“Let the Fire Burn” – an incendiary indictment [MOVIE REVIEW] First time director Jason Osder has created a film that is an accurate capsule of one extraordinary human rights violation Neely Swanson October 16, 2013
“The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete” is an amazing journey [MOVIE REVIEW] “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete” is nothing short of a transformative journey into young adulthood with pitfalls none Neely Swanson October 9, 2013
“CBGB” could be great but…[MOVIE REVIEW] “CBGB” is punk, but maybe not in the way that director Randall Miller intended. Written by Miller and Jody Savin, Neely Swanson October 9, 2013
“A Single Shot” – that’s all it took [MOVIE REVIEW] It’s not an uncommon scenario, that pebble that triggers a landslide, but it is uncommon to see it directed as Neely Swanson September 22, 2013
“The World’s End” is delivered the Wright way [MOVIE REVIEW] “The World’s End” is the latest brilliant riff on life, adulthood and the coming apocalypse (maybe) from the inventive Neely Swanson August 20, 2013
“We the Parents” are looking for a more perfect union [MOVIE REVIEW] “We the Parents,” a new documentary from writer/director/producer James Takata and writer/producer Jennifer Welsh Takata is a sincere effort to Neely Swanson August 16, 2013
“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” could have been better served [MOVIE REVIEW] First of all, let’s dispense with the awkward full title, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” forced on the filmmakers by a Neely Swanson August 14, 2013
“Blood”: a superb examination what binds and destroys us [MOVIE REVIEW] “Blood” foretells a theme within its title, for blood is both what binds and destroys. The story of “Blood,” a Neely Swanson August 8, 2013
Blancanieves: a flawed, silent, and at times beautiful take on Snow White [MOVIE REVIEW] Blancanieves opened at the Laemle Royal this weekend. [/caption]“Blancanieves,” the new fairy tale-based film written and directed by Pablo Berger Neely Swanson March 30, 2013
Lincoln: Spielberg’s clear-eyed masterpiece was worth the wait [MOVIE REVIEW] “Lincoln,” Steven Spielberg’s magnificent film eleven years in gestation, is worth the wait. The rights to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Neely Swanson November 14, 2012
Tribeca Film Festival: Be careful what you wish for Covering the Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) in New York brought to mind two quotes, one famous, one not so much. Neely Swanson July 13, 2012
“Farewell My Queen” bids adieu to a kingdom [MOVIE REVIEW] “Farewell My Queen” takes place literally on the morning the French Revolution begins, July 14, 1789. Life is bustling at Neely Swanson July 11, 2012
“The Amazing Spiderman” is astonishing! [MOVIE REVIEW] “The Amazing Spiderman,” the rebooted franchise action film is so much more than the sum of its very adept and Neely Swanson July 3, 2012
“Unforgivable” isn’t entirely [MOVIE REVIEW] “Unforgiveable,” the new film by the usually excellent André Téchiné, is a somewhat rambling discourse on relationships; lovingly, if curiously, Neely Swanson June 28, 2012
“People Like Us” – aren’t really like us [MOVIE REVIEW] Sam, the very picture of a handsome, charming conman, exists in the New York fringe business world of barter, essentially Neely Swanson June 28, 2012
“To Rome with Love” – it’s more like than love [MOVIE REVIEW] In an homage to Italian comedies of the 50s and 60s by Nanni Loy, Vittorio de Sica and Federico Fellini Neely Swanson June 25, 2012