Production Company(ies)
Legendary Entertainment, Lynda Obst Productions, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, Syncopy Films Inc., Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures
 
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, United States; Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Iceland
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
 
Year of Release
2014
 

 
Genre(s)
Sci-fi/Adventure
 
Keyword(s)
starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, directed by Christopher Nolan, written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, sci-fi, adventure, action, PG-13, box office gross $188.0M, budget, reviewed by Wendy Ide, Candice Frederick, Dwight Brown, Jason Bailey, Richard Roeper, Scott Marks, Edward Porter, Vadim Rizov, Keith Garlington, Brian Eggert, Josh Parham, Cory Woodroof, wormhole, space travel, global crop blight, Dust Bowl, NASA, physicist, new home, wormhole, three planets, TARS Voice, Old Murph, Dolby Digital, Datasat, Emma Thomas, Lynda Obst, Syncopy, Paramount Pictures
 

Cast & Crew

Matthew McConaughey

Anne Hathaway

Jessica Chastain

Michael Caine

Bill Irwin

Cooper

Amelia Brand

Murph

Professor Brand

TARS Voice

Matthew McConaughey – Cooper
Anne Hathaway – Amelia Brand
Jessica Chastain – Murph
Michael Caine – Professor Brand
Bill Irwin – TARS Voice
Ellen Burstyn – Old Murph
Director – Christopher Nolan
Producers – Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Lynda Obst
Writers – Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan

 

Christopher Nolan

Jonathan Nolan

Emma Thomas

Christopher Nolan

Lynda Obst

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Christopher Nolan
 
Writer(s)
Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
 
Producer(s)
Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Lynda Obst

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Visual Effects Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Wendy Ide

Candice Frederick

Dwight Brown

Jason Bailey

Richard Roeper

Times

Reel Talk Online

National Newspaper Publishers Association

Flavorwire

Chicago Sun-Times

INTERSTELLAR
 All Critics (375) | Top Critics (85) | Fresh (272) | Rotten (103)
 Staggeringly beautiful, bafflingly complex, this is proper event cinema.
 
 April 4, 2023
 
 Wendy Ide
 Times (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 With all the rampant think pieces questioning the probability of every science fiction film that comes out, it’s comforting to across a movie that doesn’t really claim to have any of the answers.
 
 September 1, 2017 | Rating: B-
 
 Candice Frederick
 Reel Talk Online
 TOP CRITIC
 Interstellar, though ambitious and thrilling at points, is too complicated and doesn’t reach its full potential.
 
 March 21, 2017
 
 Dwight Brown
 National Newspaper Publishers Association
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s his ‘White Album,’ overlong and overwritten, corny and self-important, and also a great movie. And yes, it can be all of those things at once.
 
 June 18, 2016
 
 Jason Bailey
 Flavorwire
 TOP CRITIC
 This is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.
 
 August 21, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Richard Roeper
 Chicago Sun-Times
 TOP CRITIC
 There are many words to describe Interstellar. Entertainment isn’t one of them.
 
 January 6, 2015 | Rating: 1/5
 
 Scott Marks
 San Diego Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 The film demands quite a bit of time from its viewers too, but its big ideas and wondrous sights are ample reward.
 
 February 27, 2023
 
 Edward Porter
 Sunday Times (UK)
 When Mann appears to explain man, it collapses under the weight of a repeated thesis that doesn’t merit such explicit, redundant reiteration.
 
 January 24, 2023
 
 Vadim Rizov
 Filmmaker Magazine
 It’s a contemplative adventure and an emotional exploration that captivated me from its opening moments.
 
 August 22, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Keith Garlington
 Keith & the Movies
 Rarely do epics of this scope and intelligence reach theaters anymore; such serious commercial filmmaking seems like a market almost exclusively maintained by Christopher Nolan.
 
 June 30, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Brian Eggert
 Deep Focus Review
 While not all-together perfect, the film represents a monumental cinematic achievement that deserves to be placed high within the caliber of Nolan’s filmography.
 
 May 27, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
 
 Josh Parham
 Next Best Picture
 Nolans ambition and talent, coupled with arguably the best leading performance he’s ever had in McConaughey’s Cooper, brings about a wonderful work of science fiction, one that leaves the viewer breathless during and talking after.
 
 February 11, 2022
 
 Cory Woodroof
 Williamson Home Page…

 

Plot
ntriguing sci-fi adventure follows former NASA pilot Cooper and his team as they travel through a wormhole to find a new home for humanity, facing perilous action and intense challenges along the way.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy, funny, or odd comment about the film Interstellar on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Christopher-Nolan.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Cristaldifilm Les Films, Ariane Rai 3
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Sao Paulo, Brazil
 
MPAA / Certificate

 
Year of Release
2014
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Yelena Lyadova, Nadezhda Markina, Aleksey Rozin, Andrey Smirnov, Evgeniya Konushkina, Igor Ogurtsov, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, written by Oleg Negin, drama, Russian, box office performance, budget, reviewed by J Hoberman, Donald Clarke, Derek Malcolm, Peter Bradshaw, Leo Robson, David Jenkins, Mattie Lucas, Nicholas Bell, Molly Templeton, Kelly Jane Torrance, produced by Alexander Rodnyansky, MPAA rating, inheritance, family drama, wealth, class clash, Moscow, capitalism, domestic thriller, noir, slow-building, subtitled, unhappy people, impending doom
 

Cast & Crew

Yelena Lyadova

Nadezhda Markina

Aleksey Rozin

Andrey Smirnov

Evgeniya Konushkina

Yelena Lyadova

Nadezhda Markina

Aleksey Rozin

Andrey Smirnov

Evgeniya Konushkina

Yelena Lyadova – Katerina
Nadezhda Markina – Elena
Aleksey Rozin – Sergey
Andrey Smirnov – Vladimir
Evgeniya Konushkina – Tatyana
Igor Ogurtsov – Aleksandr

 

Andrey Zvyagintsev

Oleg Negin

Alexander Rodnyansky

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Andrey Zvyagintsev
 
Writer(s)
Oleg Negin
 
Producer(s)
Alexander Rodnyansky

 

Film Festivals
South by Southwest
 
Awards & Nominations
12 wins & 10 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

J. Hoberman

Donald Clarke

Derek Malcolm

Peter Bradshaw

Leo Robson

ARTINFO.com

Irish Times

London Evening Standard

Guardian

Financial Times

ELENA
 All Critics (65) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (61) | Rotten (4)
 Andrey Zvyagintsev is the most internationally-acclaimed Russian filmmaker to emerge during the Putin era, and his expertly directed third feature Elena is, albeit oblique, the most vivid evocation I’ve seen of Moscow’s contemporary society.
 
