Daydream Nation Directed by Michael Goldbach Usually I dislike it when people say, “Oh that movie was weird.” I’m always inclined to think that they’re missing something. Or maybe I’m just a movie snob. Quite possible. However, halfway throughout this movie, I turned to a friend and said precisely those words to her. This movie is …
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger Directed by Woody Allen I feel the same way about Woody Allen that I feel about the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Yeah, you had some awesome stuff going in the 60s and 70s but maybe, just maybe it may be time to start just hanging out with …
Howl Directed by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman There couldn’t be a more perfect time to make a movie about Allen Ginsberg and his most celebrated work, “Howl.” The beat generation has enjoyed a revival as of late, as the hipster and alternative culture has adopted them as the godfathers to their respective “movements.” Howl …
Another Year Directed by Mike Leigh Another Year is Mike Leigh’s follow-up to 2008’s Happy-Go-Lucky. Though the film has a completely different cast of characters and for the most part different casts altogether (save for Oliver Maltman, who appears in both), there are a lot of themes that are explored in both of Leigh’s movies. …
Film School Rejects recently posted a list of the best — and worst — movie collaborations between directors and their spouses. It seems those capricious movie gods have decreed that for every Oscar-winning gem like Fargo (Joel Coen directs Frances McDormand) there must be a farrago like Guy Ritchie’s Swept Away, starring his then-wife Madonna. …
———— Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Directed by Oliver Stone Simultaneously doom-laden and hopelessly naive, Oliver Stone’s unsolicited follow-up to his mostly well-regarded 1987 flick Wall Street might be wider in scope than its predecessor, folding in around a dozen characters and attempting to assign both blame and explanation for the ongoing financial crisis that’s …
Within the revolving door of actors playing the iconic figures over at Marvel Entertainment, Mark Ruffalo has been chosen to fill the shoes of Ed Norton’s place as The Incredible Hulk. Vulture got a hold of Ruffalo and he revealed that he would actually be ‘playing’ the character in the film rather than voice acting …
American Psycho Directed by Mary Harron What does Patrick Bateman want? He wants to be noticed; he wants the best business card, the swankiest apartment, the best looking girlfriend, the most money, and the best connections. To be the best, is to be noticed. This seems to directly contradict his similar compulsion to conform. He …
Howl Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman I had the honor to attend an advance screening of the new Ginsberg movie Howl at Boston’s MFA in which its directors, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, answered a few audience questions after the credits had rolled. This provided important insights into their artistic choices. Being the …
It is one of the funniest films of the year, because it is played as straight as can be.
Here is an interesting question: can a film infuriate you and be brilliant at the same time. There are scenes of surprising power in Catfish, only to be followed some of the most infuriating scenes you are likely to witness this year. You aren’t infuriated at the character but at the filmmakers. However, does that …
Good Neighbours Directed by Jacob Tierney I deliberately tried to walk into Jacob Tierney’s Good Neighbours without knowing much by way of plot. One thing I did know was that there was no way the word “good” in the title is to be taken literally. And that it probably wouldn’t be quite as lighthearted and …
Throughout history, standing to the right of every great king one usually finds a great prime minister turning the king’s vision from abstract ambition into fact. During critical years for Roger Corman’s Concorde studio, the man at Corman’s elbow was Mike Elliott. Look up Mike Elliott on the Internet Movie Data Base (www.imdb.com) and you’ll …
If Roger Corman was the commander-in-chief, and Mike Elliott his field marshal, than Travis Rink was among the front line troops who actually had to carry the fight. Writing several scripts for Concorde in the early 1990s, Rink had a close-up look at the factory-like process which made Concorde’s prodigious output possible. Rink had made …
Let Me In Directed by Matt Reeves vs. Let The Right One In Directed by Tomas Alfredson Even in a pop culture landscape littered with the bloodthirsty undead, Let The Right One In stood out as a poignant coming of age story as well as a bone-chilling horror film. The haunting mediation on the difficult …
Easy A Directed by Will Gluck A lot happens in good teen movies. The social structure of a high school has to be established, and a character placed within that social structure must ring true as someone we “know.” That character then has to be believably transferred from there to scenes placed in something recognizable …
“A strikingly personal vision of horror…” Let Me In Directed by Matt Reeves 2010, USA In many ways very similar to the original Swedish film, Matt Reeves’ Let Me In differentiates itself through its invigorating visual style, and by contextualizing the narrative through the troubled moral atmosphere of Reaganite America. The comments that this film …
There have always been moviemakers who operated just outside the major studio spotlight; showmen, hucksters, exploiters working on small budgets. Before the advent of home video and the multiplex, they could sometimes be found hand-carrying their single print from one movie house to another. Post-World War II, many of them found small, survivable niches specializing …
Even up until the Venice Film Festival, Casey Affleck was sticking to his story that his new and crazy-looking documentary, “I’m Still Here” was the real deal; The story of up and coming actor Joaquin Phoenix’s seeming descent to a mumbling rapper. As of September 17th, Affleck has come forward and finally given up the …
“Enter The Void explores the contours of reality and screen representation, seemingly probing the very nature of existence. Its final, transcendent moments summate a unique experience and achievement…” Enter The Void Directed by Gasper Noé Ever since the notorious Irreversible prompted the dubious honor of causing the largest walkout in Cannes history back in 2002, …
In a recent interview, by the Hollywood Reporter’s Jay A. Fernandez, about playing Tommy in Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, the new Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield, comments on how he feels taking on the role of the web slinging hero. “I have been waiting for this phone call for 24 years, for someone to call …
Kings Of Pastry Directed by Chris Hegedus D.A. Pennebaker (co-director) My biggest regret about going to see D.A. Pennebaker’s Kings of Pastry? Going in without eating first. There is food. Lots of it. Pretty food. Food that I would kill to be eating right now. The documentary tells the story of a group of French pastry …
“Zenith and its “transmedia” approach to storytelling could very well become an Internet phenomenon.” Zenith Directed by Vladan Nikolic Zenith requires a lot of explanation. The film is using a multi-platform approach to its release by transcending the traditional theatrical debut and extending into other media, primarily by encouraging audience interaction online. Unfortunately, as a …