by MATTHEW SORRENTO Guillermo del Toro has discussed how his childhood helped mold his imagination – being raised in a stern Roman Catholic family only fueled his dark fantasies. His great-aunt, a prevalent influence and caregiver, forbade him from drawing gothic and grotesque images, encouraging his passion to grow. These fantasies would become essential to his ... read more »

Could any film hit closer to our cultural amygdalae than Repo Men? Millions of people have seen the “American Dream”™ crumble before them during the Great Recession and can’t help but worry that their heretofore credit-financed lifestyles will bring the repo men of the present knock, knock, knocking on the door. Mix in the national ... read more »

Teddy Chen’s new film Bodyguards and Assassins (Shi yue wei cheng) blends the rigors of history and the heat of politics with the the most exciting elements of Hong Kong cinema. Historical figures like Sun Yat-sen, Li Yutang, Chen Shaobai, and Yang Quyun all feature prominently in the film. It seems rather ironic that a ... read more »

Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann likes to capture rooms and the lives within. His camera remains stable or abruptly shifts, as if just discovering the element central to the layout. At the beginning of Revanche, his first release in the US but fifth overall, Spielmann seems to depict Vienna lowlifes as they are – the aim ... read more »