With the end of October marks the end of this year's Chicago International Film Festival. Out of the dozen or so films I watched, about 90% of them involved sex scenes, which was an interesting tidbit to note. I guess foreign filmmakers really love sex, huh? Another thing I noticed was how middling a lot of the films I watched were. I'm not sure of it was due to the festival's selection of films or just my personal choices of films to cover, but I felt that last year's films were more memorable and entertaining.
Regardless, the 48th Chicago International Film Festival has come to a close. Read on to see my Editor's Choices, the most disappointing film, and a collection of all the other reviews.
Through the entire film and up to this very moment as I type (and well beyond this review is published, I'm sure), I feel captivated and enthralled over what I just saw. There are bits and pieces that imply exactly what is going on, but it's not blatantly explained. Is Holy Motors a reflection of the film industry? Is it a mirror of humanity's differences? Is it an examination of life's choices? Whatever it is, Holy Motors will keep you guessing, talking, contemplating, discussing, and interested for a long while. [Read the full review here.]
The World is Funny received 15 Ophir (the Israeli equivalent of Oscars) nominations, and it rightfully deserved every single one. Despite its large cast, every actor delivers great performances; despite its multiple subplots, each storyline weaves together perfectly and efficiently. You owe yourselves a favor to check The World is Funny out if it ever arrives in your local indie theaters (or when it eventually releases on home media). [Read the full review here.]
The Day of the Crows wears its influences on its sleeves. While that doesn't necessarily take away how entertaining and charming it is, something to help separate it from other modern animated films would have been very welcome. However, it captures everything that you love about Studio Ghibli films, and that's never a bad thing.The Day of the Crows is innocent, bright, and fun like the animated films you remember from your childhood. [Read the full review here.]
As someone who doesn't like horror films, I just couldn't care for Citadel. I'm sure some horror buff will watch the film, love it, and flip out at me for "not getting it." Maybe. Or maybe they'll watch this and realize just how uninspired modern horror films have become. [Read the full review here.]
Holy Motors [85 - Exceptional]
The World is Funny [83 - Great]
Benji [77 - Good]
The Cleaner [75 - Good]
The Exam [75 - Good]
The Day of the Crows [73 - Good]
The Weekend [69 - Decent]
Everybody's Got Somebody... Not Me [67- Decent]
Mr. Sophistication [50 - Average]
Boys Are Us [50 - Average]
A Secret World [50 - Average]
Clip [50 - Average]
A F*ckload of Scotch Tape [45 - Subpar]
1:00 PM on 10.26.2012 //
Alec Kubas-Meyer[For the past month, we covered the 50th New York Film Festival, bringing you news, features, and reviews of some of the most anticipated films on the festival circuit in 2012. Check out all of our coverage here.]
And so... more
2:00 PM on 08.01.2012 //
Alec Kubas-Meyer[For the month of July, we covered the New York Asian Film Festival and the (also New York-based) Japan Cuts Film Festival, which together form one of the largest showcases of Asian cinema in the world. For our specifically N... more
5:00 PM on 05.04.2012 //
Alec Kubas-MeyerFor the past few weeks, we here at Flixist have brought you what is most certainly the best film festival coverage that has ever happened ever. Between Hubert, Dre, and I, we saw and reviewed 34 movies at/from this year's Tri... more
12:00 PM on 04.27.2012 //
Hubert Vigilla[From April 19th to the 29th, Flixist will bring you live coverage of the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Keep an eye out for news, features, interviews, videos, and reviews of some of the most anticipated films ... more
7:00 PM on 02.28.2012 //
Maxwell RoahrigFinding out how something works and operates is one of my favorite things. Be it a magic trick, a guitar solo, or a computer, I love learning what makes things go. But sometimes, as is usually the case with magic, when you fi... more
8:00 AM on 02.27.2012 //
Matthew RazakMany of you probably didn't stay up last night to catch the Oscars. If you didn't you missed a pretty middle of the road show. Billy Crystal was Billy Crystal, though he did seem to be attempting to be a bit edgy and there we... more
9:30 AM on 02.26.2012 //
Matthew RazakIt's almost time again and we're almost ready to lend our completely professional, very serious, entirely legit commentary to the Oscars once again this year. We'll be talking serious stuff like drama, dresses and things that... more
12:00 PM on 02.25.2012 //
Maxwell RoahrigUPDATE: Today is the last day to ask questions. Get 'em in, folks!
So, there's this little event going down on Sunday, you may have heard of it. It's called the Academy Awards, and from what I can tell, it's kind of a thing. ... more
4:00 PM on 02.23.2012 //
Matthew RazakYeah, I said it. We're clairvoyant up in this bitch, and we know the future! Our Oscar predictions are the best because we know we're right, and if we turn out to be wrong than it's the Academy that messed up, not us!
OK, so ... more
2:00 PM on 02.20.2012 //
Matthew RazakWell, they've come and gone, and now we have our winners. This year saw some awesome winners and a few surprises here and there. We'd like to congratulate Drive for winning the most awards by taking Best Pictur... more