 February 25, 2019
 
 J. Hoberman
 ARTINFO.com
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s very gloomy. It’s very Russian. It’s as powerful as any picture released this season.
 
 November 2, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Donald Clarke
 Irish Times
 TOP CRITIC
 One of the very best Russian films of the past year.
 
 October 26, 2012
 
 Derek Malcolm
 London Evening Standard
 TOP CRITIC
 A deeply satisfying film.
 
 October 25, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Peter Bradshaw
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 Zvyagintsev, who made The Return and The Banishment, does a good impression of constructing a world while secretly spinning a web.
 
 October 25, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Leo Robson
 Financial Times
 TOP CRITIC
 A withering admonishment of capitalism and the emotional mindset that comes with.
 
 October 25, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
 
 David Jenkins
 Little White Lies
 TOP CRITIC
 A riveting domestic thriller, an elegantly crafted glimpse into modern Russian life that speaks volumes while barely saying a word.
 
 August 6, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Mattie Lucas
 From the Front Row
 A class clash potboiler, it’s a simple but deliciously hypnotic narrative about wealth and the queer way it tends to push people out of their comfort zones.
 
 July 24, 2019
 
 Nicholas Bell
 IONCINEMA.com
 Luxurious cinematography, careful choices about focus and editing, and excellent, constrained performances, particularly from [Nadezhda] Markina, give Elena much greater depths than its plot suggests.
 
 February 27, 2019
 
 Molly Templeton
 Eugene Weekly (OR)
 Elena is more than just a simple thriller.
 
 December 29, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Kelly Jane Torrance
 Washington Examiner
 Many people can’t abide slow-building subtitled films about relentlessly unhappy people. But closet pessimists like myself and the Cannes judges will find Elena’s sense of impending doom oddly satisfying.
 
 July 19, 2017
 
 Lauren Carroll Harris
 Concrete Playground
 A chilly noir about the beaten paths and icy ruts of Russian life in the capital, post-Communism. In a land of schemers, Elena suggests, the urban cloisters of Moscow’s elite are as self-sealing as the lowly masses’ stifling Soviet-era flats.
 
 May 6, 2013
 
 Brian Gibson
 Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)…

 

Plot
Elena is a Russian drama about a wealthy man who decides to leave his fortune to his daughter, cutting out his wife and her son from his will.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
Andrey-Zvyagintsev.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Film Four UK Film Council Darlow Smithson Productions,
 
Distributor
Music Box Films
 
Release Type

 
Filming Location(s)
Paris, France
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language and some sexual content
 
Year of Release
2013
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Goldblum, Olly Alexander, Brice Beaugier, Charlotte Léo, directed by Roger Michell, written by Hanif Kureishi, comedy, drama, R rating, box office gross $2.2M, reviewed by Kristy Puchko, Laurence Phelan, Alissa Wilkinson, Kate Erbland, Michael Phillips, Sandra Hall, Nick Bell, PJ Nabarro, Patrick Nabarro, directed by Bertrand Faivre, Kevin Loader, produced by Music Box Films, late-life struggles, long-term marriage, Paris, rejuvenate marriage, British couple, honeymoon, sophisticated, well-acted, portrait, relationship, marriage, mortality, aging, empty nesters, crossroads, love, adolescent, dysfunctional relationship, Little Englanders, self-centered, xenophobia, bittersweet, comedy
 

Cast & Crew

Jim Broadbent

Lindsay Duncan

Jeff Goldblum

Olly Alexander

Brice Beaugier

Nick

Meg

Morgan

Michael

Robert Ertel

Jim Broadbent – Nick
Lindsay Duncan – Meg
Jeff Goldblum – Morgan
Olly Alexander – Michael
Brice Beaugier – Robert Ertel
Charlotte Léo – Dominique Ertel

 

Roger Michell

Hanif Kureishi

Bertrand Faivre

Kevin Loader

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Roger Michell
 
Writer(s)
Hanif Kureishi
 
Producer(s)
Bertrand Faivre, Kevin Loader

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 9 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Kristy Puchko

Laurence Phelan

Alissa Wilkinson

Kate Erbland

Michael Phillips

CinemaBlend

Independent (UK)

Christianity Today

Film School Rejects

Chicago Tribune

THE WEEKEND
 All Critics (154) | Top Critics (53) | Fresh (137) | Rotten (17)
 Despite its rough turns and bumpy exposition, Le Week-End is absolutely a trip worth taking, full of moving moments and well-earned laughs.
 
 January 6, 2015
 
 Kristy Puchko
 CinemaBlend
 TOP CRITIC
 A loosely structured but acutely observed relationships movie with a wide streak of painful comedy.
 
 January 6, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Laurence Phelan
 Independent (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 All of this elevates Le Week-End to the level of intelligent film without sacrificing humor, bite, and beauty, all of which it has in scads.
 
 January 6, 2015 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Alissa Wilkinson
 Christianity Today
 TOP CRITIC
 At turns charming and subtly complex, Le Week-End is no grand affair to remember, but it’s a fine enough showcase for two winning talents and the sort of mature take on romance we don’t see nearly often enough.
 
 January 6, 2015 | Rating: B
 
 Kate Erbland
 Film School Rejects
 TOP CRITIC
 Before long the movie — as neatly constructed as it is — isn’t really behaving like a movie, but more like life, as it’s lived by a fractious pair of empty nesters who find themselves at a crossroads.
 
 January 6, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
 Michael Phillips
 Chicago Tribune
 TOP CRITIC
 As this pair mooch about town, Broadbent and Duncan negotiate their transitions in mood with a style that effortlessly conveys the sense of an entire life unfolding.
 
 January 6, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Sandra Hall
 Sydney Morning Herald
 TOP CRITIC
 If you want to see an honest story beautifully written and brought to life by a stellar cast, I recommend you seek it out.
 
 September 13, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
 
 Richard Propes
 TheIndependentCritic.com
 As moving as it is engaging and astute.
 
