Glastonbury

The sense of total immersion in England's Glastonbury Festival is breathlessly complete in Julien Temple's everywhere-at-once music documentary.

"...this is captured by Temple's unblinking, seemingly everywhere-at-once eye. AFS@Dobie..."

April 13, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Color Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story

This story about a con man who pretended to be Stanley Kubrick is a playground for star John Malkovich.

"...kicky little movie, if ultimately a little too “ish.” AFS@Dobie..."

March 23, 2007 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Maxed Out

A documentary about our credit-card mess and some of the casualties of debt.

"...Hide the children; the beast is at the door. AFS@Dobie..."

March 16, 2007 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Man Push Cart

A small gem of a film about a small man doing small things in a very, very, very large world.

"...where nothing much of consequence happens, except life itself. AFS@Dobie..."

Jan. 5, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Vajra Sky Over Tibet

In this documentary, the director wears his affection for Buddhist philosophy unashamedly on his sleeve, and as a result his movie nearly drowns in solemnity and noble intentions (not to mention chanting).

"...a truly great documentarian, not merely a sympathetic one. AFS@Dobie..."

Dec. 22, 2006 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

The Bridesmaid

Claude Chabrol's latest film is based on a Ruth Rendell novel and, though not one of his best films, is still a good reminder of the madness that sometimes lurks in plain sight.

"...many cautionary tales about the dangers of daffy dames. AFS@Dobie..."

Dec. 15, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Wrestling With Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner

Documentarian Freida Mock presents her subject as a play in three acts, but the academic and fragmented structure obscures the warmth of this playwright.

"...war and The Brothers Karamazov published in The Nation. AFS@Dobie..."

Nov. 24, 2006 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Army of Shadows

Although made in 1969, this French masterpiece by Jean-Pierre Melville is receiving its first stateside release.

"...film it’s this: Always keep a cyanide pill handy. (AFS@Dobie)..."

Nov. 10, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

13 (Tzameti)

This first feature by Georgian-born French immigrant, Gela Babluani, marks a memorable debut: It's a taut and stylish thriller despite its brutal psychological duress.

"...yet discover whole new horizons to exploit. AFS at Dobie..."

Nov. 3, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

49 Up

This British series is one of the great achievements of the cinema, one that reveals how an observant camera plus the passage of time can capture reality.

"...I sleep better at night knowing it's out there. AFS@Dobie..."

Oct. 6, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Lunacy

Jan Svankmajer's creepy-crawl slowly becomes one of the most mordantly beautiful of the director's films, an asylum-set anti-love story with mobile body parts and splashy theatrics.

"...garish gore as this is perhaps salvageable somehow, someday. (AFS@Dobie)..."

Sept. 15, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Free Zone

Israeli film presents the region's conflict in terms of the world's most annoying, dysfunctional-family road trip, which renders the proceedings almost as exhausting as the real thing.

"...Gitai. Starring: Natalie Portman, Hana Laszlo and Hiam Abbass. AFS@Dobie Free Zone's opening sequence – an unbroken, 10-minute-long shot..."

July 28, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Cavite

This rocketing thriller that pits an unseen Filipino terrorist against an unwitting Filipino-American dupe is one of the purest examples of no-budget, seat-of-the-pants, gloriously DIY filmmaking since The Blair Witch Project.

"...and Neill Dela Llana. Starring: Gamazon and Dominique Gonzalez. AFS@Dobie It's well-nigh impossible to watch or discuss Gamazon and..."

July 14, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu

Mr. Dante Remus Lazarescu of Bucharest descends into a distinct rung of hell when he calls for an ambulance and is subsequently schlepped through Romania's uncaring medical system.

"...Clara Voda, Adrian Titieni, Mihai Bratila and Monica Barladeanu. AFS@Dobie After feeling poorly for hours, Mr. Lazarescu calls for..."

July 7, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Lady Vengeance

The South Korean master of revenge dramas, Park Chan-wook, offers another entertaining puzzle of emotional nuance, riotous color, and bloody hell.

"...Lee Yeong-ae, Choi Min-sik, Go Su-hee and Lee Seung-shin. AFS@Dobie If you're a latecomer to the South Korean filmmaking..."

June 30, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

I Am a Sex Addict

If you leave the theatre with that awkward too-much-information feeling after peering into the director's self-exposed psyche, you will also remember his high-wire act that combines fact and fiction, drama and self-deprecating humor, honesty and self-delusion.

"...Alexandra Guerineaud, Katarina Fabic, Corinna Chan and Greg Watkins. AFS@Dobie You might remember Caveh Zahedi from his segment in..."

