8 years ago
All posts by Dan Schindel
“What If” A Perfectly Fine, But Instantly Forgettable Romantic Comedy
Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Girl has a boyfriend. Womp woooomp. Boy spends the rest of a 100-minute movie in a weird relationship limbo with girl, something more than a friend, but of course, never a romantic partner. The premise is repeated for the benefi...
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“Hercules” Better Than Its Drab Marketing Would Lead You To Believe
Hercules was withheld from the press before its release, which is not generally a vote of confidence from a studio on the behalf of one of its films. But Paramount needn't have worried so much about this, because it's far from terrible. That, of course, is har...
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“Happy Christmas” An Enjoyable Mumblecore Entry
Am I supposed to have an opinion on mumblecore? Because I honestly don't. And I feel like any review of a Joe Swanberg film is supposed to be prefaced with some expounding on how the writer feels about mumblecore, as it's a style that draws reactions in a very...
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“A Most Wanted Man” A Precise And Moody Curtain Call for Philip Seymour Hoffman
The bulk of the planning for the September 11th attacks did not take place in an Afghan manse or a Saudi backroom -- it happened in an apartment in Hamburg, Germany. Contrary to what the public may think, terrorism is not Middle Eastern, not even Islamic terro...
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Outfest 2014 Roundup: “Tom at the Farm,” “The Foxy Merkins,” “Salvation Army,” and More
The 2014 iteration of Outfest, Los Angeles' premier LGBTQIAetc film festival, has now come and gone. For 10 days, West Hollywood was abuzz with new movies that explore all manner of non-heteronormative characters, topics, and ideas. Here are capsule reviews of...
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“Closed Curtain” Marks A Harrowing Return for Jafar Panahi
Note: This review was originally published during AFI Fest last year.
Anyone who criticizes Jafar Panahi for retreading themes in his work at this juncture of his career is kind of an asshole. The man is under the thumb of a dictatorship and forbidden from ...
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“Begin Again” Can’t Live Up To Its Musical Pedigree
"Don't compare it to Once, don't compare it to Once, don't compare it to Once, don't compare it to-"
Nope, can't do it. It's not fair, of course. The only thing Once and Begin Again share is writer/director John Carney. This film has an otherwise completely...
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LAFF Review: ‘The Overnighters’
"Love thy neighbor" is one of the foundational creeds of Christianity, which is, according to many, the set of beliefs by which Americans are supposed to live their lives. But America today is a land of rampant corporatism, a system in which love is not a tene...
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LAFF Review: “Frank” is Gleefully Manic Until Its All Too Real
Once there was an English musician-comedian named Chris Sievey who would perform wearing a large fake head under the name of "Frank Sidebottom." Sievey was a thoroughly underground sensation for his whole career, until his death from cancer in 2010. Now, bits ...
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“Manuscripts Don’t Burn” Worthy of Support In Spite of Its Problems
I couldn't quite jibe with Manuscripts Don't Burn, but I'm glad it exists. In fact, this film deserves support, even though it's rattled by not-insignificant flaws. Director Mohammad Rasoulof is one of many Iranian filmmakers currently experiencing the squeeze...
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