Tag: Peier Shen

THE HANDMAIDEN

Ever since Oldboy (2003), Park Chan-wook has been one of the most exciting filmmakers out there. And with the recent release of The Handmaiden, adapted from Sarah Waters’s Fingersmith, he has proved yet again he is able to reinvent the thriller genre. Set in Japanese-occupied Korea in the 1930s, The Handmaiden revolves around a bright-eyed… Continue reading THE HANDMAIDEN

FINDING ALTAMIRA

The discovery of Altamira, a site in Spain in which prehistoric cave paintings are preserved, was a sensation in 1880, disrupting both the scientific and religious communities. However, whether its political connotations are still relevant today are up for debate. At least, in Hugh Hudson’s Finding Altamira (written by Olivia Hetreed and José Luis López-Linares), you… Continue reading FINDING ALTAMIRA

WHITE GIRL

It’s every parent’s nightmare. Yes. Your baby daughter who goes to college in New York is indeed doing drugs and being sexually harassed at her artsy internship this summer. And yes. Your hard-earned 200 bucks are not enough to cover all the weed and cocaine, or to bail her drug-dealing boyfriend out of jail. If… Continue reading WHITE GIRL

FATIMA

Fatima is a perfect little film. French director Philippe Faucon and an entourage of script consultants (Yasmina Nini-Faucon, Mustapha Kharmoudi, and Aziza Boudjellal) take their time to chisel Fatima bit by bit from a debris of mundanity till she emerges, exuberant with life and full of heart. In fact, it is impossible to finish the… Continue reading FATIMA

THE LOST ARCADE

Kurt Vincent’s The Lost Arcade (written by Irene Chin) is a nostalgic documentary on a fading industry that some claim as home but most won’t know. The film has its ups and downs with its best almost carrying the weight of the less glamorous part of New York. It, however, is a bore. Aimless and… Continue reading THE LOST ARCADE

OLYMPIC PRIDE, AMERICAN PREJUDICE

Filled with spine-chilling and horrifying footage of events leading up to and during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Olympic Pride, American Prejudice follows the 18 African-American athletes who competed in one of the most controversial Olympic Games in history. This documentary goes so far as to courageously confront the Jesse Owens bias in American media while shining light… Continue reading OLYMPIC PRIDE, AMERICAN PREJUDICE

RICHARD LINKLATER DID

Full Title = Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny Richard Linklater: Dream Is Destiny, a bio-doc created by Louis Black and Karen Bernstein, is an infomercial on the legendary director’s long lasting career. If you are a fan of the widely adored maverick filmmaker, good! You will get to see a lot of his works. And… Continue reading RICHARD LINKLATER DID

MISS SHARON JONES!

Meant for a bedazzling golden sequin dress, Sharon Jones owns the stage as she stomps, and twirls, and sings with mighty strength after a nasty battle with cancer. If you don’t know this American soul and funk diva already, it’s not easy to forget her this time in Academy Award winning director, Barbara Kopple’s new… Continue reading MISS SHARON JONES!

DON’T BLINK – ROBERT FRANK

If you are looking for something that transcends the life of an artist, something that reveals the vulnerabilities of the quintessential photographer/filmmaker, Laura Israel’s Don’t Blink – Robert Frank is not that film. However, if those are what you seek, Robert Frank is not the guy to look into either. Resembling some of Mr. Frank’s… Continue reading DON’T BLINK – ROBERT FRANK

GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)

Why is Ghostbusters 2016 so important? Thoughts from Peier Tracy Shen  There are of course more important reasons to watch GB16. And that’s kind of the elephant in the room, especially with the recent news about Leslie Jones, who was subjected to twitter abuses. The Internet trolling (rampant, in fact, ever since the movie was announced) only reflects… Continue reading GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)

OUR KIND OF TRAITOR

Susanna Whites’s Our Kind of Traitor, an adaptation of John le Carré’s novel, is a sexy espionage thriller. It’s not quite Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but then again, what is? There are not many heart throbbing intrigues. There are, however, many truthful and wholehearted characters. Armed with spine-tingling performances by actors such as Ewan McGregor… Continue reading OUR KIND OF TRAITOR

THE NEON DEMON

The dog-eat-dog industry of modeling got literal in Nicolas Refn’s The Neon Demon (co-written by Mary Laws and Polly Stenham). The cannibalism, the murder, the rape, and that really intense scene where this woman masturbates on a corpse, though not sufficient to prove that the film is indeed a thriller, does confirm the age-old rumor… Continue reading THE NEON DEMON

PARCHED (2015)

Filled with stunning visuals and full of heart, Parched is a force to be reckoned with. India-based director/writer Leena Yadav tells an inspiring tale that celebrates female independence: three women in rural India rebel against oppressive patriarchal rule. The film reminds a stolidly complacent audience that the nightmare is not over, and that in many places in… Continue reading PARCHED (2015)

DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID (2015)

Director Benoît Jacquot’s Diary of a Chambermaid (with a screenplay co-written by Hélène Zimmer) is a wonder. Its stupendous taste in colors and costume designs, its impish heroine, Célestine (delivered by the enthralling Léa Seydoux), and its hidden lust for violence against the patriarchy and the higher class strike the audience with precision and vigor. (PS:… Continue reading DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID (2015)

LEN & COMPANY

Len and Company is Tim Godsall’s film (co-written with Katharine Knight) about a famed music producer and his somewhat disastrous relationships with his timid son, his troubled protégé, and an unlikely teenage friend. It’s not quite a story but it’s fun. The wry dialogue is entertaining, even though the emotional developments of most of these characters are awkward… Continue reading LEN & COMPANY

THE PRESIDENT (2014)

The President tells two familiar tales. On the one hand, it assumes the Hollywood gusto of a war epic: an aging, resourceful man and his doting grandson try to survive the revolution. On the other hand, The President has the attention span of a scatterbrained road-trip movie that picks up narrative threads as carelessly as… Continue reading THE PRESIDENT (2014)

CHEVALIER

In 2000, Claire Denis made Beau Travail, a heart-rendingly beautiful film on men and their impossible quest for male perfection. The unpredictable landscapes of Djibouti and the harsh regiments of the French Foreign Legion put masculinity to test: boys have to become men and men sweat, hit, compete, and kill. In Chevalier, director Athina Rachel… Continue reading CHEVALIER

THE ADDERALL DIARIES

Written and directed by Pamela Romanowsky, The Adderall Diaries is based on Stephen Elliott’s memoir that shares the same name. Writer Stephen Elliot, played by James Franco, has to go through an unconvincing journey from drug addiction and self-affliction to confront his guilt-ridden past and to forgive his abusive father. (PS: 1.5/5) Review by FF2… Continue reading THE ADDERALL DIARIES

BADDDDD SONIA SANCHEZ

Official Title = BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez Seen on March 25th at the 9th annual International SWAN Day sponsored by NYWIFT & partners at Manhattan’s SVA Theater 🙂 ******************** Directed by Sabrina Gordon, Janet Goldwater, and Barbara Attie, BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez focuses on the life and work of the 81-year-old African-American poet. Sonia Sanchez, regarded as… Continue reading BADDDDD SONIA SANCHEZ