The Slate : The latest in all things cinematic

Director Guillermo del Toro’s latest, Pacific Rim, delivers exciting and enjoyable story

Chinatown embraces convention yet engrosses audiences with masterful style

Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot delivers a powerful spectacle but a weak story

Shane Black brings his pulp style to the shellhead

Bizarre Murder Mystery Brings an Unwelcome Invasion of the Metaphysical to the Theater This past spring, Lafayette College’s Marquis Players showcased their performance of Rupert Holmes’ musical murder mystery “Curtains” that appeared on Broadway in 2007. The plot follows the cast of a bumbling musical whose production is plagued by a series of sycophantic killings. For those of you who’ve seen…

A film’s success can be determined by how much power it has over a viewer’s emotions. If it brings out his or her laughter at one point, only to expertly reduce the viewer to tears five minutes later, then it warrants serious accolades. Flemish Director Felix Van Groeningen has created such a film with The Broken Circle Breakdown, a sweeping drama about a Flemish couple finding their love and faith…

At the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday, April 26th, I was treated to two genres of horror movie: a collaborative found footage film and a satiric gore-fest. The former, V/H/S/2, was the sequel to a moderately well received movie of the same archetype, and the latter, Fresh Meat, was a sociopolitical commentary hailing from New Zealand. Here’s a glimpse at both, along with some insight from Erin, who…

Many films about cancer focus on the first stages of the disease and processing the difficult journey ahead, but few have tackled perhaps the more unknown segment: what do you do when you’ve beaten cancer? First-time director Matt Creed tries to answer this question with his film Lily, which finished its run at Tribeca Friday night. Loosely based on the life of Amy Grantham, who also co-wrote the screenplay…

“Directing is having your hands on everything,” says Clint Eastwood, tipping back casually in his chair. Darren Aronofsky nods in agreement, and every aspiring filmmaker in the immense auditorium furiously takes notes. For two hours, Eastwood, an indisputable cinematic legend, captivated his audience of 1,000 people with tales of his unique approach to directing, composing music for, and taking…

“The truth is more important than being original,” says Northwest screenwriter Rasmus Heisterberg. This search for honest reality becomes the driving force behind Northwest, directed by Michael Noer, which premiered Thursday, April 25th at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film follows the story of Casper, a young man entrenched in the world of organized crime trying to support his mother, brother and…