Miles Hargrove’s filmmaking career got off to the most unlikely of starts, and under rather heavy duress. In 1994, Hargrove and his American family were living in Cali, Colombia—in the backyard of the FARC guerrilla group. Hargrove’s father, Tom, wrote about environmental and other issues affecting the country then under civil war, and it wasn’t long before his reporting and activism began to ... more >
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#cannes2020 is dead. Long live #cannes2020
The films from this year's selection were announced today
PARIS - Finally, the suspense is over. Thierry Frémaux, programmer of the Cannes Festival, and Pierre Lescure, President, released today the names of the films that would've been screened at Cannes this year, had the event taken place. As we all know, the world went tits up in March, everything got canceled because of a wayward virus, including the Festival, and Donald Trump recently held a Bible ... more >
Elizabeth Moss in “Shirley” gives career performance
Film was produced by Christine Vachon
Elisabeth Moss, Logan Lerman and Michael Stuhlbarg
Directed by Josephine Decker
“A fictional biography” is a phrase that usually doesn’t work when it comes to films. Of course, when telling the story of a real person or event, some dramatic license is necessary and sometimes warranted. The new film, “Shirley,” tells the story of horror writer Shirley Jackson that features events that never took place. And that is just fine. Jackson is best known for her 1960 horror novel, ... more >
Marina Zenovich on “30 for 30” and how to come to terms with Lance Armstrong
[Documentary / ESPN]
Perhaps no modern sports figure has gone from the heights of praise to the depths of public revulsion as spectacularly as Lance Armstrong, the disgraced former cycling champion who beat cancer, won several consecutive Tours de France, but then watched his legend implode after admitting to doping over the course of many years. Armstrong’s unlikely rise and even more drastic fall is being retold ... more >
MOVIE REVIEW: “The Droving”
A man's search for his lost sister
Daniel Oldroyd, Suzie Frances Garton and Amy Tyger
Directed by George Popov
With the current style of Hollywood thrillers that tend more toward flashy camerawork and preposterous chase scenes and situations, one feels appreciative when a film comes along that creates the proper atmosphere to fit its subject matter. Director George Popov’s latest UK-set film is a mood piece with a supernatural motif that is one of the more aesthetically-pleasing thrillers I’ve seen in ... more >
CANNES FESTIVAL – The sun sets on 73*
Some parting words on an edition that sadly wasn't
It's Sunday, May 24th. Normally I would've been be at the Cannes Festival for the 73* edition, the first of this new decade, hunkered down in the press room, gulping my umpteenth cup of coffee, with friends and colleagues, typing out the final reviews of this 2020 edition, running communication with others working from their hotel rooms, getting confirmations, or denials, about the latest rumor ... more >
MOVIE REVIEW: “Abe” is a film for the whole family that sidesteps the drawbacks of being a family film
This is the first work of fiction by Brazilian-born director Grostein Andrade
Noah Schnapp, Seu Jorge and Dagmara Dominczyk
Directed by Fernando Grostein Andrade
It is rare in today’s filmmaking world that inspiring films about youth have something profound to say. Most films that claim to speak to today’s kids tend to condescend to their audience and crowd their screenplays with clichés, ofttimes rendering their content superficial and phony. Fernando Grostein Andrade’s “Abe” is the special film that takes care to get to the heart of its subject. It is ... more >