CriterionCast » Catherine Stebbins

Catherine Reviews Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb’s This Is Not a Film

Catherine Stebbins — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:00:56 +0000

If you care about cinema, about the right we have to tell stories and why we tell them, and about human rights, you must seek out This Is Not a Film.

Catherine Reviews Lauren Greenfield’s The Queen of Versailles [IFFBoston 2012 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Sun, 06 May 2012 04:56:15 +0000

The Queen of Versailles, Lauren Greenfield's outrageous yet humanistic peek into a billionaire family's struggle with the economic crisis.

Catherine Reviews Stephen Kessler’s Paul Williams Still Alive [IFFBoston 2012 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Sun, 06 May 2012 04:39:31 +0000

A decent documentary about Paul Williams that you should see because it's a documentary about Paul Williams.

Catherine Reviews Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights [IFFBoston 2012 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:37:32 +0000

Andrea Arnold's bracingly original take on a literary classic contains a breathtaking first half and an intolerable second half.

Catherine Reviews Bart Layton’s The Imposter [IFFBoston 2012 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:55:46 +0000

Bart Layton's stranger than fiction true-crime documentary will have you aghast and on the edge of your seat throughout.

Catherine Reviews Marius Holst’s King of Devil’s Island [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:52:36 +0000

The film that broke Norwegian box-office records is a recognizable but wholly engaging work thanks in part to the pair of breakout performances at its icy center.

Catherine Reviews Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s 21 Jump Street [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 04:11:00 +0000

A refreshing surprise to say the least, 21 Jump Street is a mostly uproarious and surprisingly sincere comedy featuring an onscreen duo for the ages with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.

Catherine Reviews Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca [Blu-Ray Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:44:11 +0000

Revisiting Alfred Hitchcock's first American film in glorious Blu-Ray.

Catherine Reviews Julia Murat’s Found Memories [PIFF 2012 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:45:06 +0000

A Brazilian village with only eleven elderly inhabitants are changed by the appearance of a young photographer in Julia Murat's first narrative feature.

Catherine Reviews Corinna Belz’s Gerhard Richter Painting [PIFF 2012 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:07:33 +0000

A startlingly insightful look at painter Gerhard Richter, and the indescribable creative process, in this observational documentary.

Catherine Reviews James Watkins’ The Woman in Black [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:48:15 +0000

The Woman in Black effectively resurrects Gothic atmosphere and tropes but does not offer much else.

Catherine Reviews Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:39:31 +0000

Catherine reviews Steven Soderbergh's latest as Gina Carano receives the Sasha Grey treatment.

Catherine Reviews Lech Majewski’s The Mill and the Cross [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:49:43 +0000

Not many films deal with how humans have always used art to cope and reconcile what we experience and see. The Mill and the Cross uses a recent medium to show how an older medium lends itself to creative expression that gives desperately needed meaning to the inconsolable atrocities that can occur.

Catherine Reviews Michelangelo Frammartino’s Le Quattro Volte [Blu-Ray Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:04:43 +0000

Part minimalist observations, part docudrama; it is a trancelike rumination that shows everything and tells nothing, allowing us to drift in and out of our own ponderous observations. Kino Lorber’s Blu-Ray release amply captures this meditative wonder.

Catherine Reviews Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:38:59 +0000

Is it possible to, knowing a film cannot sum up a historical figure’s life, make enough of an artistic impression [...]

Catherine Reviews Lars von Trier’s Melancholia [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:33:12 +0000

This review does contain spoilers

It may seem contradictory to say that Lars von Trier’s end-of-the world opus is the director as [...]

Catherine Reviews Pedro Almodóvar’s The Skin I Live In [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 18:05:19 +0000

Pedro Almodóvar made a horror film? Oh the possibilities! Well, apparently not. The Skin I Live In feels like any other Almodóvar [...]

Catherine Reviews Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:43:36 +0000

Warning: this review contains spoilers.

Jeff Nichols does not play the ‘is he or isn’t he’ game with his audience; Curtis (Michael [...]

Catherine Reviews George Clooney’s The Ides of March [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:55:23 +0000

It is difficult to pinpoint why The Ides of March never quite had me in its grip. All of the elements are [...]

Catherine Reviews Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:17:37 +0000

Seen through Cinecache’s Free Preview Screening at Brattle Theatre on September 27, 2011

How far will people delude themselves in [...]

Catherine Reviews Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 18:53:55 +0000

It is an all too uncommon feeling when a film ends and you realize you are not yet ready to leave its [...]

Catherine Reviews Asif Kapadia’s Senna [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 05:19:57 +0000

Note: Senna had no subtitles in the theater I viewed it in. A moderate chunk of the film is spoken in Portuguese. [...]

Catherine Reviews Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall’s Winnie the Pooh [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 19:20:49 +0000

Looking at Christopher Robin’s room at the start of Winnie the Pooh, we see that the boy has not been tainted by [...]

Catherine Reviews John Carpenter’s The Ward [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:35:41 +0000

John Carpenter’s best work exudes a kind of subtle magnetism rooted in minimalist atmosphere. Mainly I speak of Halloween and [...]

Catherine Reviews André Øvredal’s The Troll Hunter [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 07:16:23 +0000

Found footage films, almost always taking place within horror, have certainly made themselves a cozy spot in the bevy of subgenres within [...]

Catherine Reviews Kihachi Okamoto’s The Sword of Doom

Catherine Stebbins — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 05:38:28 +0000

We open on a mountaintop. An elderly man (Kamatami Fujiwara) and his granddaughter (Yoko Naito) emerge. He tells her the Buddhist origins [...]

Catherine Reviews Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men First Class [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 07:13:39 +0000

When it was announced that X-Men: First Class was being made, many including me, groaned. After X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men [...]

