Film-Forward

About Kent Turner

Kent Turner, the editor of Film-Forward, learned the ropes of the festival circuit at the San Francisco International Film Festival and has worked in film production and acquisition in Los Angeles. He is currently the director of programming at the Monmouth Film Festival.

Foxcatcher

Directed by Bennett Miller
Produced by Megan Ellison, Miller, Jon Kilik and Anthony Bregman
Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
Released by Sony Pictures Classics
USA. 134 min. Rated R
With Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, and Sienna Miller
The American entry in this year’s Cannes Film Festival competition, Foxcatcher, overcame the speculative buzz from its […]

By |November 13th, 2014|American, Biopic, Crime|0 Comments

Viva la Libertà

Directed by Roberto Andò
Produced by Angelo Barbagallo
Written by Andò and Angelo Pasqune, based on the novel Il Trono Vuoto by Andò
Released by Distrib Films
Italy. 94 min. Not Rated
With Toni Servillo, Valerio Mastandrea, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Michela Cescon, and Anna Bonaiuto
This shape-shifting political drama-cum-satire begins in a staid, stately fashion and on an ominous note, to […]

By |November 9th, 2014|Book adaptation, Italian, Satire|0 Comments

Gone Girl

Directed by David Fincher
Written by Gillian Flynn, based on her novel
Produced by Arnon Milchan, Joshua Donen, Reese Witherspoon and Cean Chaffin
Released by 20th Century Fox.
USA. 145 min. Rated R
With Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Emily Ratajkowski, Missi Pyle, Casey Wilson, David Clennon, Boyd Holbrook, Lola […]

By |October 12th, 2014|Book adaptation, Crime, Melodrama|0 Comments

Toronto Documentaries | TIFF

The Fun Starts Here

Who would have thought that the funniest moments at the Toronto International Film Festival would revolve around climate change and activism? Ten years ago, the message-delivering pranksters, the Yes Men, first spread their alarming messages in their eponymous documentary. Instead of staging street protests, they pull off media stunts to the embarrassment […]

By |September 28th, 2014|Documentary, Environmental, Festivals, Film History|0 Comments

New York Film Festival 2014

 

Without a doubt, the 52nd New York film festival largely fulfills its mission (as stated on its website) to “introduce audiences to the most exciting, innovative and accomplished works of world cinema.” This holds true thanks to an impressive collection of films in its lineup, many of which caught programmers’ attention at Cannes and added […]

By |September 27th, 2014|Documentary, Indie, Italian, New York Film Festival|1 Comment

Toronto Highs & Lows | TIFF

After more than a week seeing 41 movies (in addition to the 21 seen earlier), I found few obvious outstanding discoveries at the Toronto International Film Festival compared with last year, whose standouts included the beautifully made Ida, the raucous We Are the Best!, and a stronger sampling of art films. Overall, the best selections […]

By |September 22nd, 2014|Comedy, Crime, Festivals, Sci-fi, War|0 Comments

Clouds of Sils Maria | Cannes

My last screening at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the 34th in eight days, was a rewarding way to wind down, ending the festival on a rich, resonating note. Director and writer Olivier Assayas smoothly makes his first (mostly) English language foray, buoyed by the strong performance of Juliette Binoche.

While Assayas’s new film has been […]

By |August 26th, 2014|Drama, Festivals, Top Picks|1 Comment

Mr. Turner/Saint Laurent | Cannes Biopics

In the awards competition at the Cannes Film Festival, two films rejuvenated the often clunky genre of the biopic. Mike Leigh, whose films have won many honors here, offered something of a departure from his previous output. Mr. Turner, appropriately his most picturesque film yet, explores the later years of pre-Impressionistic, pre-rebel chic painter J.M.W. […]

By |July 31st, 2014|Biopic, Festivals, French, GLBT, U. K.|0 Comments

Magic in the Moonlight

Written and Directed by Woody Allen
Produced by Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum and Edward Walson
Released by Sony Pictures Classics
USA/France. 98 min. Rated PG-13
With Eileen Atkins, Colin Firth, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney, Emma Stone, Jacki Weaver and Catherine McCormack
The title of Woody Allen’s new comedy sounds like it was lifted from a swooning Tin […]

By |July 25th, 2014|American, Comedy|0 Comments