 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: No film at the Tribeca Film Festival or any film in recent memory has captured the cultural and significant impacts of tragedy in the minds of adolescence than Daniel Patrick Carbone’s Hide Your Smiling Faces. Engagingly suspenseful, this tale about two brothers, after a tragedy occurs in their rural town, must confront their own demons that include relationships, nature, and morality.
Tommy (Ryan Jones) and Eric (Nathan Varnson) are confronted with morally conflicting views of life and as the two try to siphon their own processes surrounding their tragedy, an underlining beauty exists that I’m not sure I fully understand after the film. Hide Your Smiling Faces lays it on and lays it on hard as these two boys encounter several instances of adult situations through the eyes of young children. Writer/director Carbone isn’t troubled to ask the tough questions of youth and as the boys battle through their layers of guilt, innocence, and even sexuality, Carbone explores the soul of youth and comes up with a phenomenal portrait that stands proudly next to classics like Stand by Me (1986). Read more on TRIBECA: Hide Your Smiling Faces (****)…
 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: Since his first entry into the realm of Oscar-lovers and voters, Thomas Haden Church seemed like a one-trick pony. His newest effort in Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais’ film Whitewash has the actor delivering his finest work yet. Telling the story of Bruce, a man heavy on the bottle, who after he hits a man with his bulldozer during a snowstorm, ventures out into the cold Canadian woods to hide for survival.
As the narrative travels in and out of present and past time, writers Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais and Marc Tulin manage to keep the subdued aura of the film while still keeping it interesting and inventive. Many choices in storytelling and shooting will remind many of the underrated film from Joe Carnahan, The Grey (2012), but the characters here felt much more accessible, both in flaws and pros. The dreary and intimate portrait captured by Cinematographer André Turpin is what encourages the film to go to another place cinematically. His choices along with Hoss-Desmarais’ direction keep the story and the audience close and working together to get to our resolution. Read more on TRIBECA: Whitewash (***½)…
 How can a movie with such fantastic performances and interesting subject matter feel so drawn out and boring? It’s a quagmire of a situation. On one hand you have an in-depth exploration of eco-terrorism and cultist behavior that’s given time to grow and enrapture you. On the other hand, it takes it’s sweet time to get there and doesn’t really engender any real feeling sfor the characters, making the running time feel much longer than it is. In short, The East manages to be the embodiment of that contradiction, being one of the most enchanting boring movies put to screen. Read more on SXSW: The East (**½)…
Categories: Festivals, Film Reviews Tags: Alexander Skarsgard, Brit Marling, Ellen Page, Film, film reviews, Shiloh Fernandez, SXSW, sxsw festival, The East, Toby Kebbell, Zal Batmanglij
 Opening in select theaters in New York and at the Laemmle’s Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills, ‘If I Were You‘ (2013) is a cross between ‘The First Wives Club‘ (1996), ‘Stepmom‘ (1998) and ‘The Women‘ (2008). Written and directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin, produced by David Gordian and Alan Latham, this movie is rated R and runs almost two hours long. Starring Marcia Gay Harden, Leonor Watling, and Aiden Quinn, the cast is really well casted and the they work really well with each other, creating chemistry that help the story along. The 2nd place winner of the Palm Springs International Film Festival 2012 audience award, Joan Carr-Wiggin is also known for writing and directing ‘A Previous Engagement‘ (2008) and ‘My First Wedding‘ (2006). Like many independent features, the story is interesting enough but slows down in the middle before hurtling to the end.
Read more on If I Were You (**½)…
 In the immortal words of my Twitter account post-screening: “Evil Dead HOLY SHIT…I mean HOLY MOTHER FUCKING SHIT that was a fantastic movie.” Apologies to those who are offended by such language, but you are probably not the target audience this sadistically gory horror flick is going for anyway. Instead this blood soaked film is catering to those who like their gore gross and their films shocking. Evil Dead takes many of its cues from the original film but Fede Alvarez creates something entirely his own. In short, it’s easily the bloodiest studio film I’ve ever seen and a flat out riot to watch.
