Danish cinema is becoming more and more relevant. After the sublime "A Royal Affair" which came out last year, the Danes are darkening the summer skies with a film of a rare intensity, and one which is doubtlessly proof of their commitment to the medium and their innate talent for it. Yes, the Danes are taking filmmaking seriously and it is a joy to behold.

In this hostage-taking

A film that created news on the festival circuit this year is Ryan Coogler's "Fruitvale Station," due out this Friday. It is based on true events that occurred in the eponymous metro station in Oakland, Calif., namely, a violent tussle that led to an innocent man dying at the hands of the police. The events were captured via mobile phone camera by an eyewitness, the footage of which is shown at the start of the film. "Fruitvale

Memo to bombastic directors who come up with ill-digested “Philosophy for Dummies” concepts on the nature of love and life in hardly watchable films (e.g. Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life”): Don’t. Unfortunately, chances are they won’t listen and will continue to come up with these half-baked offerings to convey a message so obscure we don’t get it. Case in point, “The Congress.” But before talking about that movie, note to self: Never assume that a director who gave us a masterpiece as first film will follow up with something half as good. High expectations set us up for big disappointments. So we’re mad when Florian Von Donnersmarck, author of the superlative “The Lives of Others,” hits us with a dud like "The Tourist"

According to interviews which he gave afterward Werner Herzog was shaken up by it, and it's understandable why. When shooting for "The act of killing", which he co-executive-produced, began, it's likely that he did not know such a major upheaval was about to occur in documentary filmmaking. Just like Joshua Oppenheimer, who lensed this film, did not expect to shoot such a documentary upon returning to Indonesia.

2013 has been the summer of vulgar auteurism (VA), a critical catch phrase blooming around the online film sphere. "White House Down" comes at a perfect time.

VA is a recent critical movement that seeks respect for movies (particularly action movies) that don’t scream “artsy.” Inspired by the French New Wave reconsideration of Howard Hawks and Hollywood B-movies

Pedro Almodovar’s “I’m So Excited” received a largely underwhelming response earlier this year in the director’s native Spain, as well as a few cranky complaints here; IndieWire, for instance, called it his worst film. Notably absent are the standard Almodovar themes of a sexual predator preying on the powerless (“Talk to Her,” “The Skin I Live In”), or murderous sexual jealousy playing itself out in tragic ways (“Live Flesh,” “Bad

I think we can all agree that whoever says blockbuster doesn't necessarily mean subtlety and intelligence. That's a fact. On the other hand, he who speaks "Christopher Nolan" speaks resurection, restoration and myth reinvented. "The Dark Knight" trilogy behind him, Nolan has been re-emerging as producer and screenwriter, on "Man of Steel," which to have added some zest and some pep. And who better than Zach "300"