Category Archives: Reviews

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘In the Shadows’

Posted on February 17, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Thomas Arsian’s “In the Shadows” aims to be a character study of a certain kind of man who will do anything to achieve independence including armed robbery and murder, but the result is ponderous and … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘In the Shadows’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘A Somewhat Gentle Man’

Posted on February 16, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – An oddball comedy with criminal undertones, Hans Petter Moland’s “A Somewhat Gentle Man” follows a mild-mannered convict as he gets out of jail seeking mostly a quiet life but possibly also vengeance against the man … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘A Somewhat Gentle Man’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Doris Dorrie’s ‘Hairdresser’

Posted on February 16, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – The difficulty with Doris Dorrie’s jolly and colorful romp “The Hairdresser” is that when the fat lady sings it still ain’t over. She doesn’t so much sing, really, as chirp, but she keeps on chirping … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Doris Dorrie’s ‘Hairdresser’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘For the Good of Others’

Posted on February 16, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Modern medicine and old-fashioned superstition clash in Oskar Santos’ well-constructed medical drama “For the Good of Others” about a doctor who discovers that he holds the power to heal in his hands. But only those … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘For the Good of Others’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Feo Aladag’s ‘When We Leave’

Posted on February 15, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – A battered wife leaves her husband and takes her son back home but their reception is not at all what she expected in Feo Aladag’s “When We Leave”, a well-crafted examination of the blindness of … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Feo Aladag’s ‘When We Leave’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Jo Baier’s ‘Henry of Navarre’

Posted on February 14, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – Epic in scale but still betraying its producers’ willingness to cut it into two parts for television sales, Jo Baier’s “Henry of Navarre” should do well in most international markets looking for something in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Jo Baier’s ‘Henry of Navarre’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘Counting of the Damages’

Posted on February 13, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – It’s never a good sign at a festival press screening when the person to your right gets up and leaves after 15 minutes and the one to your left falls asleep, but they were both … Continue reading →

Posted in Berlin International Film Festival, Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘Counting of the Damages’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘Arias With a Twist: The Docufantasy’

Posted on February 12, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – There are many who will take to the flamboyant New York performance artist Joey Arias immediately although some will find he has to grow on you. But he does grow on you in Bobby Sheehan’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Music, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: ‘Arias With a Twist: The Docufantasy’

BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Semih Kaplanoglu’s ‘Honey’ (Bal)

Posted on February 11, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett BERLIN – The third film in Turkish filmmaker Semih Kaplanoglu’s trilogy about a young poet named Yusuf, “Honey” (Bal), sees him as a 6-year-old learning the harsh realities of nature as his beekeeper father disappears in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on BERLIN FILM REVIEW: Semih Kaplanoglu’s ‘Honey’ (Bal)

FILM REVIEW: Andy Serkis in ‘Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll’

Posted on January 8, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Rowdy and a bit ragged but wholly entertaining, Mat Whitecross’s “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” is a biopic of British punk rocker Ian Dury with a sensational lead performance by Andy Serkis, best … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Music, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on FILM REVIEW: Andy Serkis in ‘Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll’