A lot of the buzz surrounding “Still Alice” revolves around Julianne Moore’s Oscar-worthy performance as a woman struggling with Alzheimer’s. And upon viewing there is no denying that Moore’s performance is the film’s winning factor. However, that is not to say that “Still Alice” is not a well-made film, because it is. Shot for less than five million dollars over the course of twenty-three days ... more >
Archives for January 2015
ARCHIVES
STILL ALICE, when family bonds are tested
Initial release: January 15th
Julianne Moore and Kristen Stewart
Directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
PREVIEW: CHRISTIAN PETZOLD’s “Phoenix”
After exploring the Stasi period in "Barbara" German filmmaker Christian Petzold here goes a step backward to take in the aftermath of the Nazi debacle with his lens in "Phoenix," a film currently being shown in Europe and headed for theatrical here in late 2015. As was the case in most of the filmmaker's previous films the luminous actress Nina Hoss has the leading role, this time that of Nelly, ... more >
Opportunities missed in Ava DuVernay’s retelling of “Selma” events
Equality may be the law, it's far from being the rule
David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson and Carmen Ejogo
Directed by Ava DuVernay
The public has been relatively kind to director Ava DuVernay’s “Selma” though this recounting of an extraordinary moment in our country’s march toward civil rights is bloated and inaccurate. Which may explain, rather than some anti African-American conspiracy, why it was spurned for the Academy Awards nomination. Martin Luther King, here played superbly by David Oyelowo, is the closest anyone ... more >
Before you know it
Directed by P.J. Raval
Currently available on VOD
When you get old you become invisible, apparently. That’s what our parents and grand-parents tell us. We probably are aware that we don’t notice old people as much. What about if you’re gay and old? Gay activists are thought of as being youthful rabble-rousers filled to the brim with energetic conviction, ready to turn the establishment on its head. Does that mean that the older generation of gay ... more >
QUOTE: NEW CANNES president Pierre Lescure on the Coen Bros heading jury
This year marks Lescure's first year as fest president
Pierre Lescure, the new president of this upcoming 68th edition of the Cannes Festival, took to the media this week after it was announced by fest that this year’s jury would be presided over by the Coen Brothers. "These geniuses of dark humor, these portrait artists we love so, cutting and tender all at once, a balance between popular and independent,” is the savvy and warm-hearted way Lescure ... more >
A MOST VIOLENT YEAR
Elevating the crime genre to new heights
Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain
Directed by J.C. Chandor
“A most violent year” isn’t so much about graphic violence as it is about a more invisible form of it. More specifically “Year” is a character study, a character study of the violence inflicted upon the integrity of a man who’s faced with the kinds of pressures that tempt him to abandon his principles. It is New York, 1981. Fuel supplier Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) is about to close a real ... more >
SUNDAY OPINION: POLITICIANS don’t make good movie critics (and probably never will)
A small-town mayor does small-time things sometimes
Alternate reality ahead: keep your eyes peeled
FRANCE - This week, the right wing-leaning mayor of a small Parisian suburban town ordered local theaters to take the film “Timbuktu” (directed by Abderrahmane Sissako) off its program slate “in the name of the fight against glorifying terrorism.” The terrorist attacks that occurred in France last week have had many consequences, this incomprehensible cancelation of “Timbuktu” by Monsieur le ... more >