tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82168883713124286262009-12-22T12:02:47.192-05:00Webmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03643468321632241172noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-71897864074246033382009-12-08T00:06:00.000-05:002009-12-08T00:08:59.924-05:00

"A dolphin's smile is nature's greatest deception." That's a line given in the beginning of Louie Psihoyos's gripping documentary, The Cove. And the man who says it, Ric O'Barry, is one of the most intriguing subjects in a doc you'll see this year. Ric O'Barry captured and trained the five female dolphins that played Flipper in the 1960s TV series. He lived twenty steps from them for close to ten

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-11715299034738106772009-11-23T20:00:00.008-05:002009-12-22T12:02:47.201-05:00

Matteo Garrone’s masterwork Gomorrah is notable for what it is not. There is no macho camaraderie amongst thugs in social clubs as seen on The Sopranos. And there is nothing romantic about ‘the life’ of mobsters. While American audiences have been accustomed to the portrayal of gangsters having facile access to money, power and women with seeming impunity, they will be treated to a coarser,

Rupert Chiarellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10479454451191285001noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-8314835383316851962009-11-23T17:00:00.000-05:002009-11-23T17:00:01.796-05:00

For his debut feature Tom Quinn took the hours of footage he shot of family and friends talking about dealing with divorce for a psych class as inspiration to create a touching story that meshes domestic issues with the culture of his native South Philadelphia. After placing 13th in Philadelphia's Mummers Parade, which is held every New Year's Day where local clubs in elaborate costumes compete

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-84688857281837273632009-11-10T09:00:00.003-05:002009-11-21T18:30:03.120-05:00

As he did in making his debut feature Ballast, Lance Hammer ignored all the conventional rules when he released the film last year. Originally slated to be opened by IFC Films, Hammer -- known best for his work in the visual effects department of Hollywood pictures like the Batman films of the Joel Schumacher era -- rethought his decision and came to the conclusion that it would be better to self

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-44294934904098615632009-10-26T23:12:00.000-04:002009-10-26T23:13:52.159-04:00

With so much press given to Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah in '08 and '09 (and all of it for good reason) it's easy to forget fellow Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's Il Divo also came out around the same time in both Italy and the U.S. Though not as chilling and much more stylistic and flashy than Garrone's mafioso epic, both films display the diabolical trifecta of politics, religion and organized

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-7625595272699332732009-08-21T01:00:00.003-04:002009-08-31T11:58:36.401-04:00

If you never saw Husbands during its brief release in 1970 through Columbia (mostly misunderstood by critics, audiences and even the studio that released it) or bought it on VHS, you've probably only heard of it through discussions people have of John Cassavetes' work or books written on the actor/director. If you've read about the film, like I have, you're probably excited for this release, as

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-51996678072251658812009-08-10T23:42:00.000-04:002009-08-10T23:42:48.899-04:00

Before there was Momma's Man there was The GoodTimesKid. In Azazel Jacobs's second feature you can see his style beginning to take form, meshing a punk-rock attitude with cinema influences as wide ranging from Chaplin to Jarmusch. In The GoodTimesKid Jacobs and Drama/Mex director Gerardo Naranjo both play men named Rodolfo Cano. Both men learns of the other when a congratulation letter of

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-15280190489439073652009-07-28T09:00:00.001-04:002009-07-28T09:00:00.330-04:00

When a film is labeled controversial on its release, often times with the passage of time things that made it risqué become tamer, leaving the story less effective. Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant is not one of those films. 17 years after being released, Ferrara's disturbing look at a dirty cop (played by Harvey Keitel in one of his most powerful performances) running rampant on the streets of New

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-28994974281420661652009-07-21T00:01:00.006-04:002009-07-21T01:13:00.656-04:00

Hands down one of my favorite films of 2007 is this funny yet poignant documentary about a driven San Francisco Pentecostal minister who wants to make films. Though I will admit I was a little late on the One bandwagon (I didn't see the film until we started screening titles to consider for that year's Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You for the Gotham Awards, which unfortunately, because

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-27563806351548231772009-07-21T00:00:00.000-04:002009-07-21T00:00:05.213-04:00

Directors Robbie Cavolina and Ian McCrudden highlight the life and work of jazz great Anita O'Day in this beautifully packaged 2-disc DVD release spotlighting one of the last living female greats from the golden era of jazz.Known as "The Jezebel of Jazz", Day died at 87 soon after the production of this documentary was complete. But as in her prime, Day comes off as a feisty lover of life in the

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-56057467824748179012009-07-17T13:22:00.007-04:002009-07-17T13:51:40.015-04:00

The recent release Empires of Tin (100 min, 16mm and DV, 2008) is a document of Jem Cohen’s program of projected films for live music performed on closing night at the Viennale (Vienna Film Festival) in 2007, which was entitled Evening’s Civil Twilight In Empires Of Tin.Cohen’s images have always resonated in poetic ways, speed-of-time altered views of New York and other ancient cities, harsh but

Mike Plantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937498008599903450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-90159216657852282932009-06-15T23:11:00.001-04:002009-06-15T23:12:41.976-04:00

If you're not familiar with David Kaplan's work this is a good CliffsNotes on his talents, which caught our eye back in 1999 when we made him one of our 25 New Faces of Independent Film.With the main focus put on his 1997 Sundance short, Little Red Riding Hood, a black and white-shot adaptation of The Story of Grandmother folk tale, the disc also includes two other shorts, Little Suck-a-Thumb (

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-32255368730939785822009-05-17T23:10:00.048-04:002009-05-18T23:33:43.966-04:00

