Directed by Les Blank Produced by Denny Cordell, Leon Russell, and Blank Released by Janus Films USA. 90 min. Not rated With Leon Russell, J.J. Cale, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Eric Andersen, Johnny Gimble, and Willis Alan Ramsey Les Blank’s A Poem Is a Naked Person is a beautifully restored 1974 rock ‘n’ roll time […]
Directed by Dito Montiel Produced by Monica Aguirre Diez Barroso, and Mia Chang Written by Douglas Soesbe Released by Starz Digital USA. 88 min. Rated R With Robin Williams, Kathy Baker, Roberto Aguire, Giles Matthey, Eléonore Hendricks and Bob Odenkirk Robin Williams’s last role, in the bleak yet engrossing Boulevard, is unlike any other dramatic […]
Directed by Debra Granik Produced by Anne Rosellini Released by Still Rolling Productions English and Spanish with English subtitles USA. 98 min. Not rated Stray Dog is a surprisingly touching road trip through the heart of America on a Harley-Davidson, where people in double-wides help each other as they struggle to get through posttraumatic stress […]
Among the nearly three dozen films I saw at Cannes, the one that had the strongest emotional hook was, without question, Asif Kapadia’s in-depth biodoc of the late singer Amy Winehouse. Granted, the tender and trenchant Amy has an added resonance for fans and also for the melancholic question (one of many) that lingers afterward: […]
Directed by Eran Riklis Produced by Bettina Brokemper, Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Michael Eckelt, Chilik Michaeli Written by Sayed Kashua, based on his novels Dancing Arabs, Let It Be Morning and Second Person Singular Released by Strand Releasing Israel. 104 min. Not rated In Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles With Tawfeek Barhom, Ali Suliman, Yaël […]
Written and Directed by Kimberly Levin Produced by Kurt Pitzer Released by Monterey Media USA. 90 min. Rated R With Joanne Kelly, Neal Huff, Alex Shaffer, Kivlighan de Montebello, Tom Bower, and Darlene Hunt Set during an Indian summer (filmed in Kentucky), Runoff is a visually stunning look at modern farming life. The lyrical film […]
Directed by Sacha Jenkins Produced by Peter Rittenbender, Nasir Jones, and Marcus A. Clarke Released by Samuel Goldwyn Films USA. 82 Not rated For a documentary about fashion, Fresh Dressed has more to do with words than might be expected. Language was instrumental in the fortunes and failures of the major figures in the evolution […]
Directed by Mia Hansen-Love Produced by Charles Gillibert Written by Hansen-Love and Sven Hansen-Love Music by Daft Punk, Joe Smooth, Frankie Knuckles, Terry Hunter, and MK Released by Broad Green Pictures English and French with English subtitles France. 131 min. Not rated With Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Vincent Macaigne, Hugo Conzelmann, Arsinée Khanjian, and […]
Written and Directed by Patrick Brice Produced by Naomi Scott Released by the Orchard USA. 80 min. Rated R With Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, and Judith Godrèche A downright hysterical entry in brothers Jay and Mark Duplass’s production canon, The Overnight constructs a recoiling depiction of thirtysomething frustrations by mixing R-rated hijinks with […]