Read more on SXSW: Evil Dead (***½)…
Categories: Blog, Festivals, Film Reviews Tags: Diablo Cody, Elizabeth Blackmore, Evil Dead, Fede Alvarez, film reviews, Jane Levy, Jessica Lucas, Lou Taylor Pucci, Sam Raimi, Shiloh Fernandez, SXSW, sxsw festival
 With over two dozen filmmakers bringing audiences literally 26 different ways to die, ‘The ABCs of Death’ had the potential to be an anthology horror classic in the making. Last year’s ‘V/H/S’ and this year’s Sundance alum ‘S/V/H/S’ (now blandly retitled ‘V/H/S/2′) have been well regarded by most, so this one could have been the granddaddy of them all. It’s too bad then that this flick is of really varying quality, with only a handful of vignettes managing to leave any impression on the viewer. The concept certainly has some macabre appeal: each filmmaker was tasked with crafting a short vignette on death using a specific letter of the alphabet as a starting point. There’s no wraparound device or reason for this, so it’s essentially 26 short films, with each chapter making up the goriest bedtime story in history. There are one or two inspired moments here, but most of the time it’s style over substance and occasionally it seems that the filmmakers really just didn’t know what they wanted to accomplish. Horror aficionados will probably find some things to like here, but it’s very much a mixed bag at best. At slightly over two hours long, it very much overstays its welcome and doesn’t leave you with much except some graphic images stuck in your head. I love a good fright flick, but this one just isn’t one.
Read more on The ABCs of Death (**)…
 A wonderful surprise from a little movie that could, Xiaoshuai Wang’s 11 Flowers is a beautiful look at the gifts Chinese cinema can provide. A classy, poignant tale that resonates loudly and enchants the most tender parts of the human soul.
The film takes place in 1975, the final year of the Cultural Revolution, telling the story of Wang Han, an eleven year old boy who begs his mother for a white shirt. It’s unbelievable a concept or garment seemingly so unimportant especially when revolving an entire plot around it, can be so profound and masterfully created. As his school’s best gymnast, Han leads the daily calisthenics for his entire student body. When his teacher suggests this honor of leading the school deserves a new white shirt as oppose to the school’s regulatory blue one, Wang Han begins an obsession with his new garment. Read more on 11 Flowers (***½)…
 Supernatural teen dramas have been all the rages the past few years, with movie goers flocking to see every manner of movie about werewolves, vampires, and most recently zombies. Beautiful Creatures, focuses on a subset of the supernatural, witches, that I feel doesn’t get enough attention. While this adaptation of the young adult novels doesn’t always serve the magic of the story, the scorching chemistry between it’s two leads more than helps to override the pacing issues of the film and make this an enjoyable watch. Read more on Beautiful Creatures (**½)…
 You’d be hard pressed to find a person who was more unsure of Warm Bodies than me when the trailer dropped. In this age of reboots and re-imaginings and remixes, this just seemed like another in the assembly line of ideas. Luckily the writers took care to develop a dynamite script that earns every laugh and dramatic beat, found the perfect director in Jonathan Levine, and captured a fine cast to make it all come to life. A lighthearted romp through the undead genre, Warm Bodies is the first real bright spot in this year’s opening slate of films. Read more on Warm Bodies (***)…
 Raucously entertaining and yet incredibly earnest, Christina Voros’ documentary kink is a fascinating film about the inner workings of the porn studio kink.com. Certainly not for the faint of heart or prude of mind, Voros spares us nothing in her examination of BDSM porn by way of the most profitable studio of the genre. It’s a lightning rod of a film instantly sparking discussion, division and derision. But that’s what makes the documentary great, you can’t help but be compelled to have a longer conversation about the film. Read more on SUNDANCE: kink (***½)…Read more on SUNDANCE: kink (***½)…
