Another Earth (2011)

On the verge of her bright new life set to begin in MIT's astrophysics program, Rhoda Williams is distracted for just a few minutes while driving -- irrevocably changing the direction of her life. After her release from prison, she takes a job as a custodian at her former high school and shuns almost anyone who approaches her until she initiates contact -- under false pretenses -- with the man, a music professor, whose life she also altered. And so, in Brit Marling and Mike Cahill’s remarkable independent film Another Earth, the two characters, drawn together through loneliness as well as the pull of a second Earth hovering in the clear sky of their stark New England town, begin an unlikely relationship.

Read the rest of the review here.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)

Wayne Wang’s Snow Flower and the Secret Fan depicts the contractual friendship, or laotong, between Snow Flower and Lily. Based on their matching astrological signs, a matchmaker pairs the two girls, both tottering on recently bound feet, despite class differences. However, their fortunes soon reverse, and Lily makes a more advantageous marriage, although it is unhappy.

Read the rest of the review http://worldfilm.about.com/od/chinesefilms/fr/Snow-Flower-And-The-Secret-Fan.htm.

The Change-Up (2011)

In The Change-Up, director David Dobkin gives free rein to low humor at the expense of any craft in creating Hollywood's latest body-switch movie. Instead of a focus on the actual switcheroo, the film centers on the worst kind of male immaturity.

Read the rest of the review here.

The Devil's Double (2011)

Since the phenomenal success of his directorial debut in 1994, New Zealander Lee Tamahori has been muddling his way through second-rate action and suspense films. Where Once Were Warriors, which told the story of a struggling urban Māori family, was gritty, realistic and rang solidly true, the films that have followed stink of a desperate reaching that could very well be mistaken for parody. In its fervent imitation of Scarface, Tamahori's latest film, The Devil's Double, is difficult to take seriously.

Read my full review here: here

Bride Flight (2008)



Inspired by the Dutch entry in the Last Great Air Race in 1953, in which pilots competed to see who could fly the 12,300 miles from London to Christchurch, New Zealand the fastest, Marieke van der Pol's screenplay reconstructs the flight on which young Dutch women were hastened to their husbands-to-be, the Bride Flight. The film follows three imagined composites as they make their way as homesteaders in a new world. Regrettably, director Ben Sombogaart's labored frame, set in present day, sets the pace for the original story, allowing it to hit only the most overly dramatic moments and burdening it with a tedious momentousness.

Read my review of Bride Flight on KCActive.com.

The Sleeping Beauty (2010)

Late to the birth of the Princess Anastasia, three inexperienced fairies must use their blessings to the child to alter the curse the crone Carabosse has put upon the infant. Instead of pricking her finger on a spindle of yew at 16 and dying, Anastasia will pierce her hand at 6 and sleep for 100 years. During that time, she will wander in her dreams through magical yet menacing worlds, fulfilling her childhood wish for adventure, to eventually wake at the age of 16, to the yearnings of her suitor, the great-great grandson of the boy she remembers as brother and true love. Read my review of The Sleeping Beauty on About.com.

Bad Teacher (2011)

Cameron Diaz's easy comedic timing and watchable lean physique aren't enough to save Bad Teacher from disjointed yet repetitive scenes and a script too shy of actual raunchiness to make it funny. Director Jake Kasdan wastes prime comedic talent on a shallow, cowardly vehicle that is merely amusing instead of rollickingly naughty. Read the rest of the review on KCActive.com.

Crime After Crime (2011)

Yoav Potash's first full-length feature documentary Crime After Crime tells the dramatic story of the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler. An incarcerated survivor of domestic violence, Peagler was sentenced to twenty-five years to life for her involvement in the murder of Oliver Wilson, the father of her youngest daughter, at the hands of two gang members. After two decades in jail, Peagler's case took an exciting new turn when two rookie attorneys - Joshua Safran, an Orthodox Jew, and Nadia Costa, a marathon runner - stepped forward to take her case. Read my review on About.com.

Larry Crowne (2011)


Under the guise of a light summer romance, Larry Crowne is actually a snoozefest with a somewhat baffling schizophrenic storyline. Bogged down by unrealistic optimism, the script, credited to both screenwriter Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and director/celebrity-nice-guy Tom Hanks, never escapes its unrelenting dullness. Read the rest of my review here.

The Art of Getting By (2011)

In his debut film, The Art of Getting By, writer/director Gavin Wiesen tries to capture the ennui of a new generation of the privileged class. The result is a depressed, isolated anti-hero who delivers too little too late. Read the entire review on KCActive.com.

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Much more than a mere love letter to Paris, Woody Allen's latest comedy cleverly disguises a serious examination of imagination and romanticism behind its surface narrative. Under a charming love triangle subterfuge, Midnight in Paris answers questions of longing for and expectations of another time and place. Read the full review on KCActive.com.