Courtesy of TIFF
MOVIE REVIEW
Prisoner's Daughter (2022)
Catherine Hardwicke is probably the least appreciated director working today. She personally revolutionized cinema with the alienated, moody “Twilight” – say what you will about it, it tapped into a deep (admittedly embarrassing) vein of teenage-girl longing and made young-adult adaptions the biggest thing in cinema for a good decade. She also has a knack for offering future stars their first big leading roles, most notably Oscar Isaac in “Nativity Story.” However, she did not direct any of the increasingly silly “Twilight” sequels, on which fellow director Lexi Alexander once sent some famously sharp tweets about how this was the perfect example of Hollywood sexism. And it must be said that Ms. Hardwicke’s films since “Twilight,” either for teenagers or adults, have not been terribly successful. From that angle this makes “Prisoner’s Daughter,” which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, an important movie, because if it does not succeed at what it sets out to do, it will be the end of an important director’s career. It’s pleasing to say that it does – but only just.
Continue reading “Father Figured” »
DVDS
Trick ’r Treat (2009)
Joe Lederer/Warner Bros. Entertainment
Loyal to a genre constantly attacked for its dependency on remakes and generally uninspired fare, horror fans won’t hesitate to rally behind a good film when one is mistreated. The outcry process unfolds in three stages. The first takes places at film festivals, where too-hardcore foreign films and executive-worrying studio projects enthrall critics before beginning their flights under the commercial radar. Then, a waiting period (average duration: one year at least) leaves fans hungry and agitated, placing question marks on when they’ll see those festival darlings. The third and final stage can go two ways, either with an unceremonious dumping into a minor number of theaters or the straight-to-DVD dispatching of said films. Drivel such as “The Unborn” earn 2,000-plus-screen releases.
Continue reading “Spooking Door to Door” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Tell Tale (2009)
Eric Lee/Tribeca Film Festival
The world premiere screening of Michael Cuesta’s “Tell Tale,” held Friday night as part of the Tribeca Film Festival, was interrupted with calls for EMS as a man slumped over in his seat, possibly fainting or suffering a seizure. Without making light of the occurrence or improbably speculating about it, it’s not inconceivable that Mr. Cuesta’s film could have such an intensely visceral effect on an audience member.
Continue reading “Total Eclipse of the Heart” »
MOVIE REVIEW
The Escapist (2008)
Vertigo Films
The opening shots of “The Escapist” provide an intriguing study in the ways those elements serve as a compacted distillation of the filmmaking interests borne out over the course of a feature. The film begins with Frank Perry (Brian Cox) sitting alone, a serious, concerned look affixed to his face as darkness shrouds him and Leonard Cohen plays on the soundtrack. It’s an introspective, peaceful moment that jarringly contrasts with the film’s next sequence, in which the title is introduced in large letters that fill the screen as we join, in process, the prison escape around which the narrative centers.
Continue reading “Shaking Off the Shackles of Convention” »