If you ask me – and you’re reading this post, so let’s assume you did – one of the great Hollywood mysteries of our era is why Sam Rockwell is not a bigger star. He’s funny and charismatic, he can do nuanced dramatic roles, and the man can dance like nobody’s business. Most of all,…
If future historians are ever looking for evidence of the political schizophrenia and tribalism that engulfed American in the post-9/11 era, they could do much worse than White House Down, a film that presents itself as an argument for peace and reason but is built on a foundation of cartoonish, consequence-free movie violence and a…
Last weekend, Anthony Flores and I tackled the AFI Docs Festival (formerly Silverdocs). Here is the second part in our series of capsule reviews (see part one here): Cutie and the Boxer When we first meet the famed Japanese painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife Noriko in Cutie and the Boxer, they come across as…
Yesterday, AFI Docs concluded here in Washington, DC. Formerly known as SilverDocs, it is the premiere documentary film festival in the United States. For example, all six 2009 Academy Award-nominated documentary films were screened at Silverdocs 2008. This year, guest writer and documentary aficionado Anthony Flores and I tag-teamed the festival. Over the course of…
This is a guest review from Anthony Flores. With revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance, government secrecy has been in the news. Two recent documentaries, We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks by Alex Gibney and Dirty Wars by Rick Rowley, happen to tackle this subject. It should be a fortuitous opportunity to add…
For those who complain that Hollywood burdens us with an unrealistic view of love, we now have an antidote in Before Midnight, perhaps the first anti-romantic comedy. Whereas most romantic movies end at the first kiss, this film shows us what happens after the fantasy ends and reality begins. By design, it is less enjoyable…
Sarah Polley is one of the industry’s most exciting young directors, although I can’t blame you for not knowing her. Throughout her career, she has followed her own path and consistently avoided the trappings of Hollywood. After starring in such mainstream hits as Go and Dawn of the Dead, she moved behind the camera at…
Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby is a profound disappointment, but I guess we already knew that. Critics and audiences were lining up to criticize his adaptation of the classic American novel before it even opened. While any adaptation of a much-loved book is bound to suffer a few slings and arrows of public opinion, the…
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