Repo Men

Repo Men

Film review by: Witney Seibold

No relation of Alex Cox’ 1984 masterpiece “Repo Man,” or to 2008’s “Repo! The Genetic Opera.”

Whip It

Whip It

Film review by: Witney Seibold

Drew Barrymore’s first directorial effort is not so much a story as it is a fresh, fun, grrrl-power polemic. It cares less about the machinations of modern-day punk-girl roller derby, and more about the feminist tribal aspects of young womanhood that arise when you are allowed into a warm familial clique of girls who are way cooler than you.

Shutter Island

Shutter Island

Film review by: Witney Seibold

A friend of mind compared Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” to the psychological thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock, and he has a good point; the film is rarely about its secrets or payoff, but about a slow build of energy to the eventual climax, and the uncomfortable realization that there will be no release.

Un Prophète

Un Prophète

Film review by: Witney Seibold

Jacques Audiard’s “Un Prophète” chronicles the power swap of an aging imprisoned gangster and his unlikely teenage protégé. Most of the film takes place within prison walls, and was filmed in an actual French penitentiary. Like any prison film, it takes place over many years, as there’s nothing to do in prison but join gangs, swap sexual favors, do violence, and wait and wait and wait. Some critics have compared this film to “The Godfather,” but while it doesn’t possess Coppola’s epic Shakespearean sweep, it does have a criminal immediacy and attention to underworld details only seen in the best of crime dramas. This is an excellent film.