Mainstream film-making goes out of its way to avoid departures from a handful of story-telling styles. Thus, many current films feel the same; their material may be good, but their presentation seldom differs from a straightforward, relentless approach. It's heartening to encounter a movie like "Late Night with The Devil:" a formal experiment disguised as a horror film.

It succeeds in its chosen genre, all right, but chooses an eccentric and highly effective path to tell its story of show-biz…

This film gave me a rare and delicious experience: a new film that feels like a masterpiece. I have been indifferent to some of Alexander Payne's past films, but "The Holdovers" is a work of such conviction, caring and painstaking that my exit from the theater this afternoon made me giddy with that special feeling only the cinema can inspire.
The deepest feelings, thoughts and memories in this film aren't seen, spoken or explained. Its small cast of significant characters…

I watched this film because of its director, Wesley Barry, who made one of my favorite psychotronic movies, THE CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS (1962). This anti-Communist suspense drama is similarly eccentric and compelling. Roddy McDowall stars as an effete student radical on the run from the oppressive regime of a nameless European country. Lots of ducking and hiding until he crosses the border into neutral territory and safety. McDowall's effeminate character is an odd choice for a protagonist (by regular…