NYFF Review #5: The Robber

The Robber, by Germany's Benjamin Heisenberg, is an unfortunate dud. It's based on a true story about Johannes Rettenberger (taciturn Andreas Lust), a convict who trained day in and day out, running on the treadmill, throughout his spotless stay in prison. Upon his release, he starts up three projects: (1) a romance with the social worker who lands him a job (Franziska Weisz, the movie's best

Film #44: Straight Time

Since 1972, Dustin Hoffman had been obsessed with making Straight Time, an adaptation of ex-convict Ed Bunker's novel No Beast So Fierce. It was meant to be the actor's directorial debut but, concluding that directing and performing were chores too big for him to handle in tandem, he brought in British director Ulu Grosbard to helm things behind the camera. Good move, because in 1978's sadly