(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Santa Barbara, often referred to as the “American Riviera,” is hosting its 34th film festival this week, replete with the typical red-carpet events and world premieres of films from around the globe. Yes, Melissa McCarthy, Spike Lee, Claire Foy and other high-wattage stars have been seen here this week, but in addition to appearances by those A-listers, numerous filmmakers ... more >
MOVIES | IN THEATERS NOW
“Glass”
Samuel Jackson, Bruce Willis and James McAvoy
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
While movie studios the world over scramble to create their own answers to the cultural/financial juggernaut of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, M. Night Shyamalan, the much-beloved, often-maligned creator of highly personal and unapologetically idiosyncratic thrillers, has managed it on his own, entirely. Shyamalan has finally completed his Eastrail 177 Trilogy, nineteen years in the making, ... more >
TALK with Lisa D’Apolito of “Love, Gilda”
Produced by Lisa D’Apolito, Bronwyn Berry and James TumminiaWhen the documentary “Love, Gilda” premiered at last year’s Tribeca film festival I got left out in the cold. No ticket, it was a sellout. But after taking in the film’s premiere on CNN recently, I could see why “Love, Gilda” would garner such success. This tribute of the life of late comedienne Gilda Radner (1946-1989) is filled with warmth, cheer and heart. I was incredibly fortunate to be able ... more >
“Laws of the lizard”
Smithsonian Channel will air the documentary “Laws of the Lizard” tonight, which follows biologist/filmmakers seeking to explain more about the “backyard lizard” known as the anole. The doc is co-directed by filmmaker Nate Dappen, a Washington, D.C.-area filmmaker who grew up not far from the Smithsonian institution itself. “As a child, I spent a lot of my free time in the woods, catching ... more >
“Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes”
Roger Ailes, Glenn Beck and Babette Bombshell
Directed by Alexis Bloom
Roger Ailes died in May 2017, but his legacy lives on in Fox News, the cable network bankrolled by Rupert Murdoch that many have accused of being little more than a mouthpiece for conservative agitprop and an apologist for President Trump. Whether or not Fox News was “responsible” for Donald Trump is a peripheral concern of the new documentary “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes,” ... more >
INTERVIEW | Jason Reitman on the making of “The Front Runner”
Starring Hugh Jackman and Vera Farmiga
Directed by Jason Reitman
There was a time, before social media and cell phones, when a scandal took hours or even days to break publicly, and when a politician’s fortunes were perhaps not decided within seconds of being captured in a compromising photograph. That was the case in 1987, when Gary Hart, a rising Democratic star, seemed all but poised to sail easily to his party’s nomination to face Ronald Reagan’s ... more >
“Manbiki Kazoku,” “A Family Affair”
Kirin Kiki, Lily Franky and Moemi Katayama
Directed by Koreeda Hirokazu
Hirokazu Koreeda’s (是枝 裕和) “After the Storm,” the story of a divorced family having a reunion as a storm loomed large on the horizon, ran in competition at the Cannes Festival two years ago. “The Third Murder” was presented at the Berlinale last year, a rather twisted police procedural. And now, a “A family affair,” a film that’s centered on the intimate relations of the Shibatas, a small group of ... more >
