In “Shiizakana” we are asked to forget the fast paced, twisty-turny, Will Graham-on-trial arc that velocitized our television watching appetites earlier this season, and to get used to the emotional and psychological contemplation of the now classic Hannibal as an episodic nightmare format.
After harrowing trial-and-error experiments, we at Dork Shelf have developed a precise scale wherein douchiness is measured in Joffreys, and awesomeness is measured the most glorious creature in the fantasy genre: dragons. Where do our favourite heroes and heels rank this week?
Only Lovers Left Alive might be world renowned auteur Jim Jarmusch’s most widely accessible film, but that doesn’t mean it’s a straight up vampire story or a tale of lovers under strain. It’s a eulogy for a dying way of life that paints the filmmaker as the last of a dying breed.
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have strange jobs thrust upon them because they are broke and look like somebody who has achieved greatness. Bronx Obama is an excellent documentary about how circumstances and necessity led Louis Ortiz down an unusual life path. Like so many blue collared workers, Ortiz found himself […]
From the Bottom of the Lake Next A curious festival selection that seems more at home being a DVD special feature than an actual stand alone film, Clare Young’s in-depth, but very “inside baseball” look at the making of master filmmaker Jane Campion’s TV series Top of the Lake will only appeal to fans of […]
Fed Up Special Presentation One of the worst feelings in the world is watching an advocacy documentary that you actually agree with getting everything about its argument wrong. Absurdly reactionary and astoundingly narrow minded Stephanie Soechtig’s look at how sugar and the marketing of sugary products has been contributing to the obesity epidemic in America […]
Children 404 Special Presentation The effect of Pavel Loparev and Askold Kurov’s look at being young and gay in Putin’s Russia is like finding a mournful and sad plea for help stuffed inside a bottle set adrift at sea. A powerful assembly of first person looks at persecution, bullying, and being forced to live in […]
Somewhere between a coal black American pastoral and the restrained brutality of a Nicolas Winding Refn film, Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin is a chilling, minimalist, and bloody revenge thriller and cat and mouse game taking place in bucolic rural and suburban settings.
Although it takes a while to get going and it's ultimately pretty disposable matinee fodder, Gina Carano asserts herself nicely and carries the action thriller In the Blood to success.
Nowhere near as fun as the original French District B13, the dull and lifeless Brick Mansions takes itself way too seriously for a film that has a plot revolving around parkour and a neutron bomb. It's disappointingly boring.
The Possibilities are Endless Next After suffering a hemorrhagic stroke, Scottish singer-songwriter Edwyn Collins ended up slipping into a coma. After waking, it was discovered quite quickly he had suffered acute aphasia, a condition that affects the brain and leads to problems using language. Other than yes and no, the only other phrases Edwyn could […]
Love Me Love, Factually Love Me examines the Ukrainian mail-order bride business (which has gotten even more lucrative in the past decade) and the single men willing to risk their money to find companionship. The film follows 6 men of varying backgrounds and motivations and examines their relationship to the industry and the women they […]
Domino Effect Love, Factually Abkhazia is a mainly unrecognized state on the Black Sea that has claimed independence from Georgia. What used to be a frolicking beach getaway for lucky Soviets now sits in post-Communist ruin. But for Abkhazian Sports Minister Rafael everything appears to be turning around. His new young wife, Russian opera singer […]
The Basement Satellite Next South Korean artist Hojun Song is determined to build the first civilian launched satellite. To accomplish this Hojun establishes the his own organization to fund the program. Sadly though, the only fundraising effort he undertakes is an ill-fated attempt to sell 10,000 T-Shirts with minimal advertising. The inexperienced Song then spends […]
If you can get past the somewhat awkward and out of place first act, The Railway Man is worth it overall. It’s a compelling enough drama, but it keeps hinting at a lot more depth that never quite surfaces.
