Review: Sal

It functions under the delusion that subtext will magically appear if you linger on a character long enough, and the significance of most of its scenes is nothing if not inscrutable.

Review: As I Lay Dying

James Franco’s readiness in approaching famously abstract source material certainly doesn’t translate well into his directorial formalism, or, more appropriately, lack of formalism.

Review: Child of God

Franco’s aesthetic is ugly and ambling, not so much because of its brownish-gray monochrome, but because it registers like the jerky result of a college kid wielding a DV cam.

Review: Annapolis

Annapolis is an extended “Be All That You Can Be” advertisement for the character-building benefits of military service.