 August 29, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
 Nicholas Bell
 IONCINEMA.com
 For better or for worse, Le Week-End relies a great deal on its two central performers, and fortunately Broadbent and Duncan are in fine fettle here.
 
 March 5, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Daniel Green
 CineVue
 Confuses a one-dimensional, borderline sadistic view of the mitigations that come with ageing to their actual reality (which is surely a lot more nuanced and less miserable)!
 
 December 8, 2018 | Rating: 2/5
 
 PJ Nabarro
 Patrick Nabarro
 Wonderful performances (including a fun but quite “huh?” supporting turn from Jeff Goldblum) and nice aesthetics help make Le Week-end a passable trip to Paris,
 
 October 10, 2018
 
 Nguyên Lê
 The Script Lab
 The script falters as domestic drama turns to contrived farce, and the couple runs out on an expensive dinner check. What is this, Frances Ha?
 
 August 31, 2018
 
 Pat Padua
 DCist…

 

Plot
Meg, a teacher, and husband Nick, a philosophy lecturer who may just be about to get the push on the eve of retirement, spend a week-end in Paris to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary. He is staid, annoying his foul-mouthed wife who wants to turn the holiday into a series of exciting new experiences, booking into a hotel that stretches their budgets and running off from a restaurant without paying. She is also averse to his touching her and what was meant to be a belated second honeymoon is a depressing affair, full of arguments – including one about the son who has recently left home to live in squalor and whom Meg does not want to return. By chance they meet an old university friend of Nick, Morgan, an American high-flyer who invites them to a party where Meg can still turn men’s heads and Nick has a conversation with Morgan’s young son, leading him to believe that he is not as badly off as he had presumed. Ultimately there appears to be hope for the marriage.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Jeff Goldblum has a supporting role in the film as Morgan, an American economist and old friend of Nick’s.
 

 
Roger-Michell.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
R. P. Productions, Heritage Films, Studio Babelsberg
 
Distributor
XLrator Media
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
2014
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Horror
 
Keyword(s)
Housebound, Comedy, Horror, 1h 49m, Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Gerard Johnstone, Luke Sharpe, written by Gerard Johnstone, XLrator Media, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Aja Romano, Mark Kermode, Kate Muir, Mike McCahill, Matthew Thrift, Tom Huddleston, Trace Thurman, Joe Lipsett, Nicholas Bell, Andrew Todd, Shannon McGrew, MPAA rating, haunted house, ghosts, thief, estranged mother, evil spirits, family domicile, talkative mother, detention, court ordered, sledgehammer, cash machine, rebellion, society, tension, jump-scare, deadpan humor, absurdity, fighting, laundry basket, gory horror, dark comedy, fresh, surprising, unpredictable, American remake
 

Cast & Crew

Morgana O’Reilly

Kylie Bucknell

Rima Te Wiata

Miriam Bucknell

Glen-Paul Waru

Kylie Bucknell

Miriam Bucknell

Amos

Dennis

Officer Grayson

Morgana O’Reilly – Kylie Bucknell
Rima Te Wiata – Miriam Bucknell
Glen-Paul Waru – Amos
Cameron Rhodes – Dennis
Millen Baird – Officer Grayson
Ross Harper – Graeme

 

Gerard Johnstone

Gerard Johnstone

Luke Sharpe

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Gerard Johnstone
 
Writer(s)
Gerard Johnstone
 
Producer(s)
Luke Sharpe

 

Film Festivals
South by Southwest
 
Awards & Nominations
6 wins & 22 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Aja Romano

Mark Kermode

Kate Muir

Mike McCahill

Matthew Thrift

Vox

Observer (UK)

Times (UK)

Guardian

Little White Lies

HOUSEBOUND
 All Critics (45) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (43) | Rotten (2)
 Housebound is writer-director Gerard Johnstone’s only feature film, but its unique tone has the confidence of an established, more experienced screenwriter
 
 January 12, 2021
 
 Aja Romano
 Vox
 TOP CRITIC
 O’Reilly is terrific as the sneery discontent at the centre of the madcap maelstrom, while Rima Te Wiata walks a wonderfully fine line between pathos and aggravation as the long-suffering/insufferable mum whose forced smile is about to crack.
 
 July 5, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Mark Kermode
 Observer (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 Housebound does ghosts in the walls with the same wacky panache as the recent Wyrmwood did Aussie zombies.
 
 July 2, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Kate Muir
 Times (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 Johnstone is one to watch.
 
 July 2, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Mike McCahill
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 Housebound winningly sticks two fingers up to tired genre persuasions, effecting a barnstorming crowdpleaser populated by people you want to root for and tension you can chew. It’s the stuff Friday nights at the movies were made for.
 
 July 2, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Matthew Thrift
 Little White Lies
 TOP CRITIC
 First-time director Gerard Johnstone may not possess the wild visual invention of his patron Peter Jackson, but he’s ruthlessly proficient at old-school scares.
 
 June 30, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Tom Huddleston
 Time Out
 TOP CRITIC
 A perfect marriage of horror and comedy, Housebound is an outstanding debut feature for writer/director Gerard Johnstone.
 
 January 31, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
 Trace Thurman
 Horror Queers Podcast
 Funny and tense in equal measure, Housebound is a genuine delight. The production design of the house is a huge asset to the film’s success; director Johnstone knows exactly how to frame and shoot the action to maximize the frights and laughs
 
 January 26, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Joe Lipsett
 Horror Queers Podcast
 As the film gets more outlandish, everything about Housebound begins to feel either borrowed or silly.
 
 September 6, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/5
 
 Nicholas Bell
 IONCINEMA.com
 There’s a lot to be said for a low-budget premise that uses its budget as inspiration rather than limitation.
 
 September 1, 2019
 
 Andrew Todd
 Birth.Movies.Death.
 It’s one of those movies where you will be grateful for a change from the modern every day “scary” movies.
 
 June 11, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Shannon McGrew
 Nightmarish Conjurings
 It is not just in its writing and direction that Housebound excels; the production design is a feast for the eyes.
 
