Film-Forward

Indie

A Teacher

Written & Directed by Hannah Fidell Produced by Kim Sherman & Fidell Released by Oscilloscope Laboratories USA. 77 min. Not rated With Lindsay Burdge & Will Brittain A high school teacher punctuates the banality of her daily routine—commuting to work, administering her classroom, jogging, etc.—by banging a student. We begin with the teacher, Diana (Lindsay […]

Drinking Buddies

Edited, Written & Directed by Joe Swanberg Produced by Paul Bernon, Sam Slater, Andrea Roa, Swanberg & Alicia Van Couvering Released by Magnolia Pictures USA. 90 min. Rated R With Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick & Ron Livingston Joe Swanberg, besides being one of the most prominent directors of the micro-budgeted independent films known […]

The Canyons

Directed by Paul Schrader Written by Brett Easton Ellis Produced by Braxton Pope Released by IFC Films USA.  100 min.  Not rated With Lindsay Lohan, James Deen, Nolan Gerard Funk, Amanda Brooks, Tenille Huston, & Gus Van Sant In recent interviews, Paul Schrader has talked about the “death of cinema” in relation to his latest […]

A Look Back at Tribeca

For the first time since it was founded 11 years ago, the narrative films competing for awards at the Tribeca Film Festival made up a noteworthy and motley bunch, and it was a real race. Usually gems by an unknown filmmaker made without any stars can be discovered in the various sidebars, but this year, […]

Computer Chess

Written & Directed by Andrew Bujalski Produced by Houston King & Alex Lipschultz Released by Kino Lorber USA. 92 min. Not rated With Patrick Riester, Wiley Wiggins, Myles Paige, Robin Schwartz & Gerald Peary If being unique and outside of the box were all that Computer Chess had going for it, it wouldn’t have been […]

Crystal Fairy

Written & Directed by Sebastián Silva Produced by Juan de Dios Larraín & Pablo Larraín Released by IFC Films Chile. 100 min. Not rated With Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva & Agustín Silva Early on in Sebastián Silva’s small, strange, and perfect movie Crystal Fairy, Michael Cera’s character, Jamie, a […]

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty

Music, Art Direction, Animation Direction, Edited, Written & Directed by Terence Nance Produced by James Bartlett, Andrew D. Corkin & Nance Released by Variance Films USA. 84 min. Not rated With Terence Nance & Namik Minter The tender opening credits appear as hand drawn overlays over a beautiful sequence shot in the tunnels of the […]

Violet & Daisy

Written & Directed by Geoffrey Fletcher Produced by Fletcher & Bonnie Timmerman Released by Cinedigm USA. 88 min. Rated R With Saoirse Ronan, Alexis Bledel & James Gandolfini The idea behind Violet & Daisy is intriguing. Two young women, who love ordinary things like pretty dresses and bubblegum pop stars, happen to be deadly assassins […]

Arthur Newman

Directed by Dante Ariola Written by Becky Johnston Produced by Alisa Tager, Johnston, Mac Cappuccino & Brian Oliver Released by Cinedigm USA. 101 min. Not rated With Colin Firth, Emily Blunt, Anne Heche & Lucas Hedges Mistaken and reinvention of identity is a longstanding theme within popular culture, from North by Northwest to Mad Men?the […]