Category Archives: Indie

Killing Them Softly review

Directed by Andrew DominikWritten by Dominik, adapting the George V. Higgins novel Cogan's TradeKilling Them Softly is a sour pill of a movie. Adapting Higgins' 1974 crime novel and setting it during the financial crisis and presidential election of 2008, New Zealander Dominik—who wowed many, including myself, with his epic, languorous 2007 western The Assassination…Read More

The Sessions review

Written and directed by Ben Lewin, based onan article written by Mark O'Brien in The Sun magazineA drama giving us a look into the lives of people who we don't see often on the big screen—the disabled—the tale told in The Sessions (when shooting it was entitled The Surrogate, but I suspect they changed that…Read More

The Master review

Written and directed by Paul Thomas AndersonThe release of a PT Anderson movie is an event, every single time. Every one since his first, Hard Eight; Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood. With this collection, Anderson can stake a claim as the finest American filmmaker working today.So, what to make of his…Read More

Celeste and Jesse Forever review

Directed by Lee Toland Krieger Written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack There's that saying that if you can't find a good job you should make one. If you're an actor, it means writing yourself a role. That's what Rashida Jones has done here in Celeste and Jesse Forever, a well-made indie romcom that cleaves…Read More

Ruby Sparks review

Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Written by Zoe Kazan Ruby Sparks is almost two movies, or, at least, starts as one and then becomes another. That's a neat trick if it's done well as it is here. The first movie is a light, magic-realist romcom as you can see by the trailer. You…Read More

Beasts of the Southern Wild review

Directed by Ben ZeitlinWritten by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar, adapted from Alibar's play Juicy and DeliciousBeasts of the Southern Wild arrives at the local art house cinema anointed by glowing reviews from folks like the Times' AO Scott and awards from Sundance and Cannes. There's no doubt in my mind it heralds the arrival of…Read More

Moonrise Kingdom review

Directed by Wes Anderson Written by Anderson and Roman Coppola I'm happy Wes Anderson is out there. Because, say what you will about him—whether his very particular style of filmmaking is to your taste—it's hard to argue against originality, which he has in spades. After Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic With…Read More

Footnote review

So, I was going to mention a change in my professional life, for those who are keeping track. I've left my job as an editor at The Coast, the Halifax alternative weekly newspaper. I was film editor there, a position I very much enjoyed. I've moved on to a new editorial position elsewhere, which I'm…Read More

The Cabin in the Woods review

Directed by Drew Goddard | Written by Goddard and Joss Whedon | 95 min | Amazon Prime and On Demand From the outset, The Cabin in the Woods hints that it is not a typical horror film. The opening scenes introduce two mid-level bureaucratic types (played fantastically by Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford) having a…Read More