Produced and Directed by Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren Directed by Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren Released by Drafthouse Films USA. 110 min. Not rated In August 1972, John Wojtowicz robbed a bank in Brooklyn, taking hostages and enduring a 13-hour standoff with the police. The unsuccessful heist granted Wojtowicz 15 minutes of fame, which […]
Directed by Steve James Produced by Zak Piper, James and Garrett Basch Released by Magnolia Pictures USA. 118 min. Rated R Perhaps the most shocking thing about the Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself is the revelation that Ebert became a full-time paid film critic at a major newspaper in the third largest city in the […]
Directed by Mike Myers Produced by Myers and Beth Aala Released by Radius/TWC and A & E IndieFilms USA. 84 min. Rated R If success is all about promotion, then the fact that this is the debut directing effort by comic actor Mike Myers is one part of the package. Amidst the constant name-dropping, testimonials, […]
Produced and Directed by Jody Shapiro Released by Everyday Pictures Canada. 89 min. Not Rated The face on Burt’s Bees natural products is a pretty good likeness of the real-life beekeeper’s hirsute craggy face. Burt Shavitz’s beeswax was the original basis for the lip balm I use every day, and as the face of a […]
Directed by Deidre Schoo and Michael Beach Nichols Produced by Schoo, Nichols, and Christopher K. Walker Released by Baxter Brothers Film Releasing USA. 86 min. Not rated In Brooklyn, there’s a dance style known as flexing. Its practitioners claim there are “no rules and no boundaries.” They use everything they can think of—costumes, stunts, masks, […]
Directed by Tom Berninger Released by Abramorama Entertainment USA. 74 min. Not rated Matt Berninger, the lead singer of the indie rock band the National, is a very self-possessed individual. He is slim and handsome with steel blue gimlet eyes. When his band’s concerts begin, he strolls on stage with a glass of red wine […]
Directed by Stephanie Riggs Produced by Blair Erickson & Rigs Released by Sunchaser Entertainment USA. 76 min. Not rated Pay attention to the man behind the curtain. He may be just as talented as the wizard you’re watching onstage. Such is the thesis of The Standbys, which follows three Broadway hopefuls as they perfect the […]
Directed by Chiemi Karasawa Produced by Karasawa & Elizabeth Hemmerdinger Released by Sundance Selects USA. 81 min. Not rated In the twilight of her career, veteran actress Elaine Stritch has won both an Emmy and Grammy for her 2002 one-woman Broadway show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, her tell-all song and dish about this broad’s life […]
Produced & Directed by Mark Mori Written by Douglas Miller Released by Music Box Films USA. 101 min. Rated R Narrated by Bettie Page The black bangs, the sweetly naughty come hither look, the mind-boggling curves. Bettie Page is arguably the most iconic pinup model of all time, with her alluring image gracing everything from […]