November 5, 2024

Review: DEAR ZINDAGI at AMC Fitchburg thru Thu Dec 15

November 26, 2016 James Kreul

James Kreul argues that Dear Zindagi is the most broadly appealing Bollywood film to play Madison in 2016, despite its use of bland music montages instead of dance sequences. After a year of particularly shallow female characters, writer/director Gauri Shinde and star Alia Bhatt play with Bollywood conventions about romance, family, sexuality, and gender roles to deliver an intriguing character study of a young professional woman. […]

Review: BELLADONNA OF SADNESS @ CTEK, Sat Sep 3, 7:00pm

September 1, 2016 James Kreul

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: 24 Now Playing at AMC Fitchburg, Marcus Point

May 9, 2016 James Kreul

James Kreul looks at the most recent popular Indian film to open “wide” (two screens!) in Madison, Vikram Kumar’s 24. Despite flamboyant performances from Suriya (in a triple-role) and audacious time-travel enabled moments, director Kumar (Manam) seems content with lackluster action, romance, and music. […]

Missed Madison: Johnnie To’s OFFICE

January 11, 2016 Jake Smith

Missed Madison Film Festival Office | Johnnie To | China, Hong Kong | 2015 | 119 minutes Queue at GoWatchIt for availability updates» Jake Smith looks at Johnnie To’s latest and finds a brilliant film that has distinctive […]

Review: BAAHUBALI: THE BEGINNING at Marcus Point thru Thu Jul 30

July 26, 2015 James Kreul

Currently in its third week at Point Cinemas (at $20 a pop, no matinees), Baahubali: The Beginning has set box-office records for Telugu-language Indian cinema. This Tollywood epic has something for everyone—melodrama, romance, music and action—even if these elements are not distributed equally across the film. And those already missing Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings adaptations should enjoy its climactic 40-minute battle sequence. […]

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