Michael Almereyda’s ‘Tesla’ Imagines Its Man
Faced with the limitations of historical documentation of inventor Nikolai Tesla, director Michael Almereyda and actor Ethan Hawke choose instead to convey his spirit.
ifc films
‘The Rental’ Is an Airbnb Horror of Hipsters in Peril
In Dave Franco and Joe Swanberg's hipster horror flick The Rental, the looming threat surrounding a vacationing foursome feels less crucial than the lies they tell each other.
‘Official Secrets’ Is a Devastating Reminder of the Power of Deception
Gavin Hood's thriller about British whistleblower Katharine Gun's attempt to stop the Iraq War, Official Secrets, is nothing special artistically, but its intense relevance burns the screen.
‘Sword of Trust’ Is Random-Generation Comedy for a Truth-Deficient Time
Lynn Shelton's lo-fi Southern satire Sword of Trust yokes historical artifacts, the quest for meaning, Civil War Truthers, and the devastation of addiction to a pleasingly ramshackle comic quest.
Olivier Assayas’ ‘Non-Fiction’ Fiddles with Seriousness
In Olivier Assayas' speedy, slightly wan dispatch from salon society, Non-Fiction (Doubles vie), Parisians have badly concealed affairs and argue loudly but inconclusively about books and society.
Evil Is Art, Murder Is Art, Torture Is Art: On Lars von Trier’s ‘The House that Jack Built’
It isn't entirely irredeemable, but The House that Jack Built's familiar gimmicks say much more about Lars von Trier as a brand than as a provocateur or artist.
Paul Dano’s ‘Wildlife’ Sears with the Drama of a Family’s Emotional Upheaval
An early scene of a raging forest fire becomes the overarching metaphor for Paul Dano's Wildlife, as a young man stands in the path of a different kind of destructive force.
Ethan Hawke’s Gaze in ‘Blaze’ Foley Biography Is Quite Clear
Blaze is the sort of film that takes the piss out of the legend, showing a life that's sadder for the wasted talent and what could have been.