Email Author Abrams, Simon

2012 Stories by Abrams, Simon

• Allegiance

  published December 26, 2012

  Without its topical pretext and overzealous patriotism, Allegiance would be just another generic action film. Set in 2004,... More >>

• Dabangg 2

  published December 19, 2012

  Dabangg 2, a Bollywood action film that's also sometimes a comedy, is mostly likable thanks to its creators' preference for lighthearted... More >>

• Deadfall

  published December 5, 2012

  Distinguished only by its fantastic ensemble cast—including Kate Mara and Treat Williams—Stefan Ruzowitzky's Deadfall just... More >>

• Happy New Year

  published December 5, 2012

  While Happy New Year strives to raise viewers' awareness of the life modern American vets lead after war, writer/director K. Lorrel... More >>

• Sahkanaga

  published December 5, 2012

  As a re-creation of the events that led to the real-life discovery of more than 300 human bodies, Sahkanaga doesn’t exactly want... More >>

• Certainty

  published November 28, 2012

  There are few romantic dramas more frustrating than the kind that studiously avoid clichéd characterizations while gracelessly begging... More >>

• Talaash

  published November 28, 2012

  With soapy whodunit Talaash, star Aamir Khan continues his recent trend of exporting relatively progressive films. But unlike the... More >>

• Path of Khan: Life of Pi Star Irrfan Khan Forges a Cross-Cultural Career

  published November 21, 2012

  "I can't think of a more pathetic situation for an actor than to do a film and not connect to it," Irrfan Khan says. "And I pray to God that I... More >>

• The Normals

  published November 14, 2012

  While much of The Normals is grindingly quirky, the mostly adequate Sundance comedy gets bleak enough in the end that its... More >>

• Shady Lady

  published November 7, 2012

  Too many Wiki-worthy info dumps and not enough character-enriching detail stops Shady Lady, a docudrama about a team of World War II... More >>

• The Return of Lencho

  published November 7, 2012

  When its title protagonist isn't defined by hagiographic narrative contrivance, The Return of Lencho is a semi-thoughtful character... More >>

• Beyond Bollywood: Getting Real at the South Asian International Film Fest

  published October 24, 2012

  Pulp-infused psychological realism separates the best films competing at the South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) from traditional... More >>

• The Other Son

  published October 24, 2012

  Ham-fisted dialogue and clichéd characterizations trump genuine chemistry in The Other Son, a contrived Franco-Israeli drama... More >>

• Sheer

  published October 17, 2012

  A little natural light and a lot of New York City street photography goes a long way in Sheer, a guerrilla-shot neo-noir. First-time... More >>

• An Affair of the Haert

  published October 10, 2012

  Two interview subjects – the befuddled spouse of a diehard fan and an apathetic Swedish metal-head -- cut to the core of the doc An... More >>

• Excuse Me for Living

  published October 10, 2012

  Excuse Me for Living, sophomore writer/director and first-time producer Ric Klass's wracked therapy comedy, is neither so charming nor... More >>

• The Self-Limited Vision of Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights

  published October 3, 2012

  English filmmaker Andrea Arnold's atypical, impressionistic approach to Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights is her adaptation's main... More >>

• It's Such a Beautiful Day

  published October 3, 2012

  It made for a deceptively vital change of context when cult animator Don Hertzfeldt strung together four of his award-winning cartoons into the... More >>

• Genndy Tartakovsky: Cartoons, Not Animation

  published September 26, 2012

  "I hate realism," director Genndy Tartakovsky said last week over the phone. "In America especially, we're very narrow-minded as far as... More >>