A first-class tale of political intrigue, The Ides of March offers a glimmer of hope to those people fed-up with the state of American politics, only to dash those hopes upon the jagged rocks of ambition, secrecy and betrayal. The story, based on the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, concerns an idealistic junior campaign manager who gets a crash course in pragmatism when he discovers the man he is [...]

Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive it is a perfectly measured work of cinematic style and artistry. The story of a Hollywood stuntman (Ryan Gosling; Crazy, Stupid, Love) who moonlights as a getaway driver, it glides with perfect pace and rhythm like a shark through midnight waters, masquerading as a mainstream action movie when it is in fact a slow-burning art-house drama – albeit one with an ultra-violent edge. Engrossing from [...]

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s previous film, I Love You Phillip Morris, was one of the funniest and most moving romantic dramedy’s of the past few years, but went tragically underseen because it focused on a gay love story. Their follow up is a similarly heartfelt, but decidedly broader and more mainstream affair entitled Crazy, Stupid, Love. Juggling multiple love stories – not always successfully – is a film that [...]

Nicolas Winding Refn quoted the filming of his latest effort as “the best Hollywood experience I could ever have” at the Cannes post-screening conference. For the Danish man who’s had previous European arthouse success, it seems the ultimate dream’s finally reared its head. And for his first US effort he hasn’t wasted the opportunity, blending a cocktail of noir and action with a pinch of romance to deliver a violent [...]

There is simply too much truth to the heartbreak of Blue Valentine for it to not come from a deeply personal place. If writer/director Derek Cianfrance hasn’t lived this profoundly moving story about a crumbling marriage blow for blow, he most certainly knows someone who has. In fact, we probably all do. That’s what makes Blue Valentine so authentic, so poignant and so haunting.

It’s the sublimely nuanced performances of the [...]