No film at Sundance this year hit me with more force
emotionally than Josh Mond’s “James White,” a devastating dissection of a man
who’s forced out of his arrested development and into adulthood by extreme
tragedy and the...
“Funny Ha Ha” and “Computer Chess” director Andrew Bujalski
brings an unexpected, loose, jangly energy to the surprisingly successful
“Results,” a romantic comedy that stars Cobie Smulders, Guy Pearce and...
The Sundance Film Festival has always been a notable
launching pad for major documentary films. Opening night of my first festival
included instant buzz for a little doc about back-up singers that had appeared
across the parking lot from the theater...
Fatigue has nestled in here at Park City. As the second week
ambles onward, the festival becomes increasingly quiet. Those still standing
are out of breath, exasperated, ready to go home and take a break from watching
movies. However, this foreseen,...
Old reunions, late night trysts and troubled childhoods are utterly familiar
themes of each year's Sundance lineup. Some of those reunions are with
filmmakers who have graced the festival catalog for over a decade. Others are
unveiling their babies...
By the end of Kim Longinotto’s harrowing “Dreamcatcher,” I
could barely catch my breath. I told myself that it was just emotional overload
after one story of human suffering too many for me to take. And then I realized
that the...
In
preparing to review the new thriller "The Loft," I was surprised to
discover that not only is it a remake of a 2008 film that was an enormous hit
in its native Belgium, it was previously remade in the Netherlands in
2010--indeed, the film's...
The poised, gifted Irish actress Saoirse Ronan took hold in larger public consciousness with her brilliant turn as the fanciful and tormented young fabricator Briony in Joe Wright's excellent 2007 adaptation of Ian McEwan's "Atonement."The...
Céline Sciamma's films are delicate and emotional examinations of, to quote Madonna, "what it feels like for a girl." Sciamma has directed three features thus far: "Water Lilies," "Tomboy," and now "Girlhood" and each one takes on a different...
While "The Devil's Violinist," an arresting biopic about inspired/possessed violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini, ends on a sour note, it's also beautiful and thoughtful. Writer/director Bernard Rose ("Immortal Beloved," "Candyman") is in his...