 February 28, 2019
 
 Naila Scargill
 Exquisite Terror…

 

Plot
Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother Miriam – a well-intentioned blabbermouth who’s convinced that the house is haunted. Kylie dismisses Miriam’s superstitions as nothing more than a distraction from a life occupied by boiled vegetables & small-town gossip. However, when she too becomes privy to unsettling whispers & strange bumps in the night, she begins to wonder whether she’s inherited her overactive imagination, or if the house is in fact possessed by a hostile spirit who’s less than happy about the new living arrangement.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny comments were found in the Fresh Kernels review for Housebound.
 

 
Gerard-Johnstone.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
National Geographic Documentary Films, Ventureland Storyteller Productions,
 
Distributor
Cinedigm
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for grisly graphic images of disturbing violent content, drug material, language and brief nudity.
 
Year of Release
2014
 

 
Genre(s)
Documentary
 
Keyword(s)
Narco Cultura, documentary, addiction, money, drugs, violence, war on drugs, R rating, English, directed by Shaul Schwarz, produced by Todd Hagopian, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, reviewed by Peter Rainer, Marc Savlov, Justin Lowe, Geoff Berkshire, Michael Sragow, Kenneth Turan, Morgan Rojas, Steve Erickson, John Powers, Sr Rose Pacatte, Jared Mobarak, Michael Atkinson, box office gross $144.4K, Cinedigm, actors not applicable, MPAA rating R, drug material, disturbing violent content, brief nudity, grisly graphic images, language, Bryan Chang, film editing
 

Cast & Crew

Shaul Schwarz

Todd Hagopian

Lars Knudsen

Jay Van Hoy

Jeremy Turner

Shaul Schwarz

Todd Hagopian

Lars Knudsen

Jay Van Hoy

Jeremy Turner

Shaul Schwarz – Director
Todd Hagopian – Producer
Lars Knudsen – Producer
Jay Van Hoy – Producer
Jeremy Turner – Original Music
Bryan Chang – Film Editing

 

Shaul Schwarz

NA

Todd Hagopian

Lars Knudsen

Jay Van Hoy

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Shaul Schwarz
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
Todd Hagopian, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy

 

Film Festivals
Sundance
 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Peter Rainer

Marc Savlov

Justin Lowe

Geoff Berkshire

Michael Sragow

Christian Science Monitor

Austin Chronicle

Hollywood Reporter

Variety

Orange County Register

NARCO CULTURA
 All Critics (44) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (5)
 Photojournalist Shaul Schwarz’s powerful documentary Narco Cultura gets inside the world of two men who, in very different ways, inhabit this horror.
 
 December 13, 2013 | Rating: A-
 
 Peter Rainer
 Christian Science Monitor
 TOP CRITIC
 It’s impossible to watch Shaul Schwarz’s grueling documentary about the Mexican drug wars and their influence on the whole of Mexican society without wondering how on earth such a hell on earth could have erupted right in our back yard.
 
 December 6, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Marc Savlov
 Austin Chronicle
 TOP CRITIC
 This issue-based journalism piece yields diminishing returns the deeper it digs.
 
 December 6, 2013
 
 Justin Lowe
 Hollywood Reporter
 TOP CRITIC
 An eye-opening examination of Mexico’s blood-soaked drug war and its unsettling pop-culture side effects, Narco Cultura is as overwhelming as it is absorbing.
 
 December 6, 2013
 
 Geoff Berkshire
 Variety
 TOP CRITIC
 This haunting documentary contrasts songs saluting Mexican drug lords as heroic bandits with the harrowing reality of life in murder-stained Juarez.
 
 December 6, 2013 | Rating: A
 
 Michael Sragow
 Orange County Register
 TOP CRITIC
 This dispassionate but devastating film looks at the drug wars from two very different but chillingly complementary perspectives.
 
 December 5, 2013
 
 Kenneth Turan
 Los Angeles Times
 TOP CRITIC
 Narco Cultura is not for the weak of stomach, but if you can get past all the blood and dead bodies, it is one of the most eye-opening and critically disturbing films of 2013.
 
 March 1, 2019
 
 Morgan Rojas
 Cinemacy
 … I’ve never seen a more gut-wrenching indictment of the costs of criminalizing drugs.
 
 March 1, 2019
 
 Steve Erickson
 Nashville Scene
 At first, I feared that Schwarz was doing something worthy but obvious: showing how narcocorrido songs and movies make people rich by falsifying the horrific reality of the drug biz. But gradually you realize that things aren’t so simple.
 
 May 17, 2018
 
 John Powers
 NPR’s Fresh Air
 Narco Cultura is about a “disturbingly glorified conflict” that no one is paying attention to and how pop culture functions in society and in commerce. For people who care, it is a film not to be missed.
 
 August 9, 2017
 
 Sr. Rose Pacatte
 National Catholic Reporter
 Narco Cultura is a wake-up call to anyone who doesn’t understand the genesis of corrido music.
 
 June 21, 2016 | Rating: B
 
 Jared Mobarak
 The Film Stage
 However you come at it, it seems that the perpetual slaughter south of the border is an American export product, paid for and fine-tuned by American self-indulgence.
 
 April 12, 2016
 
 Michael Atkinson
 In These Times…

 

Plot
To a growing number of Mexicans and Latinos in the Americas, narco traffickers have become iconic outlaws and the new models of fame and success. They represent a pathway out of the ghetto – a new form of the American Dream, fueled by the war on drugs. NARCO CULTURA looks at this explosive phenomenon from within; cycles of addiction to money, drugs and violence that are rapidly gaining strength on both sides of the US/Mexican border.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about Narco Cultura.
 

