Jason Ooi

Though Kiyohara does balance the film’s bifurcated narrative and tone adequately, one cannot help but feel somewhat stranded in a middle ground where neither thrill nor emotion are elicited as strongly as they could have been. Because of this, the narrative comes off a bit monotonous.

End of the Century is a love story drenched in a nostalgic magical realism that constantly shifts its own logic, as if recognizing the futility of containing its uncontainable romance.

Though the satire Huang employs here is charming, it conflicts sharply with the atmosphere of hopeless melancholy. In juggling the two, Huang never quite manages to do justice to either tone. As a result, the film can feel a bit messy and occasionally frustrating.

The set-up is ridiculously long and unfulfilling, the energy of Soderbergh’s originals recreated less skillfully, and an over-reliance on twists feel like empty rewards, to be easily scrutinized afterward.

Delicate, immensely strange, but filled with a singular Rudolphian magic.

Vine fad “Simply Sylvio” and its film adaptation — more plainly titled Sylvio — by directors Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley offer a tense amalgamation of lowbrow sensibilities and highbrow execution, which the anthropomorphic gorilla then beats into submission.

While it does pay beyond fair deference to the science behind coral reefs and their devastation, its real strength lies within the pathos generated by the visuals that showcase the exact nature of their precarious state.

It is a hard film to recommend, and only more dedicated and patient audiences may find themselves satisfied overall.

Author: The JT Leroy Story, a documentary from Jeff Feuerzeig,is as truthful as it gets. Yet its content is so wildly absurd, that it plays like a work of fiction.

In spite of its various imperfections, Ben-Hur always manages to entertain, proving the timelessness of epic structure and scale. And even if nothing about the movie particularly stands out on its own, when all the pieces come together, one cannot help but feel immersed in the world and ideals presented.

As a whole, the film is enchanting even if certain aspects of it are not.

Here is a film about truly extraordinary events that is mostly autobiographical and true to the lives and experiences of writers and directors Joe Syracuse and Lisa Addario which never manages to feel personal, and instead is reduced to coming off as just another raunchy comedy.

Even if it does shy away from harsher truths, Branciforte’s inaugural feature is a joy to watch.