Stacy Peralta uses his knack for dissecting counter-cultures to highlight the two most violent gangs in America with Crips and Bloods: Made in America. Since his breakout Sundance hit Dogtown and Z-Boys, about the iconic skateboarders who revolutionized the sport (Peralta was one of the Z-Boys), Peralta has stayed in the alt-sport realm as his second doc, Riding Giants, looked at the history of

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-84240350196472942402009-04-27T17:18:00.021-04:002009-04-28T08:09:54.465-04:00

There comes a time in every star's career when he or she has to come to terms with the fact that they may not be relevant anymore. Most often actors don't have to come to this career roadblock as quickly as actresses because, frankly, it's a sad fact no one wants to write roles for a 30-plus women, though they have no trouble finding roles men that age -- except if they are action stars.In the

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-62965473205353958652009-03-17T00:00:00.000-04:002009-03-17T00:01:47.869-04:00

What most fascinated me about this adaptation of Philip Roth's short novel, The Dying Animal, is that it's directed by a woman, Spanish director Isabel Coixet. As Roth is known best for his semi-autobiographical male centered stories with promiscuous themes, Coixet puts a refreshing twist on the womanizing David Kepesh character -- who also appears in two other Roth novels, The Breast and The

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-20739214077082357882009-03-03T21:50:00.038-05:002009-03-04T00:09:31.306-05:00

Nominated for Best Foreign Film and Best Actress for Kristin Scott Thomas at this year's Golden Globes, Philippe Claudel's debut feature stars Scott Thomas as Juliette, who's recently been released from prison where she's spent the last 15 years for killing her son and now reluctantly begins to rebuild her relationship with her family after her younger sister, Léa (Elsa Zylberstein), volunteers

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-49158964004485890462009-02-22T00:23:00.027-05:002009-02-23T23:16:38.485-05:00

Unavailable for at least two decades, Eagle Pennell's landmark film has been lost in the conversation of influential American independent films. But with its low-budget filming, engaging yet hapless characters and Pennell's semi-doc handheld shooting of Central Texas, The Whole Shootin' Match is a precursor to almost any indie made today.The film, shot on B&W 16mm, follows two slacker cowboys who

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-5662961708471349002009-02-03T22:07:00.052-05:002009-02-10T00:14:35.929-05:00

Oliver Stone is no stranger to mixing presidents and controversy, so his look at the 43rd president in his latest film, W., comes to no one as a surprise.But unlike JFK or Nixon, decades have not passed in Stone's look at George W. Bush. As time has judged the actions and events depicted in those films long before Stone made them, the wealth of information on Bush's decisions in office and our

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-73103913075592361552008-11-30T15:05:00.047-05:002008-12-01T01:22:22.079-05:00

On Feb. 20, 2005 the grandfather of Gonzo journalism, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, was walking around his snow covered compound in Woody Creek, Colorado when he decided to point the gun he was carrying to his head and pull the trigger. For a man who lived his life with a glass of Wild Turkey in one hand and a hand gun in the other it was a fitting end. Now doc filmmaker Alex Gibney recounts Thompson's

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-54432676061110818722008-11-10T19:49:00.032-05:002008-11-11T10:28:12.391-05:00

An intimate portrait of a pair of friends' struggle to get by in a post-9/11 New York, Ilya Chaiken's sophomore effort (her previous feature was Margarita Happy Hour) has an authentic feel of urban life and an impressive story arch that surpasses its low-budget expectations.The film opens with Derrick (Al Thompson) and Tico (Kareem Saviñon) working on Liberty Island during the day and partying up

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-92046803528755455792008-09-09T12:57:00.046-04:002008-09-11T21:45:05.516-04:00

The director known as blackANDwhite gives a rare and revealing glimpse into the mind and working habits of David Lynch. Sometimes funny, sometimes bizarre but always entertaining, the film is as experimental and abstract as the filmmaker it covers. For those who are disappointed never to really get a sense of how Lynch works from the limited extras in his DVD releases, Lynch goes beyond the

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-30028593452880120282008-09-07T22:36:00.018-04:002008-09-08T21:50:46.221-04:00

Named one of 2007's 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Memphis writer-director Kentucker Audley's debut feature continues the mumblecore tradition of twentysomethings exploring life and love, but set out in the country where things are a little more laid back than the usual metropolitian mumblecore setting, Audley's (who's real name is Andrew Nenninger) tender tale of a young man on the cusp of

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-16698583274366297202008-08-07T01:16:00.004-04:002008-08-07T09:22:49.846-04:00

“The Robert Frank Project” is an ambitious long term publishing program from Steidl which encompasses every bit of images the great Robert Frank created. Known for his photography, primarily with his book “The Americans” (first published in 1958 in Paris and then in 1959 with a text by Jack Kerouac), Frank also made many films, wanting to capture narratives further than he could with stills. Rare

Mike Plantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937498008599903450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-55862015246220548162008-07-29T16:53:00.002-04:002008-07-29T16:58:32.076-04:00

The vastly different worlds of Mardi Gras and Chinese factories meet head-on in Mardi Gras: Made in China. Asking the question where do those beads come from, director David Redmon captures the insane atmosphere of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where thousands and thousands of strings of beads are bought and given away to revelers. More common than just handing out beads is the ritual that started

Mike Plantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937498008599903450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8216888371312428626.post-64281749086826822652008-07-26T15:51:00.026-04:002008-07-28T22:29:27.304-04:00

With word that Quentin Tarantino has FINALLY begun work on a remake of Italian director Enzo G. Castellari's EuroCult classic The Inglorious Bastards, Severin Films has put together a remastered three-disc release of the original, the first time it's been available in the States (though there have been numerous incarnations -- you may recall Deadly Mission and G.I. Bro). An homage to war films

Jason Guerrasiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14958031172216065142noreply@blogger.com0