Silver Screen Riot’s Top 10 Films of 2015

January 1, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Lists, Most Popular Tagged Creed, Ex Machina, Inside Out, Mad Max: Fury Road, Room, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Steve Jobs, The End of the Tour, The Overnight, The Revenant Leave a comment

Well well well. 2015 has finally reached its end. After 201 films, 25 interviews (including Robert Duvall, Kevin Bacon, Jason Segel, Jason Schwartzman, Greta Gerwig, Jemaine Clement, Alex Garland, and Nick Kroll to name just a few), three massive international film festivals and countless hours spend idly engaged in film banter with my always entertaining gang of colleagues and peers at various Seattle screening rooms, I can finally come to the conclusion that, for what it’s worth, 2015 was an odd duck for film. Read More

Out in Theaters: THE END OF THE TOUR

August 5, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Best of 2015, Danny Elfman, David Foster Wallace, David Lipsky, Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The End of the Tour Leave a comment

*This is a reprint of our 2015 Sundance review*

To put a pin in the beauty of The End of the Tour is a philosophical venture potentially as challenging as James Ponsoldt‘s latest accomplishment. Detailing a three-day exchange between Rolling Stones journalist David Lipsky and rock star author David Foster Wallace, Ponsoldt’s film is talky and emotionally whirling, thick with dry-mouthed moments and cemented with a kind of human earnestness that cannot be bought or bartered for. Read More

2015 Indie Summer Release Guide

July 1, 2015 by Lillian Angelle Posted in Lists Tagged Creep, Duplass Brothers, Hungry Hearts, Lists, Manglehorn, Mark Duplass, Mistress America, Noah Baumbach, Tangerine, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, The End of the Tour, The Midnight Swim, What Happened Miss Simone? Leave a comment

While this summer has been thoroughly epic with the release of Jurassic World, Magic Mike: XXL and Mad Max: Fury Road, let us not forget our humble independent cinema either going straight to VOD or perhaps gracing arthouse cinemas this summer. It’s a strong season for independent film, with new releases from indie champs James Ponsoldt (The End of the Tour) and Noah Baumbach (Mistress America) as well as a few directing debuts by Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) and Sarah Adina Smith (Midnight Swim). Get your fill of indie cinema below with a gateway guide. Read More

10 Best Movies of 2015 So Far

June 11, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Lists Tagged Ex Machina, Inside Out, Lamb, Mad Max: Fury Road, The End of the Tour, The Look of Silence, The Overnight, The Witch, Trainwreck, Wild Tales Leave a comment

For the casual film-goer, 2015 has started off on relative slow footing. Dumping ground months January and February held few critical or commercial surprise hits – outside of one release featured on this rundown – with anything of worth reserved for festival-going audiences. Barring the outrageous international money-vacuum that is Furious 7, Summer 2015 has proved a touch disappointing with expected giants such as Avengers: Age of Ultron landing softer than anticipation (while still claiming the second biggest opening weekend ever) and big franchise resets like Terminator: Genisys and Jurassic World waiting in the wings with big question marks (and budgets) hanging over their heads. Read More

Sundance Review: THE END OF THE TOUR

January 24, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged James Ponsolt, Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg, Reviews, Sundance 2015, The End of the Tour

To put a pin in the beauty of The End of the Tour is a philosophical venture potentially as challenging as James Ponsoldt‘s latest accomplishment. Detailing a three-day exchange between Rolling Stones journalist David Lipsky and rock star author David Foster Wallace, Ponsoldt’s film is talky and emotionally whirling, thick with dry-mouthed moments and cemented with a kind of human earnestness that cannot be bought or bartered for. Read More