 
Shaul-Schwarz.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Communicado Productions, New Zealand Film Commission Avalon, NFU
 
Distributor
CBS Films
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Medford, Minnesota, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language including some sexual references
 
Year of Release
2014
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama/Music
 
Keyword(s)
starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F Murray Abraham, Justin Timberlake, directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, drama, music, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Candice Frederick, Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, Jason Bailey, Alissa Wilkinson, J Hoberman, JM Tyree, Ema Sasic, Victor Pineyro, Rosa Parra, Dustin Chang, Richard Crouse, produced by Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, MPAA rating R, folk singer, New York City, Greenwich Village, Chicago club, music mogul, guitar, insurmountable obstacles, kindness of friends and strangers, odyssey, crossroads, success, fine form, smart, funny, profoundly melancholy, Coen brothers
 

Cast & Crew

Oscar Isaac

Carey Mulligan

John Goodman

Garrett Hedlund

F. Murray Abraham

Llewyn Davis

Jean

Roland Turner

Johnny Five

Bud Grossman

Oscar Isaac – Llewyn Davis
Carey Mulligan – Jean
John Goodman – Roland Turner
Garrett Hedlund – Johnny Five
F. Murray Abraham – Bud Grossman
Justin Timberlake – Jim
Joel Coen – Director, Writer
Ethan Coen – Director, Writer
Scott Rudin – Producer

 

Joel Coen

Joel Coen

Scott Rudin

Ethan Coen

Joel Coen

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
 
Writer(s)
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
 
Producer(s)
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

 

Film Festivals
Cannes, Telluride
 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
46 wins & 174 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Candice Frederick

Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

Jason Bailey

Alissa Wilkinson

J. Hoberman

Reel Talk Online

metro.co.uk

Flavorwire

Christianity Today

Tablet

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
 All Critics (289) | Top Critics (77) | Fresh (266) | Rotten (23)
 … the pretentiousness is overwhelming, which is unfortunate because the outline has potential to be a great Coen brothers film but ultimately becomes weighed down by its own emotions.
 
 September 6, 2017 | Rating: C+
 
 Candice Frederick
 Reel Talk Online
 TOP CRITIC
 The direction is pitch-perfect; the characters unique and eccentric yet fully realised and the script, woven with absurdist comedy, a marvel
 
 September 6, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
 metro.co.uk
 TOP CRITIC
 They beautifully and convincingly recreate the streets and coffee shops where he dwells, and seem intoxicated with the look and feel of those surroundings.
 
 June 19, 2016
 
 Jason Bailey
 Flavorwire
 TOP CRITIC
 Inside Llewyn Davis is a darkly funny film that recreates the texture of the Greenwich Village folk scene in 1961, and for those of us who love the Coens’ meandering storytelling style, it’s a masterpiece.
 
 April 13, 2016 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Alissa Wilkinson
 Christianity Today
 TOP CRITIC
 Isaac’s folk-singing Llewyn Davis may be an arrogant loser and the butt of a cosmic joke but he’s something more than a cartoon. So is the movie …
 
 December 31, 2015
 
 J. Hoberman
 Tablet
 TOP CRITIC
 Where O Brother’s picaresque was all sepia, bluegrass, hayseed slapstick and family reunion, this film offers a stringent voyage of overcast skies, melancholy folk, soured relationships and no direction home.
 
 February 6, 2014
 
 JM Tyree
 Sight & Sound
 TOP CRITIC
 Enough can’t be said about Isaac’s performance in this film. He perfectly captures the asshole personality and really makes you hate him, but then when it’s time to perform a song, he looks deep into your eyes and melts your heart.
 
 June 21, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
 
 Ema Sasic
 Next Best Picture
 The characters are written neatly and Oscar Isaac is a master at his work. Inside Llewyn Davis is a movie about the pains of life, and how for must of us it just doesn’t work out as we thought, yet there’s beauty in it. [Full review in Spanish]
 
 June 16, 2022 | Rating: 8/10
 
 Victor Pineyro
 Seventh Art Studio
 Isaac’s performance is superb as the complex musician.
 
 November 20, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/5
 
 Rosa Parra
 Latinx Lens
 OK. I won’t call the Coens movies souless anymore.
 
 February 24, 2021
 
 Dustin Chang
 Floating World
 A fictional look at the vibrant Greenwich Village folk scene but this isn’t a history, it’s a feel. It gives us an under-the-covers look at struggles and naked ambition it takes to get noticed.
 
 February 1, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
 Richard Crouse
 Richard Crouse
 It’s not until almost halfway through that the odd occurrences and even stranger characters begin to surface.
 
 December 3, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins…

 

Plot
In 1961 New York City, struggling folk singer Llewyn Davis embarks on a journey to make a name for himself in the music world, facing obstacles and relying on the kindness of friends and strangers along the way.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a standout performance from Oscar Isaac as the titular character.
 

 
Joel-Coen.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Greenwich Film Productions, Herald Ace Nippon Herald Films,
 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
Chongqing, China
 
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
 
Year of Release
2013
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
A Touch of Sin, Drama, Chinese, 2h 9m, Wu Jiang, Baoqiang Wang, Tao Zhao, directed by ZhangKe Jia, written by ZhangKe Jia, produced by Shozo Ichiyama, Xiaojiang Gao, Eva Lam, Jianping Qian, box office gross $91.7K, reviewed by Andrew Tracy, Ryan Gilbey, Mark Kermode, Geoffrey Macnab, D’Arcy Doran, Nigel Andrews, Kip Mooney, Dustin Chang, Scott Nye, David Walsh, Nicholas Bell, MPAA rating, outcasts, China, rage, violence, corruption, social analysis, modern existence, recent news events, critique of humanity, systems of economy
 

Cast & Crew

Wu Jiang

Baoqiang Wang

Tao Zhao

Vivien Li

Lanshan Luo

Dahai

Zhou San

Xiao Yu

Xiao Hui

Self

Wu Jiang – Dahai
Baoqiang Wang – Zhou San
Tao Zhao – Xiao Yu
Vivien Li –
Lanshan Luo – Xiao Hui
Jia-yi Zhang – Self
Director – ZhangKe Jia
Producers – Shozo Ichiyama, Xiaojiang Gao, Eva Lam, Jianping Qian
Writer – ZhangKe Jia

 

ZhangKe Jia

ZhangKe Jia

Shozo Ichiyama

Xiaojiang Gao

Eva Lam

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
ZhangKe Jia
 
Writer(s)
ZhangKe Jia
 
Producer(s)
Shozo Ichiyama, Xiaojiang Gao, Eva Lam, Jianping Qian

 

Film Festivals
Cannes, Toronto
 
Awards & Nominations
19 wins & 12 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Andrew Tracy

Ryan Gilbey

Mark Kermode

Geoffrey Macnab

D’Arcy Doran

Sight & Sound

New Statesman

Observer (UK)

Independent (UK)

Little White Lies

A TOUCH OF SIN
 All Critics (89) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (84) | Rotten (5)
 It’s that quality of directness, of purpose — here particularly fierce purpose — that gives Jia’s plays with fiction and nonfiction both their vigour and their political perceptiveness and bite.
 
