Dustin Jansick's Movie Reviews
All movie reviews written by Dustin Jansick
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Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?
Renowned filmmaker Michel Gondry has an animated (I say that both figuratively and literally) conversation with the famous linguist, philosopher, and political activist Noam Chomsky. Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy? takes an unorthodox approach by presenting the...
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Blue Is the Warmest Color
Was I a little upset that I did not catch Blue Is the Warmest Color while at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year? Absolutely I was. Especially when the film went on to win the top prize of...
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Mr. Nobody
Mr. Nobody is proof that just having all the right ingredients does not automatically make it a great dish. This film contains an intriguing plot, spectacular visuals, solid acting performances, more ambition than you can shake a stick at,...
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Escape From Tomorrow
First time filmmaker Randy Moore certainly made a name for himself when Escape from Tomorrow first premiered nearly a year ago at the Sundance Film Festival where critics were calling the film bold, insane, and mind-melting. Initially, many people...
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The Way Way Back
From the Oscar winning minds behind the story of The Descendants, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash bring a similar family oriented film that aspires to be a charming crowd-pleaser, but ends up with the same underwhelming results. The Way...
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Finding Hillywood
Do not be deceived by its gorgeous landscapes, Rwanda is still feeling the effect of the painfully horrific genocidal mass slaughter of its people. Finding Hillywood shows the attempts to heal and educate Rwandans through local filmmaking from passionate...
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Ride with Larry
Larry Smith was forced to retire early after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease after serving 26 years as a police officer. He and his family moved to South Dakota so that his wife could teach at a state university...
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Computer Chess
Mumblecore extraordinaire Andrew Bujalski’s (director of Funny Ha Ha and Beeswax) latest effort expands upon his mumblecore roots by wrapping it around a mockumentary format of storytelling that is lensed with aesthetically accurate 80’s technology. The largest achievement the...
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I Used to Be Darker
A natural reaction towards conflict is avoiding the threat by escaping, a common theme found within Matt Porterfield’s indie drama I Used to Be Darker. It is hard to say if the film achieves what it intends to, because...
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Pine Ridge
Being someone who has lived in South Dakota for over twenty-years, one would assume I would know a fair amount about the Pine Ridge reservation located near the Badlands of South Dakota, but the truth is most people (even...