Reviews and coverage from major film festivals including Sundance, SXSW, SIFF, TIFF, and Cannes, the best and the rest of festival cinema.
As an annual sendoff to summer, Bumbershoot 2013 is a monumental celebration of the free spirit (ironically set on Labor Day) – a keyed up free-for-all of art, music, comedy, film and theater. The droves of Bumbershoot attendees (henceforth known as Shooters) yearned for the wealth of artistic expression, surging and forming into longer and...
“Unfinished Song”Directed by Paul Andrew WilliamsStarring Terrence Stamp, Vanessa Redgrave, Gemma Arteton, Christopher Eccleston, Orla HillComedy, Drama, Music93 Mins PG-13 Piggybacking on the recent success of films skewing towards retirees, Unfinished Song is an unabashed play towards the tissue box. The tear-jerking gimmicks are all there; a bout of cancer, strained familial relationships, death...
“The Way, Way Back” Directed by Nat Faxon, Jim Rash Starring Liam James, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Robb Corddry, Amanda Peet, Maya Rudolph, Allison Janney, River Alexander and AnnaSophia RobbComedy, Drama 103 Mins PG-13 While The Way, Way Back has a firm handle on its supporting cast, it leaves the plot to the...
“A Hijacking” (Kapringen) Directed by Tobias Lindholm Starring Pilou Asbæk, Søren Malling, Dar Salim, Roland Møller, Gary Skjoldmose Porter, Abdihakin Asgar, Amalie Ihle Alstrup Drama, Thriller 99 Mins R Tracking a fictional hijacking situation at sea, Tobias Lindholm‘s film values process over progress, where the “heroes” and “villains” play a politicking game of...
46 Days and 447 Films From Thursday, April 25 (with an official start date of May 16) to Sunday, June 9, the Seattle International Film Festival has screened 447 films, 31 of which I had a chance to watch. From opening with Joss Whedon’s Shakespearean piece Much Ado About Nothing, which I called “a...
“The Bling Ring”Directed by Sofia Coppola Starring Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Emma Watson, Leslie Mann, Claire Julien, Taissa Farmiga Crime, Drama 90 Mins R In a funny way, The Bling Ring is Sofia Coppola‘s most accessible film to date. As cognizantly distant and empty-headed as the teens-on-a-tear at the center of the film are, Coppola...
“Last I Heard” Directed by Dave Rodriguez Starring Paul Sorvino, Renee Props, Michael Rapaport, Andrea Nittoli, Lev Gorn, Steven Bauer, Chazz PalminteriDrama, Comedy For a film whose focus is character, Last I Heard is pretty inept at characterization. Leading man Paul Sorvino does the best he can with his ex-mobster character Mr. Joe but he...
“Wish You Were Here”Directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith Starring Joel Edgerton, Felicity Price, Teresa Palmer, Antony Starr Drama, Mystery 89 MinsR Cautionary tale and psychological thriller, Wish You Were Here is the worst of vacation nightmares realized. Veering around chronological storytelling, director Kieran Darcy-Smith twists an introspective journey into a taut thriller. With silence that feels...
“V/H/S 2”Directed by Simon Barrett, Jason Eisener, Gareth Evans, Gregg Hale, Eduardo Sánchez, Timo Tjahjanto, Adam WingardStarring Kelsy Abbott, Devon Brookshire, Samantha Gracie, Hannah Hughes, Kevin Hunt, Lawrence Michael Levine, Carly Robell, Mindy Robinson, Adam Wingard and John T. Woods Horror 96 Mins R V/H/S 2 is completely tone deaf to any semblance of mood...
“Much Ado About Nothing” Directed by Joss Whedon Starring Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Reed Diamond, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher, Spencer Treat Clark, Riki Lindhome, Ashley Johnson Comedy/Drama/Romance 107 Mins PG-13 Every time any sane person starts watching a Shakespeare adaptation, there’s that initial shock of the compacted and complex language – a bucket of cold...