The Dissolve: Reviews

Do I Sound Gay?

Noel Murray — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Mixing the personal with the cultural and historical, David Thorpe’s documentary investigates the changing sound of his own voice and the way gay men present themselves.

Meet Me In Montenegro

Craig J. Clark — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Alex Holdridge and Linnea Saasen turn their personal experience into fodder for this slight but charming indie about a frustrated American filmmaker and a Norwegian dancer he loved and lost.

The Suicide Theory

Charles Bramesco — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Despite repeated attempts to off himself, an Aussie theorizes that he cannot commit suicide successfully until he feels genuine and complete happiness. Given that catch-22 of a premise, this twisty drama is full of ironies.

Robot Jox
Thrashin’

Noel Murray — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Nostalgia for the earnestness and moral clarity of ’80s genre movies accounts for the Blu-ray release of two mild exploitation movies, one a proto-Transformers about robots and the other featuring a skateboarding Josh Brolin.

Dog Soldiers

Craig J. Clark — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Before his horror breakthrough The Descent, Neil Marshall made a terrific debut with this movie-crazy werewolf thriller, about military exercises gone terribly wrong in the Scottish wilderness.

Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders

Judy Berman — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Jaromil Jires’ 1970 Czech New Wave classic delves into the subconscious of a 13-year-old girl, which takes her through a fantasy realm, but reflects the adolescent experience as well as any coming-of-age film ever made.

Zarafa

Tasha Robinson — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

This French-Belgian animated co-production takes its designs from Disney, its setting from Michel Ocelot, and its story from history. But in spite of the complications, it’s a fairly simple film.

In Stereo

Mike D'Angelo — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Mel Rodriguez III’s ostensible romantic comedy concerns the on-again/off-again relationship between two intensely unlikeable people, but doesn’t seem to recognize what disagreeable company they make.

Jimmy’s Hall

Vadim Rizov — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Socialist director Ken Loach mixes Irish politics with dance-hall giddiness in what may be his final film, a period piece about James Gralton, the only Irishman ever to be deported from his country.

Stray Dog

Tasha Robinson — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

While shooting Winter’s Bone, director Debra Granik met Ron “Stray Dog” Hall and began shooting a portrait of his life. Her doc about him is at least five films in one.

Jackie & Ryan

Mike D'Angelo — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Ami Canaan Mann’s third feature offers a refreshingly mature, tender romance between two musicians over the course of a few days in Ogden, Utah. But she retreats to convention when it matters.

Cartel Land

Scott Tobias — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

A thrilling documentary explores the borderland where those on both sides of the drug war end up with dirty hands.

Amy

Keith Phipps — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Senna director Asif Kapadia unpacks the mysteries of Amy Winehouse’s tragic life with a heartbreaking documentary that exposes the toxic influences around her, and the mysteries at the core of her music.

Terminator Genisys

Keith Phipps — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 11:54:52 -0500

The fifth entry in the increasingly convoluted Terminator series gets some mileage out of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s turn as an aging T-800, but the franchise has exhausted its creative energy.

Magic Mike XXL

Scott Tobias — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

A sequel to Steven Soderbergh’s hit film about male strippers entertainers delivers the goods on a bigger, looser, just-as-entertaining scale.

A Poem Is A Naked Person

Noel Murray — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Long considered the great lost Les Blank documentary, this digressive portrait of rootsy rock star Leon Russell, now restored and released after four decades, finds poetic ways around its surly subject.

Mala Mala

Jen Chaney — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini’s ambitious documentary surveys nine people in Puerto Rico at unique points on the spectrum of transgender and transexual experience.

Malice

Scott Tobias — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

A beyond-twisty thriller co-written by Aaron Sorkin and Scott Frank looks even better now than it did in 1993.

Five Easy Pieces

Noel Murray — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Bob Rafelson’s New Hollywood classic is remembered for its famous diner scene, but there’s much more to cherish about this character study, which explores the surprising roots of Jack Nicholson’s blue-collar oilman.

That Man From Rio
Up To His Ears

Craig J. Clark — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

While the French New Wave gets all the attention from cinephiles, the popular films of the day get left out of the conversation. A new double feature of escapist Jean-Paul Belmondo vehicles offer a glimpse.

Max

Scott Tobias — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 11:59:00 -0500

An ex-military dog helps a kid come of age in a family drama that hits familiar notes.

Batkid Begins

Tasha Robinson — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

This documentary tracking a viral-phenomenon Make-A-Wish Foundation project is the feel-good documentary of the year, but there are niggling doubts under all those good feelings.

The Princess Of France

Mike D'Angelo — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Argentinian director Matías Piñeiro (Viola) continues his weightless riffs on Shakespeare with this wispy tale of a lothario gathering a cast for a radio version of Love’s Labour’s Lost.

Felt

Scott Tobias — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

A provocative film goes to extremes—conceptual and otherwise—as it examines rape and revenge.

Ted 2

Genevieve Koski — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 00:00:00 -0500

Seth MacFarlane’s signature mix of thoughtless provocation, lazy gag-writing, and sitcom technique combine for a hugely disappointing sequel to his surprise 2012 comedy hit.