Category: Reviews

Independent Cinema’s 1st Threequel: Before Midnight

~ Lincoln Spector

A romantic drama Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, & Ethan Hawke Directed by Richard Linklater This isn't supposed to happen. You don't want independent, serious, thoughtful, adult-oriented cinema to have franchises. Art is not expected to have sequels--let alone threequels. And yet, the third film in Richard Linklater's Before series is a gem--as good … Continue reading Independent Cinema’s 1st Threequel: Before Midnight

Something in the Air: Radical youth of 1971 act out, then wander aimlessly

~ Lincoln Spector

B Period drama Written and directed by Olivier Assayas Youthful innocence takes strange forms. For many in 1971, it took the conflicting forms of sex-and-drugs hedonism and radical leftwing activism. They didn't always work well together. In Olivier Assayas' loose tale of French youth, the characters spend much of their time fighting the establishment and arguing … Continue reading Something in the Air: Radical youth of 1971 act out, then wander aimlessly

The Source Family

~ Lincoln Spector

B+ Documentary Directed by Jodi Wille and Maria Demopoulos Hippies, drugs, free love, meditation, spiritual quests, and Los Angeles-based vegetarian restaurants. You'll find all of that in The Source Family. For me, the movie was downright nostalgic. No, I was never a member of Jim Baker’s "family," called The Source and the subject of this … Continue reading The Source Family

Blancanieves: Silent Film Still Lives in this Spanish Snow White Tale

~ Lincoln Spector

A- Silent melodrama Written and directed by Pablo Berger Could The Artist have started a trend? Less than 18 months after Michel Hazanavicius' silent comedy hit Bay Area screens, here comes another brand new silent film, also in narrow-screen black and white. But Pablo Berger's very Spanish take on Snow White is as different from … Continue reading Blancanieves: Silent Film Still Lives in this Spanish Snow White Tale

Lore: An Adolescent’s View of the Fall of the Third Reich

~ Lincoln Spector ~ 1 Comment

A Historical drama Written by Cate Shortland and Robin Mukherjee Based on the novel The Dark Room," by Rachel Seiffert Directed by Cate Shortland What happens when your entire world--wealth, security, parental love, and the values you were raised with--dissolve almost overnight? That's what happens to Lore (Saskia Rosendahl), a teenage member of the Hitler … Continue reading Lore: An Adolescent’s View of the Fall of the Third Reich