 Sometimes movies are incredibly clear in their intentions from the outset. Other films take their time, sneaking up on you and subtly creeping into your consciousness. and there are those films that sneak up on you, creeping into your consciousness. Pit Stop, an eloquent look at gay men living in Texas and the crossroads they find themselves at in their interactions, is most definitely the latter. While I had some problems with the first half of the film, the 2nd half is so wonderful that it made me reevaluate my entire experience. Anchored by some nuanced performances and a character driven screenplay, the film manages to say a lot without speaking loudly. Read more on Sundance: Pit Stop (***)…
 Every so often as a critic you get the opportunity to witness a film that’s so ingrained in your experience that it becomes difficult to even comprehend how you feel about the film. On one hand, Fruitvale is a rich, if slightly problematic, retelling of the day in the life of Oscar Grant, the Oakland man who was shot by police officers on New Year’s Day 2009. On the other is innate sense of personal relevance. I can still tell you exactly where I was sitting when I heard about him getting shot, the worry on my parent’s (and to speak the truth, all Black parents) faces that something like this could happen to me (their children), and the anger, not just African Americans, but most Bay Area residents felt when the officer who shot him was only sentenced to two years jail time. There’s no way to divorce those experiences from watching a film like this. However the movie doesn’t ask you to, it just wants you to be in the moment as it tells it’s story. For those reasons, Fruitvale is a feat of movie making, something that operates well within the medium and invites you to bring your emotions along for the ride. Read more on SUNDANCE: Fruitvale (***)…
 Do you all remember that split screen in 500 Days of Summer where we see the main character’s expectations vs. reality? Well my screening of Ain’t Them Bodies Saints was very much like what the main character went through. In my mind, Aint Them Bodies Saints was a thrilling yet poetic film that would put Malick to shame with a lot of meat for gifted actors to chew on. However, in reality, it was a plodding, dimly lit slog of a film that was more style than substance. Read more on SUNDANCE: Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (**½)…
Categories: Blog, Festivals, Film Reviews Tags: Ben Foster, Casey Affleck, Film, film reviews, Nate Parker, reviews, Rooney Mara, Sundance Film Festival, Terence Johnson
 No, the Chilean film recently nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars, is an engrossing look at the power of the quest to unseat General Pinochet from power through positive tv ads during the 1988 plebiscite. Director Pablo Larrain and star Gael Garcia Bernal shed a light on a unique period in Chile’s history through a visceral style that engages your brain and your eyes as it takes you on a journey. Read more on SUNDANCE: No (***½)…
Categories: Blog, Festivals, Film Reviews Tags: Best Foreign Language Film, Film, film reviews, gael garcia bernal, No, Oscar, Oscars, Pablo Larrain, reviews, Sundance Film Festival, Terence Johnson
 Ever wonder what the sexual looseness of Y Tu Mama Tambien and the tropes of American films about kids getting drugs would be? Well if you did, you’d certainly be the type of audience member that a film like Crystal Fairy craves. However, if you are any kind of discerning filmgoer or stone cold sober, you will probably find this movie to just be a meandering mess that doesn’t cohere its many orbiting parts. Michale Cera stars as Jaime, an American traveling in Chile, who ropes his friends into going on an adventure to try the legendary hallucinogen called the San Pedro Cactus. This simply plan gets more complicated when Crystal Fairy, a girl he drunkenly met at a party, joins the group on their journey. Chaos ensues and (forced) breakthroughs are made in the 100 minute running time of the film.
Read more on SUNDANCE: Crystal Fairy (**)…
 It has been said that good things come to those who wait. Many know the story of Gangster Squad being delayed due to the horrific shootings in Aurora, CO in July and having to reshoot a crucial scene (the original was a theater shootout). Whether that re-shot scene had anything to do with the dismal final product we will probably never know but after seeing the film they could have stood to redo the entire film. Gangster Squad is a stylistic mess of a movie that gets bogged down by trying to be every gangster film you’ve ever seen without the aspects that made those movies great.
