Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  5 A trailer (allegedly) portraying an Oscar-winning actor covered in a white bed-sheet with eyeholes cut out; raves from the quirk-worshipping Sundance Film Festival set; a low budget; a glacial pace: this is not a recipe for my favorite film of the year.  Nor would I ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  7   With his first two feature films (Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002)) inextricably tied to the irrepressible writer Charlie Kaufman and his last feature built upon a beloved literary property (Where the Wild Things Are (2009)), Her represents the first wholly original work by Spike Jonze as both ... 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):  4  Legend has it that director Steven Soderbergh’s debut feature film, sex, lies, and videotape (1989), ushered in the rise of the indie film in the 1990s, and more specifically, the emergence of the Sundance Film Festival as an influence on American movie culture.  (The Oscar-nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) is one ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10)?  5   In my opinion, director David Fincher made two of his best films within the grim serial killer subgenre – Se7en (1995) and Zodiac (2007) – each of which is quite different from the other.  Rooney Mara, who plays the title character in this latest adaptation Stieg Larsson’s posthumous and wildly successful ... Read More »