Review: ISM Limited Run at Marcus Point
James Kreul suggests that while Ism is not a great film, it delivers a good balance of action, romance, and music as well as the star power of Nandamuri Kalyan Ram. […]
Articles by James Kreul
Review: THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER at CTEK Fri Sep 30, 7:00pm
James Kreul suggests that The Childhood of a Leader might have worked better as a genre film, rather than the art cinema that it aspires to be. […]
Review: SLACKJAW at Micro-Wave Cinema, Sun Sep 18, 7:00pm
James Kreul meditates on the range of his responses to the anti-comedy and funny staging of Zach Weintraub’s Slackjaw. […]
Review: THE INNOCENTS at Sundance Cinemas, Opens Fri Sep 9
The latest drama from Anne Fontaine (Gemma Bovary) is a subtle and moving tribute to women who have harnessed the power of their shared experience to face adversity. […]
Review: BELLADONNA OF SADNESS @ CTEK, Sat Sep 3, 7:00pm
Mushi Productions’ Belladonna of Sadness pushes to extremes the tension between motion and stillness often found in Japanese animation (“anime”) to great aesthetic effect. James Kreul argues that despite a decidedly 1970s male-fantasy (and a little rapey) take on sex and power, the film delivers a uniquely rich and textured visual experience. […]
Review: LIFE, ANIMATED at Sundance Cinemas Starting Fri Oct 26
James Kreul suggests that reviewing Life, Animated presents a common dilemma: How to discuss an inspiring true-life story told in an uninspired documentary. […]
Review: OFF THE WALL, Arts & Literature Lab, Sat Aug 13, 9:00pm
A much needed microcinema-style series for local and international video art has debuted at the Arts + Literature Laboratory. James Kreul explains why this matters, and surveys some of the titles curated by programmers Simone Doing and Max Puchalsky, a.k.a. Simone and Max. […]
Review: THE NEON DEMON Now Playing at AMC Fitchburg 18
James Kreul was one of the few Madfilm Meetup attendees to like Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon. He argues that if you can set aside genre expectations and appreciate images in the moment, there’s much to enjoy in the film. […]
Review: CHRONOPOLIS at MMoCA, Fri Jun 24, 9:30pm
James Kreul discusses Piotr Kamler’s Chronopolis, screening at MMoCA’s Rooftop Cinema series. He suggests that audiences should appreciate the film’s abstract qualities instead of insisting on narrative momentum. […]
Review: ANY NUMBER CAN WIN at CTEK, Wed Jun 22, 7:00pm
The UW Cinematheque kicks off its Summer 2016 programming and a “French Tough Guys” series with Henri Verneuil’s 1963 heist film, Any Number Can Win. James Kreul argues that while its breezy plot and abundant star power (Jean Gabin, Alain Delon) provide entertaining relief from current summer blockbuster fare, don’t expect much more than a well-executed genre film. […]