 May 22, 2014
 
 Andrew Tracy
 Sight & Sound
 TOP CRITIC
 Beyond the spattered blood and broken bones, Jia’s usual levels of compassion and social analysis are maintained.
 
 May 22, 2014
 
 Ryan Gilbey
 New Statesman
 TOP CRITIC
 Teases together four disparate stories of people driven to violence by the purgatorial pain of their modern existence.
 
 May 18, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Mark Kermode
 Observer (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 Jia Zhangke’s brilliantly observed A Touch of Sin paints a bleak and violent picture of a contemporary China in which corruption is endemic.
 
 May 16, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Geoffrey Macnab
 Independent (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 Shocking. Stylish. Historic.
 
 May 15, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
 D’Arcy Doran
 Little White Lies
 TOP CRITIC
 As an eastern western it’s like The Searchers with missing GPS. The spectator wants guidance – but may not want it long enough to stay the journey.
 
 May 15, 2014 | Rating: 2/5
 
 Nigel Andrews
 Financial Times
 TOP CRITIC
 For patient, thoughtful viewers, it’s one of the most rewarding experiences of the year.
 
 August 31, 2021 | Rating: A-
 
 Kip Mooney
 College Movie Review
 The fact that they are based on recent news events adds another layer to this sprawling, ambitious film. In A Touch of Sin, Jia’s version of real life veers dangerously toward glossy fiction.
 
 February 24, 2021
 
 Dustin Chang
 Floating World
 The portrait it paints of modern China, and much of the modern world by extension, is not a pretty one, but where nihilism is often an easy resort for the cynical, Zhangke’s is considered, thoughtful, and inconclusive.
 
 February 23, 2021
 
 Scott Nye
 Battleship Pretension
 With A Touch of Sin, Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke enjoys something of a return to form.
 
 February 12, 2021
 
 David Walsh
 World Socialist Web Site
 Surprisingly sensational considering this is coming from Jia Zhang-ke; A Touch of Sin is one of his best achievements, a memorably effective critique of humanity and the damage inflicted by systems of economy.
 
 November 4, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
 Nicholas Bell
 IONCINEMA.com
 Jia Zhangke’s powerful, violent and brilliant comment on modern China…
 
 September 24, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
 
 Andrew Heskins
 easternKicks.com…

 

Plot
Four independent stories set in modern China about random acts of violence.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Nothing to add here about A Touch of Sin.
 

 
ZhangKe-Jia.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Miramax, Be Gentlemen Limited Partnership, Lawrence Bender Productions,
 
Distributor
A24
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Athens, Georgia, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for alcohol use, language and some sexuality – all involving teens
 
Year of Release
2013
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler, directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Scott Neustadter, Michael H Weber, Comedy, Drama, R rating, box office gross $6.9M, reviewed by Noah Berlatsky, Jason Bailey, Jared Eisenstat, Andrea Gronvall, Rene Rodriguez, Adam Graham, David Walsh, Leigh Paatsch, Richard Propes, Debbie Lynn Elias, coming-of-age, high school, partying, alcohol use, romance, relationships, adolescence, maturity, emotions, love, heartbreak, friendship, family, drama, A24, Michelle Krumm, Andrew Lauren, Shawn Levy, Tom McNulty, produced by
 

Cast & Crew

Miles Teller

Shailene Woodley

Brie Larson

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Sutter Keely

Aimee Finicky

Cassidy

Sara

Holly Keely

Miles Teller – Sutter Keely
Shailene Woodley – Aimee Finicky
Brie Larson – Cassidy
Jennifer Jason Leigh – Sara
Mary Elizabeth Winstead – Holly Keely
Kyle Chandler – Tommy

 

James Ponsoldt

Scott Neustadter

Michelle Krumm

Andrew Lauren

Shawn Levy

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
James Ponsoldt
 
Writer(s)
Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
 
Producer(s)
Michelle Krumm, Andrew Lauren, Shawn Levy, Tom McNulty

 

Film Festivals
Sundance, South by Southwest
 
Awards & Nominations
9 wins & 32 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Noah Berlatsky

Jason Bailey

Jared Eisenstat

Andrea Gronvall

Rene Rodriguez

The Atlantic

Flavorwire

Film Comment Magazine

Chicago Reader

Miami Herald

THE SPECTACULAR NOW
 All Critics (170) | Top Critics (53) | Fresh (155) | Rotten (15)
 The movie wasn’t smart enough to deal with the interesting protagonists it started with, and so it reverted to trope.
 
 August 28, 2019
 
 Noah Berlatsky
 The Atlantic
 TOP CRITIC
 There are scenes, moments, and dialogue in this film that ring so true that it all comes rushing back, a flood of memories and emotions and a little bit of pain.
 
 June 19, 2016
 
 Jason Bailey
 Flavorwire
 TOP CRITIC
 [Ponsoldt] enjoys playing with our expectations by following conventions, luring us into the sense that we know what’s coming, and then swerving just a little off-road for a detour.
 
 November 4, 2013
 
 Jared Eisenstat
 Film Comment Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 [A] nuanced and unsentimental coming-of-age film.
 
 August 23, 2013
 
 Andrea Gronvall
 Chicago Reader
 TOP CRITIC
 This adaptation of Tim Tharp’s novel, directed with delicate restraint by James Ponsoldt, sneaks up on you. It makes you laugh, then it breaks your heart.
 
 August 23, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
 
 Rene Rodriguez
 Miami Herald
 TOP CRITIC
 Teller and Woodley hum together, and the movie does their performances justice.
 
 August 23, 2013 | Rating: B+
 
 Adam Graham
 Detroit News
 TOP CRITIC
 As a result of this diffuseness and its focus on individual moral or emotional choices, The Spectacular Now, probably without wishing to, drifts into a sort of conformism.
 
 February 12, 2021
 
 David Walsh
 World Socialist Web Site
 Viewers who lock into the precise storytelling frequency transmitted here will be rewarded with a connection that will continue to stir the emotions well after it is over.
 
 October 19, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Leigh Paatsch
 Herald Sun (Australia)
 Woodley deserves all the accolades she will most assuredly receive for giving such a disciplined yet vulnerable performance as Aimee.
 
 September 24, 2020 | Rating: 4.0/4.0
 
 Richard Propes
 TheIndependentCritic.com
 The Spectacular Now is a touching, and sometimes funny, coming-of-age drama…one of the most honest and realistic teen films I have ever seen.
 
