Particle Fever (2013)

Particle Fever takes a notoriously inaccessible topic – particle physics and the search for the Higgs boson – and makes it as accessible as possible. Explanations of the Large Hadron Collider, the conflict between models like super-symmetry and the multiverse model and the statistical significance necessary to identify said boson are conveyed with direct explanations…

Focus (2015)

“It’s all about focus,” Nicky (Will Smith) explains to his willing con artist protégé Jess (Margot Robbie). He’s talking about successful pickpocketing – the way that staring into someone’s eyes will draw their focus to your face rather than your hands, and similar tricks designed to facilitate sleight of hand – but we are expected…

In Bloom (2013)

There’s a lot to like about In Bloom, Georgia’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film in last year’s Academy Awards. The storyline pairs the small-scale coming of age story of two girls, Eka (Lika Babluani) and Natia (Mariam Bokeria), with a nuanced interrogation of power in the midst of Georgia’s 1992 civil war. Directors Nana…

Purity Ring - another eternity

Purity Ring – another eternity

It’s strange the memories that stick with you. I saw Purity Ring in concert two years ago, but the structure of their setlist and the sound of their performance elude me. I do remember, though, the fragile papier-mâché lanterns decorating the stage. I remember the audience, enshrouded by half-darkness and glazed with sweat, swaying to…

In Order of Disappearance (2014)

“If Norwegian kids disappear, there’s always some obnoxious parent out looking for them.” The “Norwegian kid” of In Order of Disappearance is one Ingvar Dickman, an airport employee who meets a grisly end after getting on the wrong side of a gang of drug dealers. The “obnoxious parent” is his father, Nils (Stellan Skarsgård): Citizen…