Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  4   The buzz on Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) – the most recent Palm d’Or winner by French director Abdellatif Kechiche – characterizes the film as a close-up-heavy, graphic examination of the life cycle of a lesbian relationship from point A to Z.  As it turns out, the film is actually the coming-of-age story of a young ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3 This Halloween season, I submit for your consideration the following definitions of the word creepy: (a) “… producing a nervous shivery apprehension …”  (Merriam-Webster) (b)  “… sexually inappropriate or perverted …”  (Urban Dictionary) I may be wrong, but at least here in the United States, I imagine that the second ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3   All filmmakers lie – by commission and omission, consciously and unconsciously.  If the narrative feature film sells the big lie as art, and the documentary sells the little lie as the truth, what is the role of the biopic?  It seems like a losing proposition to me.  Futile attempts ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3 The Counselor certainly has an intriguing pitch:  Old-guard master Ridley Scott directs one of the hottest new actors, Michael Fassbender, with the first original screenplay by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy, whose successful film adaptations include No Country for Old Men (2007) and The Road (2009).  As it turns out, The Counselor has proven to be the kind of film ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3   As of the date of this review, there are multiple cuts of the Chinese-language film, The Grandmaster (2013) – most notably, the original cut for Chinese audiences (130 minutes) and Harvey Weinstein’s cut for American audiences (108 minutes).  This review is based on the “International Cut” (124 minutes), which was originally screened at ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3   Think about a narrative film as a journey across a rapidly flowing river.  One filmmaker might erect wide, study, well-paved roads – designed for maximum functionality, accommodating both cars and pedestrians, to make sure nobody loses their way.  Another filmmaker might demand more of the ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  8   “I am going to influence the world.  People will remember m[e].” – Damien Echols, from Exhibit 500, page 50, in Echols v. State of Arkansas The setting was West Memphis, Arkansas – a town of roughly 30,000 that sits on the other side of the Mississippi ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  6   “We’re deeply transformed by them, the killer whale is an animal that does that.” – Dr. Christopher Dold, SeaWorld’s Vice President of Veterinary Services “Killer whales are 100 percent not suitable to captivity.” – Gabriela Cowperthwaite, director of Blackfish (from “Sea World’s Unusual Retort to a Critical Documentary,” ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3  Considering that the original theatrical release date of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival hit Fruitvale (redubbed Fruitvale Station) was moved up three months, we need to talk about that case.  For what seemed like two solid weeks earlier this month, we in the U.S. were inundated by the media ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  4 In the West, we generally define innocence as freedom from guilt of a particular crime, and we take a certain pride in a legal presumption of innocence – the idea that given the difficulty of proving the negative, an accused is considered innocent until proven guilty by sufficient evidence of probative value.  But here ... Read More »