So often the most powerful card in a brooding character study ends up the one never played. The mystery lying behind the on-screen display of social perversion, which in the case of “Martha Marcy May Marlene” comes as a manipulative cult, can drive intense interest just through sheer curiosity as to what possible force in [...]

Terrence Malick can’t count himself among the most popular directors working today, but he can certainly count himself among the most respected. His work tends to follow suit, and “The Tree of Life” is no exception. This meditation on life, death, God and the origin of the universe can be described as nothing short of [...]

Actor-turned-director Thomas McCarthy came off as a natural in his first two features as a director: 2003’s “The Station Agent” and 2007’s “The Visitor.” That put a fat old earmark on latest effort “Win Win.” All three films demonstrate an understanding of human motivation and how more often than not, things do not turn out [...]

The love story takes many forms in film. Many would argue “Blue Valentine” takes the more “realistic” approach in that it depicts the fracturing of a relationship amidst a sea of flashbacks to more idealistic and happier times. “Blue Valentine” might not have a traditional happy ending, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a depressing [...]

Never has a coming-of-age story been crossed with dystopian historical fiction, or however you might describe the world of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel “Never Let Me Go” and its film of the same title. The contrast in narratives works in an effectively haunting manner here: the youthful idealism of growing up with the exposed underbelly of [...]

A harrowing portrait of a teenager forced to be an adult out in the Ozarks, the epicenter of crystal meth activity, “Winter’s Bone” feels more harsh and real than any other film that brief summary evokes. Debra Granik’s film seems unequivocally true, so while I’m sure Daniel Woodrell’s novel paints an extremely accurate portrait of [...]

The second of a handful of planned city-themed vignette films about love, “New York, I Love You” aims to capture a city, its diverse population and theoretically how its people love. In 10 segments with some small transitional scenes, 10 directors attempt to capture a piece of the Big Apple — but the operative word [...]

Does the independent drama have a formula? “Sunshine Cleaning” is a touching family/relationship drama with a great cast, but there’s also something incredibly familiar about it. For instance, there’s Amy Adams as Rose, a former high school cheerleader now a single mom without a steady paycheck having an affair with a married man (Steve Zahn). [...]

I don’t know why in God’s name anyone would want to watch “Requiem for a Dream” in Blu-ray high definition, but it’s now available in that format for those of you who’d like to see Jared Leto’s infected arm in all its 1080p glory. Below is my review of the cult classic that you only [...]

For yet another indie relationship drama without a straightforward plot and more than one central character, David Gordon Green makes something of a quiet masterpiece out of “Snow Angels,” based on the 1994 book by Stewart O’Nan. Although the film begins with us overhearing two gun shots and then backing up to show us their [...]