 July 18, 2020
 
 Damond Fudge
 KCCI (Des Moines, IA)
 A spectacular coming-of-age film that is thoughtful and moving filled with charm, sweetness, truth and honesty, The Spectacular Now is a “Must See”.
 
 November 27, 2019
 
 Debbie Lynn Elias
 Behind The Lens
 We need good films about teenagers, and The Spectacular Now isn’t one of them.
 
 November 19, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/5
 
 David Harris
 Spectrum Culture…

 

Plot
Sutter Keely lives in the now. It’s a good place for him. A high school senior, charming and self-possessed, he’s the life of the party, loves his job at a men’s clothing store, and has no plans for the future. A budding alcoholic, he’s never far from his supersized, whiskey-fortified thirst-master cup. But after being dumped by his girlfriend, Sutter gets drunk and wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finecky hovering over him. She’s different: the “nice girl” who reads science fiction and doesn’t have a boyfriend. While Aimee has dreams of a future, Sutter lives in the impressive delusion of a spectacular now, yet somehow, they’re drawn together.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, who have great chemistry together on screen.
 

 
James-Ponsoldt.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Tremolo Productions,
 
Distributor
Focus Features
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some disturbing violent images, language and sexual material
 
Year of Release
2013
 

 
Genre(s)
Documentary
 
Keyword(s)
We Steal Secrets, Wikileaks, documentary, Alex Gibney, Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Robert Manne, Michael Hayden, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, Heather Brooke, privacy, secrecy, information, intellectual property rights, digital age, conspiracy theories, whistleblowers, sexual material, language, disturbing violent images, R rating, Focus Features, Marc Shmuger, Alexis Bloom, reviewed by Amy Taubin, Tim Robey, Donald Clarke, Charlotte O’Sullivan, Peter Bradshaw, directed by Alex Gibney, written by Alex Gibney, produced by Alex Gibney, MPAA rating, box office, gross USA, limited release, streaming, rent/buy, documentary triumph, provocative, troubling, meaningful issues, critic reviews, audience score, documentary genre
 

Cast & Crew

Julian Assange

Chelsea Manning

Robert Manne

Michael Hayden

Daniel Domscheit-Berg

Julian Assange

Chelsea Manning

Robert Manne

Michael Hayden

Daniel Domscheit-Berg

Julian Assange – Self
Chelsea Manning – Self
Robert Manne – Self
Michael Hayden – Self
Daniel Domscheit-Berg – Self
Heather Brooke – Self
Alex Gibney – Director, Producer, Writer
Marc Shmuger – Producer
Alexis Bloom – Producer

 

Alex Gibney

Alex Gibney

Alex Gibney

Marc Shmuger

Alexis Bloom

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Alex Gibney
 
Writer(s)
Alex Gibney
 
Producer(s)
Alex Gibney, Marc Shmuger, Alexis Bloom

 

Film Festivals
Sundance
 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
3 wins & 10 nominations total
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Amy Taubin

Tim Robey

Donald Clarke

Charlotte O’Sullivan

Peter Bradshaw

Film Comment Magazine

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Irish Times

London Evening Standard

Guardian

WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS
 All Critics (83) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (76) | Rotten (7)
 [A] most compelling documentaries focused directly on the issues of intellectual property rights and definitions of privacy and secrecy in the digital age.
 
 August 28, 2019
 
 Amy Taubin
 Film Comment Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 Words on the screen, their power to free you, and also entrap you – if this isn’t the internet’s deadly blessing, what is?
 
 July 18, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Tim Robey
 Daily Telegraph (UK)
 TOP CRITIC
 Having recently released documentaries on clerical abuse, Mario Cuomo, Park Avenue, Lance Armstrong and, now, WikiLeaks, Gibney seems in danger of becoming an actualité machine.
 
 July 14, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Donald Clarke
 Irish Times
 TOP CRITIC
 We Steal Secrets is much concerned with conspiracy theories and may well wind up fuelling new ones.
 
 July 12, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Charlotte O’Sullivan
 London Evening Standard
 TOP CRITIC
 A thorough and decently intentioned work, though it accepts a little too glibly the more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger line against Assange: that he is a fascinating radical who simply became a paranoid authoritarian.
 
 July 11, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
 
 Peter Bradshaw
 Guardian
 TOP CRITIC
 This is saying something important. Check your Facebook settings.
 
 July 11, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
 
 D’Arcy Doran
 Little White Lies
 TOP CRITIC
 Alex Gibney moves into an elite class of filmmakers with this timely tale of tormented whistleblowers.
 
 June 19, 2020
 
 David Lamble
 Bay Area Reporter
 We Steal Secrets is a surprisingly even-handed look at a controversy with more than its share of fanatics on both sides.
 
 November 21, 2018
 
 Kelly Jane Torrance
 Washington Examiner
 Comprehensive, eloquent and provocative.
 
 August 23, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Joseph Walsh
 CineVue
 The film has access to some fascinating expert witnesses and commentators.
 
 January 3, 2018
 
 Lynden Barber
 Limelight
 We’re left instead with an impression as imperfect as the world Bradley Manning tried-and perhaps ultimately failed-to change.
 
 October 21, 2017
 
 Sarah Marrs
 Cinesnark
 We Steal Secrets: The Story Of WikiLeaks is a great documentary, not perfect by any means, but shocking and informative — and sometimes you can’t ask for too much more than that.
 
 February 6, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Andrew Jones
 HeyUGuys…

 

Plot
A documentary that facts the creation of Julian Assange’s controversial website, which facilitated the largest security breach in U.S. history.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features interviews with Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, and other key players in the Wikileaks scandal.
 

