The Old Woman Down the Road

'Found Memories' is thoughtful and rewarding [ok]

Each morning, Madalena (Sonia Guedes) wakes before dawn to make bread in the dark. A single kerosene lamp lights her kitchen. She then trudges outside, slowly following a set of unused train tracks to Jotuomba, a fictional Brazilian village that seems to exist outside of time.

Portrait of the Artist as Enigma

What’s going on in Bel Borba Aqui? [meh]

When all the movie awards start popping up later this year, perhaps someone will recommend a new category: The film most like Seinfeld, the show that was about nothing. Bel Borba Aqui would certainly be among the nominees.

To the Battlements

How to Survive a Plague chronicles AIDS activism in the ’80s and ’90s [ok]

How one survives a plague (according to How to Survive a Plague) is to go on the offensive, relentlessly, until you get what you want (or really, deserve).

'Liberal Arts' is light and fun [OK]

At 35, Jesse Fisher (writer/director Josh Radnor) is single and bored with his job at a New York university as an admissions counselor.

Wanted: Unknown Singer-Songwriter

'Searching for Sugar Man' is quietly inviting [Yay!]

It sounds like the idea for a bad movie: Talented musician no one cares about disappears. A small group of overseas fans, knowing nothing of his life, endeavors to find him.

A Boy and His [Dead] Dog

'Frankenweenie' works despite weak spots [ok]

The great thing about animals—and this is corny and unoriginal—is their unconditional love. A scratch behind the ear, steady food and trips to the park go a long way for a dog, just as a comfy sofa arm goes a long way for a cat.

You Get a Zero

'Won't Back Down' backed down from decent screenwriting [barf]

Won’t Back Down takes a very serious subject—public education and failing schools—and makes it seem as if changing a school’s curriculum and faculty is pretty easy if—gosh golly!—you want it enough.

Birth, Death, Repeat

Samsara is a thing of captivating beauty [yay!]

Forget what you’ve heard or read about Samsara. Non-narrative, dialogue-free, whatever. It is a completely immersive film experience—fascinating from the moment its first images appear on screen until the credits roll.

Fortunately, this loop ends

Looper's premise its smart, its execution not [meh]

In 2072, it’s impossible to kill a person. Living people can be tracked and, when they’re no longer living, the authorities are alerted. Pity the mafia, which faces the prospect of not killing any

A Nebulous Stew of Whatever

Everything and nothing happens in 'Union Square'

In independent filmmaking there’s a comforting near-truth: Good independent films are more likely to see release than bad independent films. Indie pictures don’t have gargantuan marketing budgets to cover a movie’s mediocrity—or outright badness—with advertising blitzes, marketing campaigns and viral videos.