Like its title character, Therese Desqueyroux has a refined surface beauty and a subdued manner but with tension and despair bubbling underneath. The troubled Thérèse (Audrey Tatou) is a free spirit, an intellectual and seemingly in love with another woman, Anne (Anais Demoustier) or at least the memory of the passionate friendship and freedom they shared as teenagers. Thérèse is,
Read moreLike horse racing, car racing and mime, ballet is not a spectacle that I find interesting. It’s a testament, therefore, to the quality of ballet documentary First Position that someone like myself who has little interest in the art depicted found the film riveting from start to finish. The film focuses on a group of aspiring young dancers as they
Read moreThe first Scary Movie was a gleefully juvenile parody of 1990’s teen slasher movies such as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. With its irreverent attitude toward the source material and plethora of obscene sex jokes it was kind edgy for its time. There was, however, no need for even one sequel to Scary Movie but amazingly
Read moreSleepwalk With Me is a gentle but not particularly funny romantic comedy written and directed by and starring This American Life’s Mike Birbiglia. He plays the pudgy, doleful 30-something Matt Pandamiglio, a wanna-be stand-up comedian whose career has advanced to the point of mopping up vomit in a bar. Averse to adult responsibility, he has also spent eight years dodging
Read moreTrance, the latest film from Trainspotting director Danny Boyle is a brain-boggling psychological thriller with more than a passing resemblance to Chris Nolan’s Inception. James McEvoy plays art auctioneer, con-artist and gambling addict, Simon, who steals a priceless painting, Goya’s “Witches Flight”, hoping it will pay off a gambling debt owed to gangster Franck (Vincent Cassel). When the heist goes
Read moreMelissa McCarthy’s foul-mouthed, borderline psychotic performances were highlights of Bridesmaids and This is 40 but in Identity Thief, this routine is looking a bit tired. McCarthy plays a deranged con woman Diana who steals people’s personal information to create fake credit cards which she uses to fund outrageous spending sprees. Her latest victim is Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) a decent
Read more