Authors: Ali Shimkus
Sundance Film Review: Lords of Chaos
Admittedly, what I know about the Norwegian Black Metal scene I owe to Last Podcast on the Left—I basically knew what to expect from the plot of Sundance film Lords of Chaos. However, there was no way to prepare for the brutal way the story is presented through the eyes of Euronymous (Rory Culkin). … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Queen of Fear
Alone in her mansion, famous Argentine theater actress Robertina (Valeria Bertuccelli) grows increasingly anxious in the days leading up to her much anticipated, one-woman show in The Queen of Fear. … read more
Sundance Film Festival: Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind
“Come inside my mind,” says Robin Williams, in his own distinctive voice as the film opens with a scene from a different time—an interview where Williams uses an impromptu performance as the answer to a question about whether he can think faster than most people. … read more
Sundance Film Festival: Our New President
Before the screening, director Maxim Pozdorovkin jokingly warned that his film, Our New President, had so much archival Russian propaganda footage that it was probably not safe for human consumption in one sitting, saying, “You’re not going to feel good at the end of this.” … read more
Sundance Film Review: Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Director RaMell Ross described the loosely developed plot of Hale County This Morning, This Evening, as an “anti-narrative.” The film is a series of beautiful scenes of Hale County, Alabama, and seems to be a love letter to the people there, specifically the black community. … read more
Sundance Film Review: Kailash
Kailash is a World Documentary selection that covers many horrors of child labor and the fight against it. Kailash Satyarthi is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work of fighting against child labor around the world. … read more
Sundance Film Review: The Death of Stalin
It’s difficult to imagine humor in the midst of bleak, Soviet-era Russia during and directly after Stalin’s demise, but writer/ director Armando Iannucci seems to have found the way to effectively normalize and satirize the horrific events in Sundance film The Death of Stalin. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Mexman
Germán Alonso’s main project is Mexman, an idea Alonso first worked on for his senior thesis at USC. It’s a crazy story—one about a Mexican immigrant who comes to America for a better future, who then dies unexpectedly and is subsequently turned into a “cyborg slave.” … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Lovers
With the gorgeous backdrop of Copenhagen, Denmark, Lovers explores the inner workings of three people at different stages of their respective love lives, in an almost episodic sequence. … read more
Slamdance Film Review: Fake Tattoos
Opening with a confusion of racing cars and yelling to a black background, the first actual scene of Le Faux Tatouages is of brooding, angry teen Théo (Anthony Therrien) wearing a Dead Kennedys T-shirt, being carded at a convenience store while buying his first pack of beer on his 18th birthday (the scene is set in Montreal). … read more