In Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s ‘best bad movie,’ The Barefoot Contessa, Ava Gardner exudes a magnetic - and underrated - mix of glamour and charisma.
Psychological Dramas
Room (2015) movie review: Starring an effective Brie Larson, Lenny Abrahamson’s psychological drama provides an uncomfortable experience.
Steve Jobs (2015) movie review: Michael Fassbender is outstanding in Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin’s vigorous biopic. Kate Winslet costars.
Whiplash (2014) movie review: Damien Chazelle directs a visually and aurally accomplished drama that gives J.K. Simmons a devil of a role.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013) movie review: Lars von Trier shows once again his cinematic genius in this starkly funny effort. Shia LaBeouf stars.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) movie review: Oscar Isaac is a memorable human dud in Joel and Ethan Coen’s impressive music world drama.
Paradise: Love (2012) movie review: Ulrich Seidl’s deeply affecting psychological drama focuses on the sex tourism industry. Margarete Tiesel stars.
To the Wonder (2012) movie review: None of the talent involved can disguise the fact that the latest Terrence Malick poem is a huge disappointment.
Stoker (2013) movie review: Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman star in technically accomplished but narratively deficient Park Chan-wook thriller.
The Tree of Life movie box office: Terrence Malick’s Palme d’Or winner had a strong debut in limited release. But will that last? Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain star.
127 Hours movie review: James Franco Great as Aron Ralston in Harrowing survival Story marred by Danny Boyle hyperkinetic direction.
Black Swan (2010) movie review: Oscar winner Natalie Portman rises to the challenge in Darren Aronofsky’s brilliantly multilayered thriller.
Black Swan box office: Starring Natalie Portman, Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller became 2010’s second biggest global sleeper hit. Mila Kunis and Barbara Hershey costar.
Redbelt (2008) movie review: A memorable Chiwetel Ejiofor stars in this impressive (yet commercially unsuccessful) David Mamet morality tale. Emily Mortimer and Tim Allen costar.
South Seas sex worker Joan Crawford proves herself a fine dramatic actress and destroyer of pious missionaries in the vastly underrated drama Rain.
Silent era veterans Erich von Stroheim and Betty Compson deliver quality performances in James Cruze’s engrossing psychological drama The Great Gabbo.
The Piano movie with Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin. ‘The Piano’ movie revisited Writer-director Jane Campion’s Gothic drama The Piano, the best of the 1993 Best Picture Oscar nominees and…
Who Killed Teddy Bear? movie review: Exuding charisma and sensuality, Sal Mineo is the best thing about Joseph Cates’ uneven yet intriguingly perverse psychological drama.
Werner Herzog’s ‘minor’ period psychological drama Woyzeck is superior to most acclaimed Hollywood fare. Klaus Kinski and Eva Mattes star.
Michelangelo Antonioni’s acclaimed 1957 neorealist drama Il Grido stars an outstanding Steve Cochran. Also in the cast: Alida Valli and Betsy Blair.
Breaking of the fourth wall at film’s end nearly ruins Abbas Kiarostami’s otherwise effective suicide drama Taste of Cherry. Palme d’Or co-winner.
Krzysztof Kieslowski’s sublime 1993 psychological drama Three Colors: Blue provides Juliette Binoche with one of the best roles of her career.
Kim Basinger is excellent in Tod Williams’ dramatically uneven psychological drama The Door in the Floor. Jeff Bridges and Jon Foster costar.
Sean Penn embodies the antithesis of the ‘American Dream’ in Niels Mueller’s nightmarish social critique The Assassination of Richard Nixon.
Shades of Hitchcock and Antonioni in the Rio de Janeiro-set Fernanda Montenegro showcase The Other Side of the Street / O Outro Lado da Rua.
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013) movie review: Lars von Trier delivers sequel that is more daring and philosophical. Charlotte Gainsbourg stars.
Mud (2012) movie review: Locals Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon help Jeff Nichols’ unusual psychological drama feel more genuine.
The Beaver movie box office: Starring Mel Gibson and directed by Jodie Foster, this unenthusiastically received psychological drama is a total commercial bomb. Anton Yelchin costars.
Hereafter movie box office: Clint Eastwood has another commercial underperformer in the domestic market. Matt Damon and Cécile de France star.
Outlandish situations can be found everywhere in The Story of Esther Costello, starring a stylish Joan Crawford. Rossano Brazzi costars.
The Orphanage movie box office: J.A. Bayona’s supernatural psychological thriller has had a sensational debut in its native Spain.
The Letter 1940 movie: Bette Davis’ outstanding femme fatale in this classic remains one of the most memorable film performances in history.
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