film review

Your Guide To Movie Releases In May

Matthew Long-Middleton — Fri, 24 May 2013 23:06:46 +0000

It’s another summer of sequels!

With the release of Iron Man 3, The Hangover Part III, and Fast & Furious 6, it looks like Hollywood is attempting to once again attract people with the familiar and the established.

The movie critics, Russ Simmons, John Tibbetts, and Alan Rapp, discuss their favorite sequels, as well as the movies that never got a sequel, but deserve one (John Carter, anyone?).

What's Showing In Independent, Foreign & Documentary Film

Steve Kraske and Beth Lipoff — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 03:41:22 +0000

Ever pretend you were Canadian in a foreign country? A new film based on a true story has a group of Americans doing just that to sneak past Iranian border guards.

Friday on Up to Date, indie, foreign and documentary film critics Cynthia Haines and Steve Walker will also review documentaries that track down a ‘70s icon and look at lives all over the world through a colorful, yet silent, lens.

What's Showing In Art, Independent, Foreign And Documentary Film

Steve Kraske and Danie Alexander — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 07:36:07 +0000

A dream house, the perfect woman, and one of our greatest singer-songwriters are among the topics of the films being reviewed today.

'Undefeated' & 'First Position' Explore Challenges Of Youth

Steve Walker — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Two new documentaries arrive in Kansas City this week that look at how a young person's capability for moxie and dedication can be advantageous in two seemingly disparate fields: high school football and ballet.

Jack Black Finesses Black Comedy In 'Bernie'

Steve Walker — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:03:16 +0000

Director Richard Linklater's terrific new film, Bernie, unleashes actor Jack Black from his Kung Fu Panda pajamas only to find - lest we'd forgotten - that he's a really good actor.

A Pleasant Stay At 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'

Steve Walker — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:14:38 +0000

On the heels of Downton Abbey, the National Theatre of London's HD broadcasts at the Tivoli, and Adele, it seems everything British is hot again.

A Quest For Excellence In 'Jiro Dreams Of Sushi'

Steve Walker — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:07:11 +0000

"What defines deliciousness?" is the first line of David Gelb's splendid documentary about Jiro Ono, the oldest chef on the planet to be awarded three Michelin Guide stars, the restaurant world's top honor. Whether or not you're seduced by the artfully composed slivers of fish resting atop perfectly cooked rice is immaterial because the movie's less about sushi than a life defined by pursuing excellence.

'Once Upon A Time In Anatolia' An Autopsy Of A Crime

Steve Walker — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:12:38 +0000

An American audience spoon-fed on quick-paced television crime dramas may find the Turkish film Once Upon a Time in Anatolia a bit snoozy. But what director Nuri Bilge Ceylan achieves with the powerful and profound film is an honest examination of how people who deal with murder every day cope with the alternately morbid and banal details.

Harrelson's Dark Side Shines In "Rampart"

Steve Walker — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +0000

Rampart, featuring a shattering performance by Woody Harrelson as a messed-up Los Angeles cop with a mean streak and a pitiful capacity for self-harm, is the second Harrelson film to be directed by Oren Moverman (The Messenger brought Harrelson an Oscar nomination in 2011) and his first collaboration with former Kansas Citian James Ellroy. As a single-minded unit, the trio bravely bring to the screen a contemporary film noir bearing the slick sheen of something you wouldn't want to touch but cannot ignore.

'The Women On The 6th Floor' Channels Almodovar Of Yore

Steve Walker — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:33:52 +0000

Fans of Spanish director Pedro Almodovar either loved his last movie, The Skin I Live In, or found it cold and bereft of the mirth and merriment of most of his previous work. He doesn't have a new film but Phillipe Le Guay does, and The Women on the 6th Floor plays like the farcical Almodovar of yore in a way that's more homage than copycat.

'A Separation' Offers Peek Into Contemporary Iran

Steve Walker — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:16:56 +0000

When the Kansas City Film Critics Circle gathered in early January to honor the year in film, only about half the room had seen the Iranian movie A Separation yet it managed to win the group's Best Foreign Film prize. And last weekend, the Academy Award voters agreed with the sentiment that Asghar Faradi's brilliant story-telling deserved the Oscar and offers everything you want in a great movie experience.