

Not an exact quote:

“We, seekers of knowledge, remain unknown to ourselves with good reason: we have never sought ourselves. How should we someday find ourselves? Our treasure is to be found in the beehives of knowledge. Bees always searching, collectors of the honey of the mind. Our hearts are set on one thing: bringing something home. As for the rest, as for life with its so-called experiences, who among us takes them seriously? Who has the time?… Then, we try, after the fact to look back over our experience, our life, our being, and lose track in the process. We do not understand ourselves. Concerning ourselves, we are not seekers of knowledge.”

The Red Shoes |Powell and Pressburger, 1948|

I think one would be hard-pressed to find a film with more cinematic nuance than Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes. The lush, vibrant color palette; the relation between camera and actor; the costumes and sets and the ballet dances themselves are all beyond any criticism. The narrative concerns the ballet impresario Boris Lermontov, his obsession with the talent of protagonist Vicky Page and his attempt to shape her into his grand vision. Vicky later falls in love with the ballet composer, Julian and Boris becomes jealous but not of their love. Boris explains, “A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never.” The film is ultimately about the pursuit of art versus leading a traditional life; more specifically the notion of traditional, mid- 20th Century marriage and it’s assassination of feminine identity. This beautifully innocent yet darkly erotic, surreal tale is hopelessly immersive; the greatest dance film of all time.