June 23, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Clean

With an award-winning performance by Maggie Cheung, Clean is one of the most emotionally honest movies about drug addiction ever made.

"...Béatrice Dalle, James Dennis, Jeanne Balibar and Don McKellar. AFS@Dobie Clean is one of the most emotionally honest movies..."

June 2, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Tibet: A Buddhist Trilogy

More a meditation than a traditional documentary, Tibet: A Buddhist Trilogy beautifully employs direct cinema techniques to transport the viewer into the world of an exiled culture.

"...Directed by: Graham Coleman. AFS@Dobie You don’t have to be a student of Buddhism..."

May 26, 2006 Movie Review by Toddy Burton

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days

This Oscar nominee from Germany chronicles the last desperate hours of Sophie Scholl, a real-life German university student who, in 1943 Munich, ran afoul of the gestapo while distributing anti-Nazi leaflets.

"...Fabian Hinrichs, Johanna Gastdorf, André Hennicke and Florian Stetter. AFS@Dobie There's no moment of release, no instant of sudden..."

May 19, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Syrian Bride

This story about an arranged marriage taking place in a remote outpost of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights will be familiar to anyone ever caught in an avalanche of red tape.

"...Eyad Sheety, Evelyn Kaplun, Julie-Anne Roth and Adnan Tarabshi. AFS@Dobie Matrimonial comedies are a staple of the cinema, bringing,..."

May 12, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Go for Zucker!

As two German families collide, the film explores its characters’ shared history to unravel the challenges of political and personal reunification.

"...Golda Tencer, Steffen Groth, Anja Franke and Sebastian Blomberg. AFS@Dobie “That poor guy,” says one of Jakob Zucker’s nosy..."

March 31, 2006 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Cowboy del Amor

Ivan Thompson, the "Cowboy Cupid" who brokers marriages between American men and Mexican women, is a truly fascinating documentary character that is expertly revealed through rock-solid storytelling.

"...Directed by: Michèle Ohayon. AFS@Dobie Ivan Thompson is a piece of work. For 16..."

March 24, 2006 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Night Watch

Russia's highest box-office grosser (until the release of its sequel) is a stylish sci-fi thriller that's filled with adrenaline-fueled pacing, an abundance of gory effects, a death metal soundtrack, and a convoluted narrative that puts The Matrix to shame.

"...Galina Tunina, Yuri Kutsenko, Aleksei Chadov and Zhanna Friske. AFS@Dobie The most illuminating thing about the Russian sci-fi import..."

March 3, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Les Saignantes

This Cameroonian-French science fiction satire with Godardian influences is as fascinating as it is obscure.

"...Ado, Dorylia Calmel, Louis-Balthazar Amadangoleda and Emile Abossolo M'bo. AFS@Dobie Les Saignantes is a Cameroonian-French science fiction satire with..."

Feb. 24, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Ballets Russes

Majestic movie about once celebrated, now long defunct ballet company that changed the face of modern dance.

"...Directed by: Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine. AFS@Dobie This rousing documentary tells the story of a once-celebrated,..."

Feb. 17, 2006 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Protocols of Zion

Documentary filmmaker Marc Levin investigates the reasons for the recent renaissance of American anti-Semitism; sadly, the end result is scattershot and never really elucidates or poses solutions to the problem.

"...ever really elucidating or posing solutions to the problem. AFS@Dobie...."

Feb. 10, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Before the Fall

Every movie about the Holocaust should be this good, but few are. Heartbreaking and brutal, its tale of two boys training together at an elite school is as intimate and truthful to its characters as it is powerfully topical and politically brave.

"...Schenk, Justus Von Dohnanyi, Devid Striesow and Joachim Bibmeier. AFS@Dobie Every movie about the Holocaust should be this good,..."

Feb. 3, 2006 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

Bubble

Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble is likely to be remembered as the adequate but unspectacular first volley in Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner’s modern experiment in vertical film integration.

"...national arthouse theatre chain Landmark Theatres (which operates the Dobie Theatre in Austin), and the HDNet cable TV channels..."

Jan. 27, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Darwin's Nightmare

This delicately horrific yet artful documentary examines the destruction of Lake Victoria by the omnivorous Nile perch, and the dire consequences this causes the Tanzanian people.

"...developed world, and a long overdue one at that. (AFS@Dobie)..."

Jan. 20, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Triplets of Belleville

Move over Disney and Pixar: Sylvain Chomet’s Oscar-nominated animated feature is the kind of work that could only be authored by a singular individual.

"...studios, and you’ll understand la différence. Screening at the Dobie Theatre only before The Triplets of Belleville is an..."

Feb. 13, 2004 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

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