Reviews

I highly recommend the film AGORA by Alejandro Amenábar (who also directed the Others) now out on DVD.

It's not a perfect film (the acting and dialogue is a bit clunky at times) but it is a very courageous view of the battle between rational science and "free thinkers" versus religious doctrine. And even if it takes place 1600 years ago, the frightening conflicts are still here today and the questions the film raises are, unfortunately, still very relevant.

The sets, photography, costumes etc are great, the use of shots of the earth from space give the film a slight "Kubrick" feel (not because of a parallel with 2001) but because down below, humans in their folly, are murdering each other over "my God is better than your God" fairy tales, meanwhile the universe, that we are slowly starting to understand through SCIENCE, remains there with many secrets waiting to be discovered.

The film is unbelievably sad in it's depiction of mobs of religious extremists destroying accumulated knowledge, a fact that has happen many times throughout history, delaying our progress in so many ways.

This is a truly a horror film for those whose value science, rationality, free thinking and feminism.

Unfortunately, this film got only a very limited theatrical release in North America.

I give it plenty of kudos and 8.5/10

Caught this gem of a short at the Montreal SPASM festival during their Halloween horror night, and even if the crowd is usually drunk and looking for gore and laughs, everyone was stunned to respectful silence.

DANSE MACABRE is an exquisitely shot film, with breathtaking compositions.

This short, because of it's delicate and disturbing subject matter, is not for all tastes, but no one could argue that the director has an extraordinary mastery of the cinematic language and is a HUGE talent to look out for.

Death has never been so beautiful, I hope the director dives into a feature very soon.

Highly recommended. 10/10

A hilarious short that is not to be missed, with many laugh out loud gags.

Following his other excellent short CRITICIZED, The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon, takes it's one main gag and finds ingenious ways to keep the laughs coming...

It is also very well shot, and shows that a lot can be achieved with just sheer imagination and hard work instead of money (the film was made for under $1000, which is amazing!)

I hope to be seeing Richard Gale's twisted sense of humor in a feature very soon.

Don't have much time to write, but let me just say that the fact that this movie was hardly released in theatres is a crime..

It is a masterpiece, plain and simple.

Those who say that Tarsem is just an "image" guy, do not see the real magic at work in the reality scenes of this film.

The little girl in this film is absolutely wonderful.

I haven't cried this much in a film since I re-watched the Elephant Man.

Thank you Tarsem, in a perfect world you would not have to spend your own money to make another film, but I hope you keep making tons of money directing commercials, so you can finance another personal project like this one, if no other options are available.

You have my utter respect and admiration. Maurice Devereaux