CinemaSpeak

by Memo Salazar
9/20/2012

As we enter decade number two of the 21st Century, our cultural landscape is quite different than the one most of us grew up in. There’s plenty of kids under ten who can claim to have written, directed and edited their own movie these days — something almost inconceivable even to folks who just a few years ago thought themselves hip and on the cultural cutting edge. With that in mind, the advent of a new documentary in 2012 doesn’t really command the interest it once did. What subject hasn’t been discussed on camera yet?
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by Warren Curry
8/30/2012

Although I’ll admit to having a certain affinity for extreme horror films, I’ll also gladly confess to having limits. And from everything I’d read and heard about Pascal Laugier’s “Martyrs,” I felt pretty confident it would be in the minority of movies that would cross my tolerance threshold. So I consciously decided to skip “Martyrs,” and thus “The Tall Man” is my introduction to the director’s work. As sick and twisted as “Martyrs” may be, it’s impossible for me to believe it wouldn’t have made a better first impression than the director’s latest.
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by Warren Curry
8/16/2012

In the same tonal universe as, say, Neil LaBute’s “In the Company of Men,” Craig Zobel’s (”Great World of Sound”) second feature, “Compliance,” is a skillfully crafted, button-pushing movie. Based on a real incident — many of them, actually — “Compliance” is a harrowing examination of human psychology cracking under the influence/pressure of “authority.” This film is strategically designed to evoke a strong reaction from viewers, a goal it should have little trouble achieving.
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by Warren Curry
7/26/2012

As an avid music fan, I recall when the excellent Seattle reissue record label, Light in the Attic, re-released the two full-length albums by obscure, long-forgotten ’70s singer/songwriter, Rodriguez, in 2008 and 2009. As was the case when the records were first released well over 30 years earlier, the music press showered the recordings with praise. But whereas these records were met with commercial indifference upon their initial release, this time a segment of music fans were ready to appreciate Rodriguez’s music.
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by Warren Curry
5/17/2012

Almost exactly one year after premiering at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, “Polisse,” the new film from writer/director/actor Maïwenn, is receiving a U.S. theatrical release, and it’s one of the more intense films I’ve seen in recent memory. Employing a gritty, documentary-like visual approach, the French-language “Polisse” is a movie bursting at the seams with explosive energy. Occasionally, scenes tend to spiral out of control, but the film’s flaws may actually help you appreciate it more.
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