Movie review by Greg Carlson Lovers of “instant” photography can vividly recall their whereabouts in 2008 when Polaroid announced the end of integral film production. Integral film, the description commonly applied to the white-bordered prints that sandwiched all the chemicals necessary for development in layers, is synonymous with both inventor Edwin Land and the once […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Tim Jenison, an inventor whose work in video editing solutions and computer graphics has made him a wealthy man, embarks on an odyssey to “paint a Vermeer” using an optical device Jenison believes might have been similar to something theoretically available to the Dutch master. The result of Jenison’s obsessive […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) receives the startling news in confession that he is to be murdered in one week – not for anything Lavelle has or has not done, but because the damaged soul on the other side of the sliding lattice insists that “There’s no point in killing […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson In 2005, “Sin City” exploited the possibilities of green screen in a manner that felt fresh and exciting, marrying computer generated imagery to the performances of Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s game cast. Faithfully replicating the stylized, monochromatic panels of Miller’s cult comic book series, the film’s design was exciting […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Probably best known in America as the screenwriter of Ji-woon Kim’s terrifying “I Saw the Devil,” Hoon-jung Park closely examines classic and contemporary gangster genre hallmarks in the smart and entertaining “New World.” The Korean filmmaker’s second feature as director, “New World” stylishly blends together key elements of Andrew Lau […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson “Boyhood,” Richard Linkater’s twelve-years-in-the-making adventure that follows the lives of a familial quartet, carries in its DNA one of the Texas auteur’s most durable paradoxes: the easygoing, everyday, and quotidian markers of cyclical middle class life onscreen contrast sharply with the vision, commitment, and work ethic that Linklater applies to […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson The whopping financial success of “Guardians of the Galaxy” portends many eventualities, but chief among them is the seemingly bottomless desire of the moviegoing public for summery, blockbuster-budgeted superhero tentpoles. If Indiewire’s Kevin Jagernauth is correct, the “tipping point” may be in sight, with “30 comic book movies from major […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Cockamamie, idiotic, and often fun, Luc Besson’s “Lucy” purees visuals from “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Kill Bill,” “The Tree of Life,” “Only God Forgives,” and many other movies fancied by the filmmaker, including “Nikita,” “Leon,” and “The Fifth Element” from his own filmography. Many of Besson’s references appear courtesy of […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Warm, funny, engaging, and foul-mouthed, “The Battered Bastards of Baseball” recounts the almost too-good-to-be-true rise and fall of the Portland Mavericks, a colorful minor league club that operated from 1973 to 1977 in the Class A Northwest League. Owned and operated by the irrepressible Bing Russell – one-time ballplayer, veteran […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Joon-ho Bong’s English-language debut “Snowpiercer” is a berserk conglomeration as likely to win a host of new fans as it is to put off some of the director’s longtime admirers. Turning on the talented Korean filmmaker’s deep understanding of screen space and the timeless cinematic allure of the locomotive, the […]