SXSW Review: Stuck on "Desert Road"

By Abe Friedtanzer

Driving on a long road trip alone across the country brings with it its share of risks, especially for a woman. Encountering a few sketchy characters and breaking down somewhere far from help are well within the realm of possibility. But getting trapped somewhere and finding it impossible to leave is considerably less likely, even if it does make for a solid movie premise. That’s the situation in which one woman (Kristine Froseth) finds herself as she tries to head to a home that it seems increasingly like she’s never going to see again…

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SXSW Review: "We Were Dangerous"

By Abe Friedtanzer

It’s chilling to contemplate how many people have been classified as 'other' or 'undesirable' throughout history. As a result many have been subjected to horrific and dehumanizing treatment. Conditions perceived as abnormal and deplorable have often been used to justify incarceration or forced rehabilitation. We Were Dangerous looks at a group of girls deemed incorrigible and forced to work towards becoming socially acceptable women, and a few who refused to let their personalities be erased by a repressive and backward-thinking society…

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Review: "Dune: Part Two" is more History than Story

by Cláudio Alves

Denis Villeneuve's second Dune movie isn't a sequel, not quite. As the full title implies, it's part two of one madman's attempt at transcribing Frank Herbert's seminal space opera on the big screen. And so, it starts almost at the exact point the 2021 film ended, with Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atreides seeking refuge among the Fremen after his Great House was dilacerated in a violent coup. The body of Jamis, the man Paul killed in ritual duel, is still fresh and carried by Stilgar's tribesmen as they guide the princeling and his mother, Lady Jessica, to the underground warren of Sietch Tabr. A prophecy is at stake, and enemy troops aren't nearly as deadly as the dangers waiting for them in the planet-sized desert.

Dread is everywhere, overwhelming, sticking in the throat until it feels like you're already being suffocated by the film before its epic imagery can get a chance to crush you. Villeneuve has done it again…

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Review: "About Dry Grasses" has a Novelistic Scope

by Nick Taylor

Are you, like the rest of us here at The Film Experience, furiously racing to catch up with some of last year’s most celebrated films before March 10th? Depending on where you live, there’s another certified banger making its way across the US and Canada this weekend. Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s About Dry Grasses likely made its biggest headlines out of Cannes for Merve Dizdar’s semi-surprising Best Actress prize against more internationally recognizable competition like the May December gals and newly Oscar-nominated Sandra Hüller. If you can believe it, Dizdar’s win is wholly deserving, and the film itself is remarkable…

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Review: "The Taste of Things" is a Delicious Indulgence

by Eurocheese

The advice I received going into a screening of Anh Hung Tran’s The Taste of Things was don’t go in hungry. With its wide release coming up on Valentine’s Day, I have to assume it will send couples scrambling to their late-night dinner reservations, prepared to order the entire menu. I heard audible groans of longing from the audience as we watched images of what can best be described as food porn – glowing sequences of fresh ingredients simmering in their juices, guided by chefs obsessed with their craft. If only we could jump through the screen and experience those meals with all of our senses. This is the immersive experience Chocolat wished it could have achieved...

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