While watching "Unbroken," the World War II survival film directed by star-of-the-moment Angelina Jolie, one question stood out among the rest: How can such an extravagant, provocative personality turn in such a normal, even traditional film? Here is a woman who built her career on shock value. Where are the shocking moments in "Unbroken"? This isn't entirely a bad thing, as the classical, stately approach creates a

A member of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) who has attended the Cannes and Berlin Festivals Selin Sevinç Bertero is a California-based screenwriting expert, what's known in the industry as a "script doctor." This article was taken from her blog "The Magic of Story.") To all screenwriters out there who’ve studied screenwriters handbooks, manuals and guidebooks I don't think I am alone in

“Citizenfour” is in many ways a hard film to swallow. Not only is its subject matter, the unlawful surveillance of the American public by the NSA (National Security Agency), one that courts controversy and debate but the way filmmaker Laura Poitras tackles this subject, head-on and at times drily, might be off-putting for some audience members looking for a more rounded discourse. And yet despite its occasional

"Two days, one night" centers on Sandra (Marion Cotillard), who has just returned to work after recovering from an illness. Upon realizing that the company can run with one less employee, management tells Sandra she is to be let go while the remaining employees will each receive a bonus. Talk about a quandary! In this tenderly-observed and suspenseful drama the action is essential. Over the course of