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Review: Asylum Blackout

2012-05-08T13:10:28Z

There are a great many subcategories under the wide umbrella of "world and independent films" -- bootstrap productions with five figure budgets, Oscar-baiting grand-scale foreign language films, and low budget horror flick with no stars. Jordan Hoffman gives you his permission to skip Alexandre Courtes' Asylum Blackout, a movie about lunatics in an insane asylum wreaking bloody havoc with all the good will in the world.

Asylum Blackout is currently playing in theaters in limited release and is available on VOD. Read Jordan's review.

Review: Asylum Blackout originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Tuesday, May 8th, 2012 at 13:10:28.

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Review: Goodbye First Love

2012-04-26T07:03:28Z

Mia Hansen-Love's Goodbye First Love is a melancholic movie about young lovers. Camille (Lola Creton) is only fifteen years old when she falls in love with Sullivan (Sebastian Urzendowsky). His love, he claims passionately, is equally intense - and yet, he has wanderlust. His love for Camille is a burden, a hindrance, and though he can't be without her, he often goes makes just that choice.

Mia Hansen-Love's second film, after the remarkable Father of My Children, seems less ambitious, focusing on a much smaller story. Scenes are beautifully rendered and the film is gorgeous to look at. Camillle, especially, is always interesting to behold. Goodbye First Love is currently playing in theaters. Read Marcy's review.

Review: Goodbye First Love originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Thursday, April 26th, 2012 at 07:03:28.

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Review: Empire Builder

2012-04-26T07:01:08Z

Jordan Hoffman made a marvelous discovery at the Sarasota Film Festival: the unconventionally beautiful actress Kate Lyn Sheil. She appeared in four films at the independent film festival, including Kris Swanberg's Empire Builder. The striking indepdendent film, about a young mother that starts an affair in a house in the woods, brought to mind the works of none other than Abbas Kiarastomi.

Read Jordan's review.

Review: Empire Builder originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Thursday, April 26th, 2012 at 07:01:08.

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Review: Damsels in Distress,

2012-04-17T21:33:40Z

Damsels in Distress, Whit Stillman's much awaited return to cinema, is a genuine charmer. Greta Gerwig shines as Violet, leader of a group of college coeds at a Seven Oaks College.

Damsels in Distress is currently playing in theaters in limited release. Read Jordan Hoffman's rave review.

Review: Damsels in Distress, originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 at 21:33:40.

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Review: Bully

2012-04-01T05:45:52Z

Watching Lee Hirsch's Bully is not easy. Overwhelmingly painful is more apt. And yet, this documentary should be seen by every school kid (particularly grades 5-12), every parent, caretaker, and anyone employed in any capacity by a school. You can't help but feel outraged. And that's the film's purpose.

After a highly publicized struggle with the MPAA, the Weinstein documentary has been released without a rating. Bully is currently in theaters. Read Jessica West's impassioned review.

Review: Bully originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Sunday, April 1st, 2012 at 05:45:52.

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Review: Intruders

2012-03-30T04:05:09Z

After seeing Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's horror film Intruders, our intrepid film critic had only one question: What happened to Clive Owen? He stars as John Farrow, a father whose daughter Mia (yes, really, Mia Farrow) is assaulted in their own home. Intruders, writes Hoffman, is "a horror film with no discernible scares, dumb characters and a rancid script."

Intruders opens this Friday. Read Jordan Hoffman's review.

Review: Intruders originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Friday, March 30th, 2012 at 04:05:09.

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Review: The Deep Blue Sea

2012-03-22T17:26:16Z

Terence Davies' The Deep Blue SeaThe Deep Blue Sea is based on a well-regarded play by Terence Rattigan. The film is so evocative of doomed British romance films of the WWII era that film critic Jordan Hoffman found himself making excuses for its dated qualities. Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston star.

The Deep Blue Sea opens this Friday. Read our review.

Review: The Deep Blue Sea originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 at 17:26:16.

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Review: The Kid With The Bike

2012-03-15T05:57:56Z

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, the Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's new film The Kid With The Bike is a real heart breaker. Abandoned by his father (Jérémie Renier), a young boy (Thomas Doret) is left in a state-run youth farm. In a random act of kindness, the town hairdresser (Cecile de France) agrees to foster him on weekends.

The Kid With The Bike opens this Friday in limited release. Read Jordan Hoffman 's rave review.

Review: The Kid With The Bike originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Thursday, March 15th, 2012 at 05:57:56.

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Review: Good For Nothing

2012-03-08T13:41:27Z

Good For Nothing is the first and hopefully last film from New Zealand's Mike Wallis. When an outlaw tries to force himself ofn the young woman he has kidnapped, he finds himself unable to 'get it up.' "Rape," writes Jordan Hoffman in his scathing review: "That's not funny."

Good For Nothing opens in theaters on March 8, 2012. Read Jordan's review.

Review: Good For Nothing originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Thursday, March 8th, 2012 at 13:41:27.

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Review: Being Flynn

2012-03-08T13:39:55Z

Adapted from Nick Flynn's acclaimed 2004 autobiography Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, Paul Weitz's Being Flynn is a moving and necessary film. Robert DeNiro's Jonathan Flynn is a failed writer of the highest order and he gives a tremendous performance. Paul Dano co-stars as Jonathan's estranged son Nick.

Being Flynn is currently playing in theaters. Read Jessica West's review.

Review: Being Flynn originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Thursday, March 8th, 2012 at 13:39:55.

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