Farah Goes Bang Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Though it hits some annoyingly familiar notes within the road trip and “losing your virginity” subgenres, Farah Goes Bang bucks disappointment thanks to its unique, almost unshakable sense of disappointment. The film, about three recent college graduates (including one frustrated virgin) on the campaign trail for John Kerry in 2004, keeps building, […]
Oxyana Review
Drug addiction, particularly to prescription pain medication like OxyContin, has become so commonplace in Oceana, West Virginia that its residents simply refer to it as “Oxyana.” This also serves as the title of a documentary in which director Sean Dunne turns his camera toward men and women, most of them addicts themselves, whose stories will […]
The English Teacher Review
RATING: (1 STAR) Maybe she owed the director money. Maybe the version of the script she’d read before accepting the part wasn’t close to the shooting script. Maybe she was blackmailed. Maybe the shoot was simply convenient for her. I’m searching for a reason why Julianne Moore accepted the lead role in The English Teacher, […]
What Richard Did Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) A film that’s equal parts quiet and disquieting, What Richard Did hinges on a single moment. Like Julia Loktev’s The Loneliest Planet last year, the circumstances and consequences surrounding this moment are complicated. Director Lenny Abrahamson presents the moment, its circumstances, and its consequences as an enormous gray area; His camera is […]