 
Alex-Gibney.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures,
 
Distributor
Roadside Attractions
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Mississippi River, Eudora, Arkansas, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some violence, sexual references, language, thematic elements and smoking
 
Year of Release
2013
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama/Adventure
 
Keyword(s)
starring Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Shannon, Sarah Paulson, directed by Jeff Nichols, written by Jeff Nichols, drama, adventure, PG-13, Lisa Maria Falcone, Sarah Green, Aaron Ryder, produced by, box office, budget, reviewed by, MPAA rating, Southern drama, Mississippi River, fugitive, bounty hunters, love of his life, first crush, protect, coming-of-age, Stand By Me, Huckleberry Finn, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, childhood exploration, gritty performance, naturalism, fabulism, heartwarming, sorrow, fairy tale, market-conscious filmmaking, Southern Gothic production design, teenage adventure, intriguing plot, outstanding child actors, sudden burst of violence, satisfying, touching, complex narrative, very good cast, Sam Shepard, Joe Don Baker, revenge-driven relatives, inconsiderate teenage girls, character-driven plot, moral of the story
 

Cast & Crew

Matthew McConaughey

Tye Sheridan

Jacob Lofland

Reese Witherspoon

Michael Shannon

Mud

Ellis

Neckbone

Juniper

Galen

Matthew McConaughey – Mud
Tye Sheridan – Ellis
Jacob Lofland – Neckbone
Reese Witherspoon – Juniper
Michael Shannon – Galen
Sarah Paulson – Mary Lee
Director – Jeff Nichols
Producers – Lisa Maria Falcone, Sarah Green, Aaron Ryder
Writer – Jeff Nichols

 

Jeff Nichols

Jeff Nichols

Lisa Maria Falcone

Sarah Green

Aaron Ryder

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Jeff Nichols
 
Writer(s)
Jeff Nichols
 
Producer(s)
Lisa Maria Falcone, Sarah Green, Aaron Ryder

 

Film Festivals
Sundance, South by Southwest, Cannes
 
Awards & Nominations
15 wins & 39 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

Chris Stuckmann

Mary Corliss

Michael Phillips

Joe Neumaier

metro.co.uk

ChrisStuckmann.com

TIME Magazine

Chicago Tribune

New York Daily News

MUD
 All Critics (182) | Top Critics (57) | Fresh (176) | Rotten (6)
 Its beguiling mix of naturalism and fabulism will appeal to adults who’d like to see a version of Beasts Of The Southern Wild with fewer fairy lights.
 
 September 5, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
 
 Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
 metro.co.uk
 TOP CRITIC
 The type of film that’s miraculously heartwarming, while also mournful and filled with sorrow.
 
 April 23, 2015 | Rating: A
 
 Chris Stuckmann
 ChrisStuckmann.com
 TOP CRITIC
 Glorious vision of youth and truth, love and loss, your name is Mud.
 
 January 1, 2014
 
 Mary Corliss
 TIME Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 An evocative highlight of the American movie year so far.
 
 January 1, 2014 | Rating: 4/4
 
 Michael Phillips
 Chicago Tribune
 TOP CRITIC
 Sadly, Nichols, who made the superb Take Shelter, gets mired in mood this time around. But there’s still an evocative sense of childhood exploration, and a gritty performance by Matthew McConaughey.
 
 January 1, 2014 | Rating: 2/5
 
 Joe Neumaier
 New York Daily News
 TOP CRITIC
 In its energy and nuance, Mud seems like the kind of film Hollywood would’ve made in the Seventies, and would’ve continued to do if not for the advent of market-conscious filmmaking.
 
 June 14, 2013
 
 Violet Lucca
 Film Comment Magazine
 TOP CRITIC
 The dialogue is notably natural and delivered quite authentically by the entire cast.
 
 December 3, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
 
 Mike Massie
 Gone With The Twins
 Bathed in Southern Gothic production design.
 
 September 17, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
 
 Richard Propes
 TheIndependentCritic.com
 Mud is beautiful, emotional and lyrical. This is a strong coming-of-age story … both simple and dense at the same time, a combination that creates one of this year’s best films.
 
 July 3, 2020
 
 Damond Fudge
 KCCI (Des Moines, IA)
 Mud is the shining star in Jeff Nichols’ triple crown of films.
 
 November 27, 2019
 
 Debbie Lynn Elias
 Behind The Lens
 This ain’t the “magically tingly” kind of fairy tale. It’s the “fundamentally flawed indication of where a culture is at” kind of fairy tale.
 
 August 27, 2019 | Rating: F-
 
 Ryan Syrek
 The Reader (Omaha, NE)
 An engaging coming of age story with Matthew McConaughey continuing his string of good work.
 
 April 10, 2019 | Rating: B
 
 Micheal Compton
 Bowling Green Daily News…

 

Plot
14 year-old Ellis (Tye Sheridan) lives on a makeshift houseboat on the banks of a river in Arkansas with his parents, Mary Lee (Sarah Paulson) and Senior (Ray McKinnon). He sneaks out early one morning to meet his best friend, Neckbone (Jacob Lofland). Neckbone, also 14, lives with his uncle, Galen (Michael Shannon), who makes a hardscrabble living diving for oysters. The two boys set out to an island on the Mississippi River, where Neckbone has discovered an unusual sight-a boat, suspended high in the trees, a remnant of an extreme flood some time in the past. They climb the tree and into the boat only to find fresh bread and fresh footprints. Realizing that they are not the only ones who have discovered the treehouse boat, they decide to leave. When they reach the shore, they find the same footprint in their boat. And that’s when they meet Mud (Matthew McConaughey). Mud is a gritty, superstitious character; his clothes are dirty, his tooth is cracked, and he needs help. He tells the boys he will give them the treehouse boat, his current hideout, in exchange for food. Neckbone is reluctant, but Ellis brings food to Mud, and they develop a tentative friendship. Ellis learns that Mud has killed a man in Texas, and police and bounty hunters are looking for him, but Mud is more concerned about reuniting with his longtime love, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). Ellis, who has recently developed his own crush, agrees to help Mud escape with Juniper. Ellis and Neckbone carry out bold schemes in an effort to protect Mud and relay messages to Juniper, who is holed up in a fleabag motel, under constant surveillance by Carver (Paul Sparks), a Texas bounty hunter. Carver and his gang are intent on capturing Mud, on orders from the cold-blooded King (Joe Don Baker). As the boys risk everything to reunite these seeming mythical lovers, Ellis’s own ideas about love and romance are challenged by the strains in the relationships closest to him: his parents’ marriage is dissolving while he himself falters in his efforts to impress May Pearl (Bonnie Sturdivant). Through it all, Ellis struggles to look for an example of love that he can believe in, learning about the unspoken rules and risks of love and the reality of heartbreak.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels notes that Matthew McConaughey delivers a “gritty performance” in Mud.
 

 
Jeff-Nichols.jpg