Early on in the year may be as good a time as any to look back at 2015, before the number of films begins to snowball and as the awards season slowly winds down. What has been overlooked? What made the festival rounds but is conspicuously missing from this year’s lineup, having perhaps gotten lost […]
It’s tough to digest a film written by Charlie Kaufman right after you have seen it. Even the more accessible ones are enigmatic: Being John Malkovich (involving a portal into actor John Malkovich’s mind) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where Jim Carrey erases all memories, literally, of his relationship with Kate Winslet after […]
Entertainment is one odd film. Possibly the weirdest I’ve seen in quite a while. If you can imagine the Coen Brothers’ deadpan stare, Sam Shepard’s white trash western goth aesthetic, and David Lynch’s dream-fuck phantasmagoria skillfully mulled together, you have an idea. Still, you will be shaking your head in disbelief at what you have […]
Before Quentin Tarantino set the world afire with blazing guns in Reservoir Dogs, indie films were dominated by character studies of quirky people who did not quite fit in. There tended to be a sense of irony and distance that deepened rather than lessened your emotional experience. Hal Hartley was the prince of that realm […]
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 […]
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 Alex Holdridge and Linnea Saasen Produced by Ineke Hagedorn, Holdridge, Saasen, Paul Young, Peter Principato, Chris Aagaard, and Seth Caplan Released by the Orchard USA. 90 min. Not rated With Holdridge, Saasen, Rupert Friend, and Jennifer Ulrich Writing and directing partners (and real-life couple) Linnea Saasen and Alex Holdridge star in […]
Directed by Daniel Barnz Produced by Ben Barnz, Kristin Hahn, Courtney Solomon and Mark Canton Written by Patrick Tobin, based on his short story Released by Cinelou Films USA. 91 min. Rated R With Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, Felicity Huffman, Mamie Gummer, Chris Messina, and William H. Macy It has been […]
Written, Produced, and Directed by Scott Cohen USA/Antarctica/Argentina. 80 min. Not rated With Olivia Thirlby, Vincent Kartheiser, Billy Campbell, Larry Pine, Lisa Harrow, Roger Payne, Garth Stevenson, and Matt Drennan At the end of Red Knot, director Scott Cohen dedicates the film to his wife. It’s a personal touch to what feels like a very […]