Foreign Friday is your weekly adventure outside the United States to explore the cinematic offerings of the rest of the world. This past Sunday, America celebrated a holiday the best way that it knows how, by shoveling a great amount of food in its mouth hole and washing it down with a torrent of alcohol. …
The Southern Gothic genre has a long and storied history. For a period of time it seemed like filmmakers were abandoning the genre. Thankfully, it has been experiencing a resurgence as of late. Mostly independent features have been quietly slipping into theaters exploring a gritty South entrenched in violence. “Mud” is an entry that proves …
One filmmaker stands against a world in turmoil, fighting a power that nods disapprovingly in his direction. He fights for three things: explosions, Miami and bikini clad girls. That’s right, Michael Bay is back and this time he’s not messing around with battling robots or Shia LaBeouf. “Pain & Gain” promises muscles and sweat but …
“In a World…” marks Lake Bell’s first foray into feature film and its clear that she’s learned a lot in her long career. With “In A World,” she assembled an expert cast of characters and wrote a smart and funny script that plays to the strengths of every performer to create a short and entertaining …
Over the past couple years, the demonification of the wealthy has been riding pretty high. With the Occupy Wall Street movement and a Congress that grows increasingly disconnected from the voting base, the wealthier have become an easy target; currently having more in common with Lex Luthor than Daddy Warbucks. However, this focus has been …
“Some Girl(s),” adapted by Neil LaBute from his stage play of the same name, is a film from director Daisy von Scherler Mayer starring Adam Brody. The film tells the story of a unnamed man (for the purposes of this review, referred to as “Guy”) as he travels across the US visiting women from his …
“Lonely Boy,” from director Dale Fabrigar and writer/lead Alev Aydin, is an original film about a man afflicted with schizophrenia. A small, independent feature, the film has strong characters, and builds slowly to a riveting third act that leaves you at the edge of your seat.
“Here One Day” is an intensely personal first-person documentary by Kathy Leichter that tells the story of Leichter and her family coming to terms with the suicide of her mother, Nina. The film focuses on the effects this tragedy had on Nina’s family and friends, and the things Leichter discovered about her mother in years …
“This is Martin Bonner” is the second feature from writer/director Chad Hartigan. The film stars Paul Eenhorn as the titular character, and is a steadily paced character-study shot slowly and beautifully.
To Freda Kelly, the Beatles were just a local band. Working in a secretarial pool around the corner from the famed Cavern Club, early in Good Ol’ Freda, Kelly estimates she saw maybe 190 of the Beatles 295 performances there. While her officemates were swooning over Pat Boone and Cliff Richard, Kelly was obsessed with …