John Rambo’s “final” adventure is upon us, and (spoiler alert), he rides off into the sunset—no matter that he’s critically injured. Will he be back? Or has the character finally outstayed his welcome? In a word: perhaps. The fact that the “First Blood” franchise has lasted nearly forty years over five films is kind of amazing in and of itself. Unlike Rocky Balboa, John Rambo has never ... more >
NEWS
BFI London Film Festival lineup announced
Filmmaker Jessica Hausner to head First Feature Competition jury
The 63rd BFI London Film Festival has announced its jury line-up for this year’s Festival Awards. The Official Competition jury is led by acclaimed Colette (LFF 2018) and Still Alice director Wash Westmoreland, whose latest film Earthquake Bird screens in this year’s Festival; the First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award) jury will be headed up by Austrian director Jessica Hausner, whose ... more >
TALKING with Lisa Cholodenko and Susannah Grant of “Unbelievable,” which premieres tomorrow on Netflix
Making sense of the trauma of rape in a post-truth world
Marie Adler’s story about an intruder raping her in the middle of the night seemed incredible. So impossible, in fact, that she later retracted her story, earning her the enmity of police, her friends and the entire community. The thing was, Marie wasn’t lying. The teen had, in fact, been violated in her own home by a man who bound her and took photos of her body amidst hours of torture. But so ... more >
INTERVIEW with “American Factory” (premieres on Netflix today) filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar
Will America become more like China or the other way around?
Distributed by Netflix
Filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar have watched as the industrial Midwest has cratered around them. High-paying factory jobs once stretched from western Pennsylvania to Michigan, providing a comfortable working-class living enabling workers to buy a home, two cars and send their children off to college. All of that changed as plants closed and jobs outsourced to Mexico and China. Those ... more >
Peter Fonda, emblem of the sixties generation, dead at 79
Obit
1940-2019
Things sometimes don't go as planned. Peter Fonda, the handsome actor who most famously starred in 1969’s "Easy Rider," along with co-star Dennis Hopper, died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles, ahead of what would've been the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the film. Fonda was 79. The man who once said, "I feel like I'm about eight years old on most days" had a boyish charm and ... more >
“Aquarela,” a lyrical experience that ties humankind to water
Written by Victor Kossakovsky and Aimara Reques
Produced by Aimara Reques, Heino Deckert, Sigrid Dyekjaer
Directed by Victor Kossakovsky
“Aquarela” takes the viewer through visual imagery using the attaching beauty of water. It stands as reminder that humans are no match for the brute force and whimsy of earth’s most precious element. From the frozen waters of Russia’s Lake Baikal to Miami in the throes of Hurricane Irma to Venezuela’s mighty Angel Falls, water is “Aquarela’s main character, with director Victor Kossakovsky ... more >
MY DIRTY LITTLE SECRET: I LOVE WESTERNS (BUT “THE KID” MISSES THE MARK)
Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D'Onofrio all previously starred together in another western, "The Magnificent Seven"
Starring Jake Schur, Leila George and Chris Pratt
Directed by Vincent D'Onofrio
I must divulge two important facts. The first one is that the Western is my favorite film genre, and the second, my favorite Western (and third favorite film ever made) is Sam Peckinpah’s “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” starring James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson (1973). I am of the opinion that Peckinpah’s work on that film is profound and special, and impossible to match. To this, I admit that ... more >
