(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) Anthem Film Festival, part of FreedomFest, had to, like most everything else in the world this year, go virtual. It took its selection of features and documentaries exploring issues around social and political liberty online, but that didn’t stop it from living up to its motto of “individuality, choice, and accountability”. […]
Most movies are the merging of technology and short stories, novels or sagas. Manglehorn is technology merged with a poem. It is the story of a locksmith who has lost the love of his life because of something he has done and lives in self-imposed isolation. Manglehorn has constructed a cocoon of memories and fantasies, keeping his son, a former protégé, and the hope of new love at arm’s length.
SXSW hosted the premier of the restored classic, The Breakfast Club, written and directed by John Hughes. But the event wasn’t so much a premier as it was a celebration of a movie that has touched a generation or two. With its upcoming special theatrical showings and release to Blu-ray and video, it is sure to touch a few more. When the doors opened, we were given Breakfast Club t-shirts and treated to a breakfast of donuts, coffee and mimosas. Thank you, Universal Studios.
(Originally published on Blogcritics.org) Two films at the International Family Film Festival, Centurion AD and Leaving Limbo took two radically different paths to get you in touch with things spiritual, although they both involved a character out of their normal place in time. Centurion AD is billed as a sci-fi action adventure, set in current […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) As this film got underway, I found myself thinking, “I’m not going to enjoy this. Well, that scene was pretty good, but I’m going to write a bad review.” The protagonist was a jerk. OK, he was a charming jerk, as many of them are. He also reminded me of a […]
(First published on blogcritics.org) What did you do on your vacation? Joss Whedon adapted Shakespeare. At South by Southwest 2012 (SXSW) Joss Whedon explained that he found a new way to unwind from the total immersion of making a movie like The Avengers – make another movie. In 2011, after principal photography on The Avengers was completed, Whedon was contractually obligated to […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) About two thirds through this film I began to recall The Graduate, the 1967 Dustin Hoffman classic, which was a key artistic moment for my generation. I believe that The Art of Getting By, a Fox Searchlight film which opens in limited release Friday, June 17, 2011, can be of equal significance for this generation and […]
(Originally published on blogcritics.org) “We shot improvisational style and edited documentary style,” explained Mark of the brothers Duplass. Mark and Jay Duplass, screenwriters and directors, used the indie talents they developed on earlier projects to bring to life Cyrus, a creepy romantic comedy which premiered June 18 at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Moving on up […]