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‘Der Nachtmahr’ Movie Review – a shifty, unsettling debut feature

Der Nachtmahr Directed by Akiz Written by Achim Bornhak Germany, 2015 German nu-techno artist Akiz opens his debut film with a meek disclaimer to ‘play this film loud’, a rare moment of quiet trepidation before all sorts of sonic and symbiotic hell breaks loose. Tina (Carolyn Genzkow) and her teenage friends are veterans of the …

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‘Hard to Be a God’ is a masterful tour of a visceral nightmare

Aleksey German’s Hard to Be a God is in the running for the most disgusting films I’ve ever seen. The film produces an enormously affecting, intricately detailed, and thoroughly realized visceral nightmare, one that never wanes or becomes numbing over its three-hour runtime but instead accumulates into an at-times overwhelming journey into a world run by a phantom regime of hedonist ignorance and reactionary cruelty. Built upon a twist on science fiction that probes fascinating questions about politics, morality, and the myth of the arc of human progress, Hard to Be a God uses this genre framework as a platform to manifest a carnival of depravity and filth.

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Self-aware Mario generates excitement about artificial intelligence

[vsw id=”AplG6KnOr2Q” source=”youtube” width=”640″ height=”375″ autoplay=”no”] Artificial Intelligence has long been the cause of fascination and fear. In order to make AI a little less worrisome, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) created a video competition to document exciting artificial intelligence advances in research, education, and application. Which is really just a …

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Hitler Is Alive in ‘Borat’ style adaptation ‘Look Who’s Back’

Adolf Hitler is back in Germany? He is for a movie at least. Deadline reported on Wednesday that Constantin Film is going undercover for Look Who’s Back, its big-screen adaptation of Timur Vermes’ bestselling novel that imagines the return of Adolf Hitler to modern-day Germany. The twist is that Look Who’s Back will be filmed …

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EIFF 2014: ‘Stations of the Cross’ is an outstanding formal achievement

Dietrich Brüggemann’s Stations of the Cross is both an indictment of fundamentalist Catholicism and a testament to the enduring value of faith. The title comes from the traditional Christian devotion, which involves meditating upon the key scenes of Christ’s suffering and death. Structured rigorously around this concept, the film is divided in 14 self-contained chapters, each representing a different station and filmed in a continuous long take.

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EIFF 2013: ‘Oh Boy’ is an intelligent and effortless slacker comedy

Jan Ole Gerster’s debut feature is a smart, breezy comedy that follows 27-year-old slacker, Niko (Tom Schilling), through Berlin over the course of a turbulent day. Despite dropping out of law school two years previously, he still lives off his father’s allowance, resides an empty shell of an apartment and struggles to find the motivation to do anything much at all. After breaking up with his girlfriend, he visits a confrontational psychiatrist, has an excruciating encounter with an emotional neighbour, gets cut off by his father and meets an attractive young woman, Julika (Friederike Kempter), only to find out he used to bully her at school. And, to top it all off, he can’t even seem to find himself a decent cup of coffee.

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Hot Docs 2013: ‘Teenage’ strikes a blow for demography

Teenage Directed by Matt Wolf Written by Matt Wolf & John Savage USA, 2013 Adolescence was the greatest demographic discovery and invention of the mid-20th century. Armed with adult-sized interests and freed by a child’s leisurely schedule to explore them to the fullest, teenagers have been dictating pop culture policy since the advent of rock and …

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Inside Out 2012: ‘Woman’s Lake’ is a film you’d much rather look at than see

Woman’s Lake Written and directed by Zoltan Paul Germany, 2012 It’s quite a simple rule of thumb – people in glass houses shouldn’t have affairs. Set in the charmingly quaint hinterlands of Germany, this is exactly what happens to a pair of lesbian couples in Zoltan Paul’s Woman’s Lake, but as compelling as the premise …

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Glasgow Film Festival 2012: The restored ‘Loves of Pharaoh’ is a must-see for Ernst Lubitsch fans

The Loves of Pharaoh Written by Norbert Falk and Hanns Kräly Directed by Ernst Lubitsch Germany, 1922 Ernst Lubitsch is best known for his work in Hollywood, operating as a master of comedies until his death in 1947. He left behind a legacy of films that includes the much beloved likes of The Shop Around …

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