Read more on Gangster Squad (*½)…
Categories: Film Reviews Tags: Anthony Mackie, emma stone, Film, film reviews, Gangster Squad, Giovanni Ribisi, Josh Brolin, Michael Pena, Mirelle Enos, Robert Patrick, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Terence Johnson
 There’s been no film more divisive or more igniting in terms of strong Oscar speculation then Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. After months of shooting, word of a last minute edit (some believe editing is still going on currently), the film has finally hit cinematic eyes and the “final” product is both bold and misguided. Django Unchained is big and full of Tarantino life and color that we’ve come to love about him. On sheer production value, it’s his finest film endeavor to date. Set designs are simply gorgeous, Robert Richardson captures some beautiful shots, and Sharen Davis proves once again, she’s one of the most awe-inspiring designers working today. Tarantino does go a bit “out there” in his choices of dialogue along with the developing and rising structure of the story. Where Tarantino succeeds is in digging some terrific performances out of his principal cast, even if his film is at times lunky, problematic, and a bit messy.
Read more on Django Unchained (***)…
Categories: Editor, Film Reviews Tags: Broomhilda, Calvin Candie, Christoph Waltz, Cinema of the United States, David Carradine, Django, Django Unchained, don johnson, Editor, Editor Film Review, Entertainment/Culture, Film, film reviews, Hans Landa, Holly Hunter, Inglourious Basterds, jamie foxx, Jane Campion, John Legend, Jonah Hill, Kerry Washington, Kill Bill Vol, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Richardson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sharen Davis, the Academy Award, Who Did That to You?
 In what seems like an eternity, Tom Hooper’s long-awaited Les Miserables starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway has finally been screened and finished. Director Hooper came out to introduce his film at the Alice Tully Theater at Lincoln Center on Friday, November 23, 2012 and explained that he had just finished the picture at 2 a.m. the evening before. The wait was well worth it. Les Miserables is not only stunningly powerful, and beautifully crafted, it’s the best stage musical adaptation since Rob Marshall’s Chicago (2002). Incredibly moving and featuring some of the most powerful musical numbers ever constructed, Tom Hooper tops his previous film The King’s Speech (2010) with artistry and passion. Read more on Les Miserables (****)…
Categories: Editor, Film Reviews Tags: Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Arts, British films, Chicago, Chris Dickens, conductor, Cosette, Danny Cohen, Director, Eddie Redmayne, Editor, Editor Film Review, Entertainment/Culture, Eve Stewart, Fantine, Film, film reviews, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Jackman, Human Interest, Javert, Jean Valjean, King, Les Miserables, Lincoln Center, Marius, Movie Release, Oscar, player, police inspector, principal actor, Rachel Getting Married, Rob Marshall, Romantic drama films, Russell Crowe, sacha baron cohen, Samantha Barks, single actor and craftsman, The Academy Awards, The King, the Oscars, Tom Hooper
 Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow and Oscar-winning screenwriter Mark Boal take their newest effort, Zero Dark Thirty, to places I couldn’t have imagined. Based on the events leading up to the killing of Osama bin Laden, the two display an impressive amount of control in the way the film is told and showcases some brilliant moments in filmmaking. Zero Dark Thirty hooks you from minute one and just DOESN’T. LET. GO. It’s one of the best pictures of the year!
Read more on Zero Dark Thirty (****)…
Categories: Editor, Film Reviews Tags: alexandre desplat, Cinema of the United States, Director, Dylan Tichenor, Editor, Editor Film Review, Entertainment/Culture, Film, film reviews, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain, kathryn bigelow, Kyle Chandler, Mark Boal, Mark Strong, Osama Bin Laden, Oscar, screenwriter, The Academy Awards, William Goldenberg, Writer, Zero Dark Thirty
 The amount of heart and wit embodied in David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook is one of the tender and surprising films of the year. Russell, who has brought his quirky comedies to the screen like I Heart Huckabees (2004) seemingly never found his footing in the genre. Russell has had his fans championing his choices such as Spanking the Monkey (1994), Flirting with Disaster (1996), and especially Three Kings (1999). In Playbook, you can chalk it up to the source material by Matthew Quick, or the way Russell approaches telling the story but it’s one of the director’s bravest attempts to date. Despite a love story that feels forced and a bit tedious and predictable, the film is a breath of fresh air to the romantic comedy genre.
