Most films that tackle something somewhat scientific take on scientific advisors to make sure they get things right. It’s often a job reserved for prestigious scientists: Carolyn Porco, for instance, who runs the JPL lab, was the advisor for J.J. Abraams’s first “Star Trek” film. Given the absence of good science in most movies, including that one, I can only assume that filmmakers don’t listen too much to their scientific advisors. On the other hand, we rarely see characters who act and talk like scientists – David Auburn’s “Proof”, about mathematicians, is one of the rare exceptions – in part, I would guess, because most filmmakers don’t start out by getting a STEM degree, like Shane Carruth (“Primer”) did.
Film Reviews
Here you will find every film review we've written. These include: festival films, new releases, and older films.
In Boyhood, a family grows up in real time
Shot over the course of 12 years, Boyhood continues Richard Linklater’s experiments with cinematic time and follows the maturation of a family in real time.
Review of ‘Siddharth’: a young boy goes missing in India
The twelve-year-old title character in “Siddharth” is only on-screen for a couple of seconds at the beginning of the film as his bus pulls away and he waves furiously goodbye to his father, Mahendra (Rajesh Tailang). We barely get a good look at him; much of their dialogue plays out on a black screen before […]
Life Itself: After a life at the movies, Roger Ebert lives on in the movie of his life
I grew up watching “Siskel and Ebert and The Movies.” It was a weekly ritual in my house, helping us decide what to see that weekend. The show struck something deep, and inspired me to start writing film reviews at a very young age: I was in grade 6 and I started my own magazine. It was through their television show that Siskel and Ebert became the world’s most powerful and influential film critics.
Obvious Child is a sweet and funny romantic (abortion) comedy for the 21st century
Gillian Robespierre makes her directorial debut with Obvious Child, a sweet and funny romantic comedy in which the pair of lovers must cope with getting an abortion before they become something more than a one night stand.
An intriguing stranger is bad news in the entirely original Borgman
A hobo and a charmer, Camiel Borgman (a restrained and compelling Jan Bijvoet) may seem sympathetic at the start of writer-director Alex van Warmerdam’s bizarre but compelling Borgman, but then again, Ruth Gordon seemed too lovable to be in the business of buying babies for the devil. Although Borgman can accurately be described as part psychological […]