Oxyana Review
Drug addiction, particularly to prescription pain medication like OxyContin, has become so commonplace in Oceana, West Virginia that its residents simply refer to it as “Oxyana.” This also serves as the title of a documentary in which director Sean Dunne turns his camera toward men and women, most of them addicts themselves, whose stories will […]
The English Teacher Review
RATING: (1 STAR) Maybe she owed the director money. Maybe the version of the script she’d read before accepting the part wasn’t close to the shooting script. Maybe she was blackmailed. Maybe the shoot was simply convenient for her. I’m searching for a reason why Julianne Moore accepted the lead role in The English Teacher, […]
What Richard Did Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) A film that’s equal parts quiet and disquieting, What Richard Did hinges on a single moment. Like Julia Loktev’s The Loneliest Planet last year, the circumstances and consequences surrounding this moment are complicated. Director Lenny Abrahamson presents the moment, its circumstances, and its consequences as an enormous gray area; His camera is […]
The 2013 Cannes Lineup
Looking over the 2013 Cannes lineup, which was announced this morning, it’s hard to identify the “big story.” The Competition lineup contains a good mix of the expected and some pleasant surprises (Roman Polanski’s Venus in Furs being the most high-profile of those surprises). No stunning omissions or head-scratching inclusions. Just a rock-solid-sounding group of […]
Top 10: Tribeca World Premieres
In just 12 years, the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City has carved quite an interesting and influential niche for itself in the independent film world. Though it’s wedged somewhat unceremoniously between Sundance/Berlinale and Cannes, the festival has become THE destination for New York premieres, as well as plenty of North American premieres and […]
Projecting the Cannes 2013 Lineup
Now that the 66th annual Cannes International Film Festival (May 15-May 26, 2013) has its jury president (Lincoln director Steven Spielberg), speculation over what films will compete for the 2013 Palme d’Or has intensified. I’ve identified 30 titles that seem like plausible Cannes selections. It’s impossible to say whether any or all will be ready […]
Sundance 2013: Ten More Titles
Yesterday, I listed ten films worth watching for that played in the snowy confines of Park City, Utah, during this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Today, I’m doing precisely the same thing. Part two of my Sundance wrap-up: Austenland Sony Pictures Classics is distributing what’s likely one of the festival’s biggest commercial plays. Napoleon Dynamite‘s Jerusha […]
Sundance 2013: Ten Titles to Watch
Click here to read part two of my Sundance 2013 wrap-up. In 2012, the Sundance Film Festival experienced a renaissance of sorts. Beasts of the Southern Wild rode a wave of love from Sundance all the way to Oscar nominations in Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress. The Sessions earned Helen Hunt a nomination […]
2012 TIFF Titles to Watch: #10-#1
My TIFF preview concludes today with some of film’s heaviest hitters. I hope you enjoyed this series. I’ll be covering the fall fests extensively, so stay tuned! 10.) Frances Ha Program: Special Presentation Distributor: N/A Directed by: Noah Baumbach Written by: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach Starring: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner Synopsis: Greta Gerwig stars as […]
2012 TIFF Titles to Watch: #20-#11
Today’s TIFF preview (the penultimate!) features films directed by the likes of Ken Burns, Pablo LarraÃn, and Martin McDonagh. 20.) Room 237 Program: Vanguard Distributor: IFC Films Directed by: Rodney Ascher Synopsis: Obsessive cineastes detail their byzantine conspiracy theories about the secret themes and messages hidden within Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, in director Rodney Ascher’s […]
2012 TIFF Titles to Watch: #30-#21
Continuing my TIFF preview today with a trio of major Oscar contenders, a star-studded ensemble drama, and some of the more unique documentaries of the festival. 30.) Reality Program: Special Presentation Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories Directed by: Matteo Garrone Written by: Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Massimo Gaudioso, Matteo Garrone Starring: Aniello Arena , Loredana Simioli, Nando […]
2012 TIFF Titles to Watch: #40-#31
Previewing TIFF continues today with one major Oscar contender, a master director working with a bizarre cast, and a number of films with little pedigree but really intriguing story descriptions. 40.) Caught in the Web Program: Special Presentation Distributor: N/A Directed by: Chen Kaige Starring: Mark Chao, Gao Yuanyuan, Chen Hong Synopsis: A young woman’s […]
2012 TIFF Titles to Watch: #50-#41
The Toronto International Film Festival is rapidly approaching, and I’ve identified the 50 most promising films on the TIFF lineup. Over the next five days, I’ll be counting them down. Today, the preview starts with Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Alex Gibney, and more! 50.) Motorway Program: Vanguard Distributor: N/A Directed by: Soi Cheang Written by: […]
Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story
The story behind Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story begins in the intensely racially segregated South of 1965. An NBC News documentarian named Frank DeFelitta went to Greenwood, Mississippi to gently prod its residents on the subjects of race and racism. He ended up turning a black waiter, Booker Wright, into an “accidental activist,” when he […]
The Revisionaries
Anyone who’s watched The Daily Show or The Colbert Report knows there’s a humorous side to even the most poisonous political battles. In The Revisionaries, director Scott Thurman skewers the Texas State Board of Education in a similar vein and to great effect. Unless you’re a “young-earth creationist” like board member Don McLeroy (pictured above), […]
