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

Talking With Jason Schwartzman and Patrick Brice of THE OVERNIGHT

June 26, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews, Most Popular Tagged Interviews, Jason Schwartzman, Patrick Brice, The Overnight, Willow Creek 1 Comment

I won’t easily admit to being one to be star-stuck but let’s just say I have developed a life-long BFF crush on Jason Schwartzman. From his debut in Wes Anderson’s electric Rushmore (and onward through a certifiable library of Anderson films) to his cult HBO amateur detective comedy Bored to Death to his truly standout indie-rock band Coconut Records (seriously, listen to them. They’re great) I would count myself amongst the Schwartz’s dedicated fanboys. Having the chance to speak with him not once, not twice but three times over a weekend proved my long-time suspicion: the dude is also an incredibly nice guy. Read More

Talking with Patrick Brice of THE OVERNIGHT, CREEP

June 23, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged Interviews, Patrick Brice, The Overnight 1 Comment

Going into 2014’s SXSW, Patrick Brice was an unknown entity, opening the door for the horror knockout that was Creep. With Mark Duplass and an HD camera, Brice made one of the year’s best horror films with little to no dollar bills. All the more impressive is his follow-up, the hilarious and heartfelt The Overnight. With a bigger cast, more money, a formalized script and a sprig of confidence, Brice set out to out-do himself in every way possible. I sat down with Patrick for this two-part discussion of what is easily one of my favorites of the year. Join us as we talk about the transformation from first time director to Sundance sparkler, his desire to dip his toe into thrillers, the responsibility of doing bigger and better projects, pushing the boundaries of comedy, the potential of horror movies and those infamous penis prosthetics.

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