Persian Lessons
Persian Lessons simply peaks too early, but you can’t fault director Vadim Perelman (The House of Sand and Fog, The Life Before Her Eyes) for not trying to maintain the audience’s interest.
Nazi
Alone in Berlin
While I’m completely aware that Alone in Berlin is based on a true story, I’m afraid Vincent Perez’s big-screen adaptation is thin and tedious. There’s not enough here for the director/co-writer to flesh out, and likewise for the talented leading cast (Brendan Gleeson, Emma Thompson, Daniel Brühl).
Exit: Music
Nazis plundering art has been a subject of much consideration and curiosity ever since the objects began to be recovered. Plenty of focus has been placed on paintings that were lost and found in this way, and the reasons for it are plain to be seen: the paintings have famous, long-deceased names attached and, due to their singular status, they can only be experienced by a limited number of people and can be valued at…
Green Room
Jeremy Saulnier, the director of the unusually and undeservedly lauded Blue Ruin, concocts a second feature where hot punk rock meets cold blooded murder.
Blood in the Snow ’14: Uncommon Enemies & Ejecta
Uncommon Enemies (DIR. Alex Hatz) By: Addison Wylie A late-night rendezvous between a Nazi (played by James Gangl) and a seductive mademoiselle (played by Melanie Scrofano) is interrupted by a couple of American soldiers. When discovered, the Sergeant (played by Flashpoint’s Michael Cram) and the Nazi hold each other at gunpoint, while the French miss tends to the wounded Private (played by AJ Vaage). Uncommon Enemies is a comedic period piece that tries too hard…
The German Doctor
By: Addison Wylie The German Doctor (or its Spanish title, Wakolda) is a solid slow burn. It’s also a not-so-slow slow burn. Allow me to explain. It appears this film about a relocating Argentine family who is followed by an unknown yet concerned doctor would like to move at a more patient rate. The actors on screen are prepared to show their unease with properly drawn out weariness and filmmaker Lucía Puenzo shows he has the chops to tackle…