Andy Richter Controls the Universe

CHICAGO – Abbas Kiarostami’s “Certified Copy” should have made my top ten last year. Every year, there’s a movie or two that I realize halfway through the next year that I didn’t praise to the right degree. Just a year later, “Certified Copy,” recently released in resplendent Criterion Blu-ray and DVD editions, feels even more like a monumental work, a brilliant filmmaking exercise that features spectacular performances, beautiful writing, and some of the most interesting thematic work of the last several years. With great special features, this is a perfect addition to the Criterion Collection.

CHICAGO – Nothing jars an audience quite like the sudden appearance of a fearsome apparition in a dimly lit room. Even hokey thrillers like William Castle’s “House on Haunted Hill” still manage to make viewers jump from their seats by using this reliable horror standby. “The Woman in Black” has one such moment, but it is surrounded by a murky sea of grim tedium.