Oh, Little Miss Sunshine, what hast thou wrought? Due to one adorably off-color indie film, we are subjected to quirky dysfunctional families bickering their way across the land in an effort to a) save their family home b) win an absurd competition or c) in the case of the terminally dull This Is Happening, retrieve […]
“Why do you come like you want a war?” protagonist Augusta (indie-darling Brit Marling) asks her Union soldier attacker. He states that, after all the fighting he has done, it is impossible to stop. Set during the last days of the Civil War, The Keeping Room presents a distinctly revisionist Western, taking a feminist approach […]
In Ashby, clichés and tongue-in-cheek quips abound. Set in a high school where students strictly adhere to stereotypes, the jocks and the geeks keep to themselves. But lo, one Very Special Boy (Nat Wolff) has just enrolled. Will he be doomed to geekdom forever or will he man up and ascend the high school social […]
Poker is not a glamorous pursuit, and poker table lifers, like Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn), are not hotshot forces of nature. The realities of poker, grinding it out hand after hand for upwards of 10 hours at a time, inevitably hitting bad luck after doing everything the right way, are far different than the adrenaline-fueled, million […]
Pawn Sacrifice is a love story unlike any other, as it is a love between a man, chess genius Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire), and silence. Chess played at the grandmaster level requires stretching the human mind to its outermost limits, as matches have to be exhaustively prepared for, and there are more potential moves and […]
Written and Directed by John Magary Produced by Myna Joseph and Michael Prall Released by Cinelicious Pics USA. 109 min. Not rated With Josh Lucas, Stephen Plunkett, Lucy Owen, Mickey Sumner, Cory Nichols, Louisa Krause, and Austin Pendleton The poster for The Mend declares it “A Stressed Out Comedy,” and if you’re talking about the […]
Edited and Directed by Joe Swanberg Produced by Jake Johnson, Swanberg and Alicia Van Couvering Written by Swanberg and Johnson Released by the Orchard USA. 83 min. Rated R With Jake Johnson, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jane Adams, Steve Berg, Mike Birbiglia, Orlando Bloom, Tom Bower, Sam Elliott, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Judith Light, Ron Livingston, Melanie […]
Written and Directed by Paul Weitz Produced by Weitz, Andrew Miano, Terry Dougas, and Paris Latsis Released by Sony Pictures Classics USA. 80 min. Rated R With Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer, Laverne Cox, Sam Elliott, Nat Wolff, and John Cho Isn’t that sweet old Lily Tomlin starring as a senior […]
Written and Directed by Jim Strouse Produced by Michael B. Clark and Alex Turtletaub Released by the Film Arcade USA. 86 min. Rated R With Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Jessica Williams, Stephanie Allynne, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby and Michael Chernus “It takes a lot of courage to try and change your life,” so says Charlie […]