Film-Forward

American

Price Check

Written & Directed by Michael Walker Produced by Dolly Hall Released by IFC Films USA. 92 min. Not rated With Parker Posey, Eric Mabius, Annie Parisse, Josh Pais, Edward Herrmann & Cheyenne Jackson Today’s economy is bound to have its effects on contemporary films. In writer/director Michael Walker’s Price Check, Pete Cozy (Eric Mabius) faces […]

Starlet

Directed by Sean Baker Produced by Blake Ashman Kipervaser Written by Baker & Chris Bergoch Released by Music Box Films USA. 104 Min. Not rated With Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Stella Maeve, James Ransone & Karren Karagulian The fringe of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame attracts all kinds of get-rich-quick dreamers and schemers, now and in […]

The Sessions

Directed by Ben Lewin Produced by Judi Levine, Stephen Nemeth & Lewin Written by Lewin, based on the article “On Seeing a Sex Surrogate,” by Mark O’Brien Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures USA. 95 min. Rated R (What else?) With John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, Moon Bloodgood, Annika Marks & Rhea Perlman No […]

Nobody Walks

Directed by Ry Russo-Young Produced by Jonathan Schwartz, Andrea Sperling & Alicia Van Couvering Written by Lena Dunham &Russo-Young; Released by Magnolia Pictures. USA. 82 min. Rated R With John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby, Rosemarie DeWitt, India Ennenga, Dylan McDermott, Rhys Wakefield & Justin Kirk It seems that It girl Lena Dunham can do no wrong. […]

That’s What She Said

The phrase, “That’s what she said,” has taken on a life of its own in the wake of its appearance on The Office. It turns out it has been around a lot longer than that TV show (according to my quick Internet research). In That’s What She Said, the punch line is utilized as an […]

Smashed

Directed by James Ponsoldt Produced by Jonathan Schwartz, Andrea Sperling & Jennifer Cochis Written by Ponsoldt & Susan Burke Released by Sony Pictures Classics. USA. 80 min. Not rated With Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Mary Kay Place & Octavia Spencer Mary Elizabeth Winstead and recent Emmy Award-Winner Aaron Paul give […]

The Paperboy

Directed by Lee Daniels Produced by Hilary Shor, Daniels, Avi Lerner, Ed Cathell III & Cassian Elwes Written by Pete Dexter & Daniels, based on the novel by Dexter Released by Millennium Films USA. 106 min. Rated R With Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray, John Cusack, Nealla Gordon, Scott Glenn & Nicole […]

About Cherry

Directed by Stephen Elliott Written by Elliott & Lorelei Lee Produced by Liz Destro & Jordan Kessler Released by IFC Midnight USA. 102 min. Not rated With Ashley Hinshaw, Dev Patel, James Franco, Heather Graham, Lili Taylor, Diane Farr & Jonny Weston About Cherry, a disappointingly bland and underachieving film about the porn industry, makes […]

Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best

Written & Directed by Ryan O’Nan Produced by Jason Michael Berman & Kwesi Collisson USA. 97 min. Not rated With Ryan O’Nan, Michael Weston, Arielle Kebbel, Melissa Leo, Andrew McCarthy, Christopher McDonald, Jason Ritter & Wilmer Valderrama Newcomer Ryan O’Nan co-wrote, directs, and stars in a small-scale romantic comedy about an unlikely musical duo that […]