Catherine Reviews Mitch Glazer’s Passion Play [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Sat, 28 May 2011 19:11:27 +0000

Back in April, Mickey Rourke made a brutally unhinged comment about two of his upcoming films, Passion Play and 13. [...]

Catherine Reviews Giuseppe Capotondi’s The Double Hour [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 18 May 2011 02:52:24 +0000

Plot twists are inherently risky. Over recent years, they have become much more complicated. Certain genres, like horror or thriller, naturally invite [...]

Catherine Reviews James Marsh’s Project Nim [IFFBoston 2011 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Sun, 08 May 2011 05:17:57 +0000

Beginning to write about James Marsh’s documentary Project Nim, it becomes tempting to immediately spring into all-out praise mode. Marsh approaches stories [...]

Catherine Reviews Miranda July’s The Future [IFFBoston 2011 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 04 May 2011 06:04:40 +0000

Miranda July’s brand of storytelling works mainly in spurts. When her methods work, they resonate with an authenticity that rarely comes around [...]

Catherine Reviews Liz Garbus’ Bobby Fischer Against the World [IFFBoston 2011 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 04 May 2011 05:47:31 +0000

Biographical documentaries always present an inherent problem; how does one sum up a person’s life in ninety minutes? Some films take an [...]

Catherine Reviews Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip [IFFBoston 2011 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:22:20 +0000

The Trip boasts an unusual combination of dialogue-heavy comedy, of scenic travelogue complete with a focus on high-end food and finally a [...]

Catherine Reviews Richard Ayoade’s Submarine [IFFBoston 2011 Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Sun, 01 May 2011 00:16:07 +0000

By the end of Submarine, the audience will have spent ninety minutes in the head of Oliver Tate. It is an inventive [...]

Catherine Reviews Joe Wright’s Hanna [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 04:28:53 +0000

Sometimes a film’s failings can be completely trumped by its strengths, so much so that it becomes an absolute triumph in spite [...]

Catherine Reviews Wanda Tuchock and George Nichols Jr’s Finishing School [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:14:02 +0000

Right up until the end of the Production Code era of filmmaking in 1930’s Hollywood, the various studios churned out stories that pushed [...]

Catherine Reviews Duncan Jones’ Source Code [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:20:41 +0000

Did you know that life is precious? Did you know that you should make every minute count? If you didn’t, Source Code [...]

Catherine Reviews Peter Godfrey’s The Two Mrs. Carrolls [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:51:26 +0000

Sometimes ideas are better left unfulfilled. A case in point; taking two of the biggest studio stars of all time, Humphrey Bogart [...]

Catherine Reviews Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:51:00 +0000

The story of Jane Eyre shares several similarities with the phenomenon known as the teen romance, which has taken over [...]

Catherine Reviews Kim Ji-woon’s I Saw the Devil [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:03:25 +0000

Revenge films have been done plenty of times. Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy and Tarantino’s Kill Bill have reestablished the subgenre as the [...]

Catherine Reviews Elia Kazan’s America, America [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 07:05:05 +0000

Elia Kazan’s deeply personal and ambitious epic America, America is based on his uncle’s immigration to America from Turkey at the turn [...]

Catherine Reviews Amy Hardie’s Edge of Dreaming [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:37:32 +0000

How much stock do you put into your dreams? How much do you believe our reality impacts them? Do our [...]

Catherine Reviews Vincente Minnelli’s Two Weeks in Another Town [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 07:14:39 +0000

Two Weeks in Another Town reteams key members from 1952’s The Bad and the Beautiful. These members are director Vincente Minnelli, actor [...]

Catherine Reviews George Cukor’s Two-Faced Woman [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:29:21 +0000

“Garbo Laughs”: one of the most famous movie taglines of all time. In 1939, MGM paired up screen legend Greta Garbo, Melvyn [...]

Catherine Reviews Im Sang-Soo’s The Housemaid [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 06:15:02 +0000

Im Sang-soo’s remake of the essential 1960 Korean classic The Housemaid is one of the more highly anticipated films to come [...]

For Criterion Consideration: Frederick Wiseman’s High School

Catherine Stebbins — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:29:46 +0000

Frederick Wiseman is one of the most important and iconic documentarians in film history. Since the late sixties, he has consistently [...]

Catherine Reviews Stéphane Brizé’s Mademoiselle Chambon [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:40:20 +0000

Mademoiselle Chambon is about navigating through realization. What do you do when you realize you have feelings for someone who is married? What [...]

Catherine Reviews Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan [Theatrical Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 07:00:12 +0000

Depicting a character’s descent into madness is always a juicy subject for filmmakers and screenwriters to tackle. The possibilities are [...]

Catherine Reviews Ben Steinbauer’s Winnebago Man [DVD Review]

Catherine Stebbins — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:00:10 +0000

In 1989, a man named Jack Rebney made an industrial video for Winnebago. A collection of outtakes were shot, copied and [...]

BAM Retrospective Review, Post-Punk Auteur: Olivier Assayas’ Late August, Early September

Catherine Stebbins — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 04:22:20 +0000

Late August, Early September is a somber but insightful drama headlined by one of the best ensemble casts of recent years. [...]

BAM Retrospective Review, Post-Punk Auteur Olivier Assayas’ Les Destinées

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 04:00:53 +0000

Les Destinées, based on the Jacques Chardonne novel, is Oliver Assayas’ take on the period film. Clocking in at three hours, [...]

BAM Retrospective Review, Post-Punk Auteur: Olivier Assayas’ Demonlover

Catherine Stebbins — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 01:15:06 +0000

Demonlover, a mind-bending techno-thriller written and directed by Olivier Assayas, is a mixed ride. It has attained a cult status, polarized viewers, bares [...]