Even if you predict its ending long before it comes to pass, the new film from Québécois director Denis Villeneuve is a deeply moving but harrowing—even at times gruelling—cinematic experience that absolutely lives up to its title. Continue reading
Habicht’s film blurs the line between real docu-drama and cinephilic fantasy, while Taretto’s blends a novel take on the city symphony with a fresh perspective on the rom-com. Continue reading
From deep in the bowels of the Civic, Doug and Jacob bring a near-the-end nzff 2011 report. As well as impromptu toilet-traffic directing, we race the bell to reach a bwp middle-ground of 14 films in 13 minutes. Continue reading
Wim Wenders’ new 3-D documentary is more than just an acknowledgement of the late modern-dance choreographer’s work; it’s a full-blown resurrection, a vibrant, gloriously colourful celebration of the artist expressed in her own words. Continue reading
Taretto’s film deals with how people use technology to socialise, and how this ultimately comes to define their lives. To its credit, the film never judges its protagonists, preferring to simply observe their struggles to connect with other like-minded individuals. Continue reading
Sean Durkin’s is one of the festival’s more impressive débuts; Elizabeth Olsen carries the film with a simultaneously watchful and brilliantly distracted performance. “Cults and brainwashing are obviously dangerous,” it says, “but the upper middle-class milieu may be no better.” Continue reading
An immensely satisfying sci-fi action film with boatloads of dazzling craft on display that takes cues from Battlestar Galactica, visible in everything from the minimalist production design for the sparse Earth scenes to the interior of the titular battleship and even some of the characters. Continue reading
As Lucy, Emily Browning finally proves herself as an actress. Vulnerable and brave, she straddles the line between girl and woman with a childlike innocence occasionally tempered with an adult’s disaffection with the world around her. Continue reading
Recorded between screenings in a darkened alcove in the Skycity Theatre, Jacob and Doug dispense with lengthy informed discussion and give knee-jerk “thumbs up”/”thumbs down” responses to the 25 films they’ve seen thus far. Continue reading
Its long, slow takes are mesmeric: they put us deep inside the world of the film, to the point where the edges of the frame dissolve and we don’t just experience what happens to the characters, but we begin to feel as isolated, moribund and morose as they feel. Continue reading
