Bradley Warren, Author at The Playlist

‘Museum’ Starring Gael Garcia Bernal Is An Endlessly Entertaining Heist Story [Berlin Review]

February 24, 2018 8:59 am

One of the perks of the film festival model is its ability to nurture talented filmmakers. These potential auteurs work their way up from selective short film programs to sidebars, hoping to eventually enter th...

7 Days In Entebbe Rosamund Pike Daniel Bruhl

‘7 Days In Entebbe’ Lights A Fuse, But Never Catches Fire [Berlin Review]

Bradley Warren

February 20, 2018 10:03 am

News, Reviews

An opening slate informs us that the globetrotting thriller “7 Days in Entebbe” takes some creative license with the real-life event it portrays. Every time the location shifts — Athens, Tel Aviv, Entebbe — we’...

‘The Prayer’ Is An Austere Yet Accessible Portrait Of The Transformative Power Of Religion [Berlin Review]

Bradley Warren

February 19, 2018 2:03 pm

News, Reviews

Setting aside Bible Belt-targeted dreck, films on faith tend to fall into one of two categories: the austere or the spectacular, “Dekalog” or “The Ten Commandments.” In the running for the Golden Bear at the Be...

Hong Sang-soo’s ‘Grass’ Is Brief But Dense With Ideas [Berlin Review]

Bradley Warren

February 18, 2018 8:24 am

News, Reviews

2017 was a career apex for busy filmmaker Hong Sang-soo, who released three (!) films on the festival circuit and all to effusive praise. How then does the South Korean director follow up this prolific benchmar...

‘Kings’ Starring Halle Berry & Daniel Craig Is A Disastrous Faceplant [TIFF Review]

Bradley Warren

September 18, 2017 11:19 am

News, Reviews

One sure lesson to be learned from the relatively tepid reception and box office of “Detroit” earlier this summer is that wrangling racial flashpoints on-screen is no easy task. If Kathryn Bigelow faltered some...

‘Mrs. Fang’: Wang Bing Tackles Death In His Latest Documentary [TIFF Review]

Bradley Warren

September 15, 2017 3:32 pm

News, Reviews

Documentarian Wang Bing has earned serious credibility in arthouse circles with his intimate, perceptive portraits of contemporary Chinese life. The filmmaker is probably best known for 2003’s “Tie Xi Qiu: West...

Alain Gomis’ ‘Felicite’ Continues The Case For Contemporary African Cinema [TIFF Review]

Bradley Warren

September 15, 2017 2:13 pm

News, Reviews

The newly reopened Quad Cinema’s upcoming retrospective "The Whole World Sings: International Musicals" aims to challenge established notion about that genre is exclusively an extension of the classical Hollywo...

Peter Schønau Fog’s ‘You Disappear’ Melds Bergman With Scandi-Noir [TIFF Review]

Bradley Warren

September 11, 2017 1:50 pm

Festivals, Reviews

Traditionally, the mention of Scandinavian cinema brought to mind the monolithic body of work of Ingmar Bergman, or perhaps a few other big names. Nowadays, the region’s output is best known for its so-called N...

Valeska Grisebach’s ‘Western’ Is A German Riff On The Cowboy Movie [TIFF Review]

Bradley Warren

September 8, 2017 5:45 pm

News, Reviews

Perhaps the most salient and unsung thread in last year’s arthouse comedy epic “Toni Erdmann” examined the shifting economic frontiers in Europe. This becomes the point of departure for “Western”—the third feat...

‘In This Corner Of The World’ Both Tearjerking & Troubling [Review]

Bradley Warren

August 11, 2017 4:14 pm

News, Reviews

When a new animated film draws comparisons to the heartbreaking anime classic “Grave of the Fireflies,” you’d be forgiven for going to the cinema with high expectations and a box of Kleenex. And while Sunao Kat...

Restored ‘Suspiria’ Is A Can’t Miss Event & Brand New Experience For Fans [Fantasia Review]

Bradley Warren

August 7, 2017 10:11 am

News, Reviews

Looking at Dario Argento’s efforts of the past ten years — “The Mother of Tears,” “Giallo” and “Dracula 3D,” each more execrable than the last — one might be led to believe the Italian maestro is doing his utmo...

Animated ‘Have A Nice Day’ Is A Cynical, Coens-Esque Crime Saga [Fantasia Review]

Bradley Warren

August 3, 2017 4:27 pm

News, Reviews

When Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival was inaugurated in 1996, it was known affectionately as FantAsia, dedicating itself to bringing exposure to the cinemas of China, Japan, South Korea and other countries in...

‘Tom Of Finland’ Is A Passable, LGBT Prestige Biopic [Fantasia Review]

Bradley Warren

July 19, 2017 5:02 pm

News, Reviews

It’s already been a stellar year for queer cinema with “Call Me By Your Name” and “God’s Own Country” making big waves at Sundance and “120 BPM” earning raves at Cannes. Less visible — but taking on no less imp...

‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’ Is Candy-Colored Catnip For Takashi Miike Fans [Review]

Bradley Warren

July 15, 2017 7:59 am

News, Reviews

Simply put, it’s not an edition of the Fantasia Film Festival without a Takashi Miike flick (or two, or three). One of the sprawling Canadian genre fest's claims to fame is introducing the director to North Ame...

‘Common Carrier’ Is A Demanding Experimental Pleasure [BAMcinemaFest Review]

Bradley Warren

June 24, 2017 9:04 am

News, Reviews

A cursory glance at the BAMcinemaFest program might give the false impression that the festival serves merely as a launching pad for under-appreciated Sundance and SXSW films. To assume so would do a disservice...

Author Bradley Warren