Jeremy LaLonde has a thing about sex. His first feature, SEX AFTER KIDS, was a hilarious ensemble peek at all the ways your relationships change after a family of two becomes a three (or four or five….). It was frank and maybe should be mandatory viewing as part of relationship counseling. His newest film, HOW TO PLAN AN ORGY IN A SMALL TOWN, continues his unstated … [Read more...]
Sundance Review: MILES AHEAD Takes Us Further Than Any Biopic
I‘m not even a die-hard jazz fan but Don Cheadle’s MILES AHEAD took me on a musical journey that felt like it both honored the man and still made for great cinema. So many biopics get bogged down on how these stars become great, and all the trials they had to overcome. This is a Miles Davis movie, but instead of delving into all the details, Cheadle delivers a sort of dramatic … [Read more...]
Sundance Interview: PLEASURE. LOVE.’s Circular Romance And The Reincarnation Of Perspective
“Once we pass away or leave this universe,” he says, “this knowledge still exists and the tradition of passing down this knowledge continues, and this is life.” - Director Yao Huang Some films last much longer in your mind than their run time. Often it’s because they offer more than a story, they offer a puzzle, something your brain wrestles with for hours after the film. Yao … [Read more...]
Slamdance Interview: NEPTUNE And The Waters At The Edge Of The Unknown
On a remote island off the coast of Maine, Hannah Newcombe has grown up as far away from a regular childhood as possible. An orphan dropped off at a church, she lives lives with the island’s sole preacher - she's part daughter/part maid. Her dream to attend a prestigious religious boarding school is clearly his dream, forced upon her. Hannah has no direction anyway, no ties to … [Read more...]
Sundance Interview: HOW TO TELL YOU’RE A DOUCHEBAG writer/director Tahir Jetter on dating in the smart phone age and making ‘Black Swingers’
HOW TO TELL YOU'RE A DOUCHEBAG is not your typical Sundance Film: no one has a terminal disease, it’s not about the injustices of poverty, or even a bold revisitation of some genre or decade old style of filmmaking. It’s actually a ‘commercial’ film. In a year dominated by so many somber stories, writer/director Tahir Jetter’s film stood out at Sundance as an insightful … [Read more...]
Sundance Interview: UNDER THE SHADOW, Babak Anvari And The Horror Of The Iran/Iraq War (and of Djinns)
A mother protects her daughter from a supernatural force that has somehow gotten inside their home. It is the basic plot of hundreds of films, but in this case, the home is in 1988 Tehran in the midst of the Iran/Iraq war and the mother is a former political activist now blacklisted under a repressive regime. Babak Anvari’s first feature, which made its world premiere at … [Read more...]
SLAMDANCE 2016: ONE MINUTE ON THE RED CARPET WITH ‘EMBERS’ CO-WRITERS/DIRECTOR
AMFM's Chris Thompson catches up with Claire Carré, co-writer and director of EMBERS on the red carpet at Slamdance 2016. The Mary Shelley Award for SciFi Filmmaking from Other Worlds Austin was awarded to the artist (writer, director or actor) whose film best furthers the involvement and representation of women in the SciFi genre. Claire Carré, co-writer and director of … [Read more...]
Sundance 2016 in Fives: Favorites, Fails and Frustrations
Sundance was a cold, wet affair, not only on the streets and sidewalks of Park City, but in the theaters as well. So many films dwelled in the depths of sadness (I think there were five films about mass shootings), that I began to seek out films that promised to make me smile. I realize there is a certain weight to films playing a major festival, but there must be some … [Read more...]
Sundance Review: DARK NIGHT or Watching Strangers Run Errands
One of the most disappointing films I've seen at Sundance this year was DARK NIGHT, which you may remember was part of my Can't Miss Picks. Unfortunately, the Tim Sutton film was more like "Can't Stay Awake" pick. Ostensibly set the day before a mass shooting (not sure if it was based on a historical one or author's invention), the film follows an array of characters going … [Read more...]
Sundance Review: THE BLACKOUT EXPERIMENTS, a 90 minute Commerical for a Cult
Last year it was Rodney Ascher's THE NIGHTMARE, this year THE BLACKOUT EXPERIMENTS fills the becoming-mandatory doc spot in the Midnighters at Sundance. In the film, director Rich Fox follows a number of participants who voluntarily go to an undisclosed and ever-changing location to have bags shoved over their heads, be verbally humiliated and subjected to physical ordeals that … [Read more...]
Slamdance 2016: 10 Can’t Miss Picks
Each year Park City overflows with filmgoers and it seems each year more of them are finding their way to Slamdance, the kid brother with an outsider focus and a bit of a chip on its shoulder. A majority of the Slamdance Program (the competition) is made up of first time directors and what the films are lacking in star power, they are often brimming with enthusiasm. Most of … [Read more...]
2016 Sundance: 10 Can’t Miss Picks
The film calendar begins on Thursday, January 21st, as Sundance kicks off for yet another year as the flagship festival of the US and arguably the world. For me, Cannes seems to be about stars and celebrities, TIFF is about sales, but Sundance still tends to be about screenings. This is my fourth year in a row at the festival, so I am starting to see it as part of my yearly … [Read more...]
