Movie reviews of Richard Alaba

With a more subtle directorial touch, the film could have shown it’s message instead of shouting it. Review

Stunning photography and a well selected musical score cannot alone carry the film. Review

The cinematography and settings are an obvious source of visual and emotional pleasure, but it is at a deeper level that this film delivers its greater impact. Review

With a storyline that progressively thins out, we are left with puerile gags and weak dialogue that struggles to sustain the film for 90 minutes. Review

Every scene contains a sight gag; some are downright corny, others whimsically cute. Review

This entertaining study of gender roles makes you wonder how the planet has survived so long. Review

An engaging and touching tale that leaves a warm glow. Review

Falls somewhere between several genres into a space that feels like male melodrama. Review

Reliance on ambiguity and audience imagination creates a tense psycho-drama on the nature of psychotic obsession. Review

Excellent filming, a clever script, uncluttered editing, and a nomination-worthy performance by Close... Review

Starts with much potential but settles for the simpler goal of scaring you. These days, fans of this genre expect more. Review

An otherwise flawlessly directed, slow-burning village drama of how books and ideas can change the world we live in. Review

The filming and acting performances are grounded in realism and the sets, clothing, and atmosphere have an authentic 60s look. Review

Boldly original, disturbing, wonderous, heart-warming, and even disgusting are all adjectives that could be used in describing On Body and Soul. Review

The enduring high point of Breath is its cinematography. Review

Combining magical realism, comedic drama, and a little understood mental condition into an entertaining movie is brave and original cinema. Review

An engrossing and disturbing glimpse behind today’s translucent iron curtain. Review

Engaging, provocative, and uneven, but with enough interesting features to be worth watching. Review

An engaging detective story, a study of survival under wartime occupation, and a tale of friendship, romance, and love of literature. Review

Makes us look directly into the face of the hopeless and hear the voice of the dispossessed. It leaves a heavy footprint. Review

By mid-way the cast have exhausted their repertoire of terrified expressions, so the rest of the film is repetitive and too long. Review

An enjoyable, if lightweight, contribution to redressing the history of underrepresentation of gay issues in the young film market. Review

A lampooning of the political cultures that exist in many nations and, some may say, has echoes in today’s America. Review

An engrossing study of the demons that lay in waiting, somewhere in the space beyond stardom. Review