Read more on Silver Linings Playbook (***½)…
Categories: Editor, Film Reviews Tags: Bradley Cooper, Chris Tucker, David O. Russell, Editor, Editor Film Review, Entertainment/Culture, film reviews, Jacki Weaver, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar, Oscar hopeful, Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
- Hello Readers! What a week we’ve had here at the AC to see us into November. For one week only I’ll be bringing you our Sunday round up of all the juiciest bits from the past seven days, as our regular host Joseph is currently doing a sterling job of covering AFI-Fest.
Read more on Circuit Round-Up (Week Ending 11/04)…
Categories: Circuit Round-Up Tags: Bound By Flesh, Circuit Round-Up, clayton davis, Film, film reviews, Flight, hitchcock, Joey Magidson, John H. Foote, Joseph Braverman, Life of Pi, Mark Johnson, Nicole Melkonian, Robert Zemeckis, Samsara, Skyfall, Starlet, Terence Johnson, The Bay, Tiff Chai, Wreck-It Ralph
 It’s almost refreshing to see an indie comedy embrace its broad humor these days. Jonathan Lisecki’s ‘Gayby’ is a good example of how a small scale flick like this one can use broader jokes normally more in line with a mainstream movie in the service of an appealing independent film. There’s a strong likability and charm on display here from Lisecki and all of his cast members, including leads Jenn Harris and Matthew Wilkas, and that goes a long way towards selling this admittedly less than fully original story. Read more on Gayby (***)…
 Seven Psychopaths is a movie about…well I’m still processing the film and its many interpretations. On the surface it’s just a black comedy about crazy people acting crazy telling crazy stories. But more than that, Martin McDonagh’s film is an exploration of screenwriting and a bristling take down (send up?) of male dominated action comedies. It’s a film that will leave you puzzled, especially after a rough first half hour, but the more you open your mind to will prove revelatory, entirely engrossing and incredibly funny. While there are so many recursive elements to the story one could get lost but my pal Mark Johnson summed up the set up beautifully: Seven Psychopaths is the tale of a struggling screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who gets mixed up with the mob after his delinquent friends (Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken) kidnap an eccentric gangster’s (Woody Harrelson) precious Shih Tzu.
Read more on Seven Psychopaths (***½)…
Categories: Film Reviews Tags: Christopher Walken, Colin Farrell, film review, film reviews, Gabourey Sidibe, Martin McDonagh, Michael Pitt, Michael Stuhlbarg, Olga Kurylenko, Sam Rockwell, seven psychopaths, Woody Harrelson, Željko Ivanek
The Sapphires (** 1/2)
Dreamgirls. Hairspray. Sparkle. And now The Sapphires. All of these movie musicals essentially tell the same story: the plight for racial equality set against a backdrop of toe tapping show tunes and soul classics. Unfortunately The Sapphires, while approaching the subject from a more unique Australian Aborigine standpoint, can’t shake the comparisons to these glossier, more memorable movies.
More and more I find myself looking for films that bring something new to the table, as one of my biggest prerequisites for a movie has become whether it can show me something that I’ve never seen before. Sadly The Sapphires just doesn’t deliver on that front, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have its moments.
Read more on BFI London Film Festival – DAY 5…
Categories: Film Reviews Tags: Australian cinema, BFI, BFI London Film Festival, book adaptation, Chris O'Dowd, Deepa Mehta, film reviews, LFF, London Film Festival, Midnight's Children, musicals, Salman Rushdie, Satya Bhabha, The Sapphires
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