All Articles

What stands out first about Cave of Forgotten Dreams is the confidence with which Werner Herzog establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Cave of Forgotten Dreams asks Werner Herzog and Jean Clottes to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Cave of Forgotten Dreams is established with useful clarity: Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France and captures the oldest known pict

What stands out first about The Warrior's Way is the confidence with which Sngmoo Lee establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Warrior's Way asks Jang Dong gun and Kate Bosworth to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Warrior's Way is established with useful clarity: A warrior assassin is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission. That direct approach lets The Warrior's Wa

What stands out first about Beginners is the confidence with which Mike Mills establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Beginners asks Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Beginners is established with useful clarity: Oliver, a graphic designer, is attracted to a free spirited and unpredictable Anna. That direct approach lets Beginners use its 1h 45m running time for character, atmosp

What stands out first about It's Kind of a Funny Story is the confidence with which Anna Boden establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, It's Kind of a Funny Story asks Keir Gilchrist and Zach Galifianakis to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of It's Kind of a Funny Story is established with useful clarity: A clinically depressed teenager gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward. That direct ap

What stands out first about Waiting for Superman is the confidence with which Davis Guggenheim establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Waiting for Superman asks Charles Adams and Jonathan Alter to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Waiting for Superman is established with useful clarity: An examination of the current state of education in America today. That direct approach lets Waiting for Superman use its 1h 51m r

What stands out first about Winter's Bone is the confidence with which Debra Granik establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Winter's Bone asks Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Winter's Bone is established with useful clarity: An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug dealing father while trying to keep her family intact. T

What stands out first about Conviction is the confidence with which Tony Goldwyn establishes its crime drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Conviction asks Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Conviction is established with useful clarity: A working mother puts herself through law school in an effort to represent her brother, who has been wrongfully convicted of murder and has exhausted his chances to ap

What stands out first about Babies is the confidence with which Thomas Balmès establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Babies asks Bayar and Hattie to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Babies is established with useful clarity: A look at one year in the life of four babies from around the world, from Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo. That direct approach lets Babies use its 1h 19m running time for chara

What stands out first about Cyrus is the confidence with which Jay Duplass establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Cyrus asks John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Cyrus is established with useful clarity: John and Molly, a divorced middle aged man and a single mother meet at a friends party and start up a small relationship, all John has to do now is meet Molly's son. That direct approach

What stands out first about Sarah's Key is the confidence with which Gilles Paquet Brenner establishes its war drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Sarah's Key asks Kristin Scott Thomas and Mélusine Mayance to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Sarah's Key is established with useful clarity: In modern day Paris, a journalist finds her life becoming entwined with a young girl whose family was torn apart during the notorious Vel' d'Hiv

What stands out first about MacGruber is the confidence with which Jorma Taccone establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, MacGruber asks Will Forte and Kristen Wiig to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of MacGruber is established with useful clarity: Former special operative MacGruber is called back into action to take down his arch enemy, Dieter Von Cunth, who's in possession of a nuclear warhead and bent on destroying Was

What stands out first about Fair Game is the confidence with which Doug Liman establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Fair Game asks Naomi Watts and Sean Penn to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Fair Game is established with useful clarity: CIA operative Valerie Plame discovers her identity is allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op ed article her husband wrote criticizing the Bush administration. Tha