Sundance 2016: Five Possible Standouts
FilmFestSalon.com looks at 5 films in this Sundance Film Festival round-up.
Samuel L. Jackson: The Invisible Avenger
Samuel L. Jackson: The Invisible Avenger I’m not reviewing The Hateful Eight here – and, yes, you should see it – but seeing the film got me thinking about why some actors are ignored by the Oscars. Whatever else you can say about the film, the fact that Samuel L. Jackson was not nominated is […]
The Golden Globes 2016
Spinning the GLOBES! The 2016 Golden Globes awards this past Sunday were rather frustrating. We welcome your own impression of the awards, and will post them over the next few days. If anyone is handicapping the Oscars, a lot of “conventional wisdom” lay like broken crockery on the floor. Heavy favorites Carol, Spotlight and […]
Film: “Brooklyn”
There’s a story inside this well-crafted vehicle, but what you’ll take with you is just one image: that face! Director John Crowley, along with his cinematographer and editor, obviously took great care and expense in making that image the single most important part of the narrative. And I can’t blame them. Saoirse Ronan has a […]
Film: “Room”
Congratulations to Brie Larson on her Golden Globes Best Actress win and her Oscar nomination! After reading about this fascinating film, remember to SUBSCRIBE to FilmFestSalon: It’s really hard to genre-label this one. Is it a sex pervert horror story? A tender story of a mother’s love for her son? A dysfunctional family drama? […]
Film: “Spotlight”
This well-received docudrama, directed and co-written, with Josh Singer, by Thomas McCarthy, is a fine example of “journalism” cinema, where dogged reporters overcome seemingly insurmountable barriers to expose corruption. In this case, the story they are pursuing is the Catholic Church’s systemic cover-up of possibly hundreds of cases of child abuse by priests in Boston […]
Film: “99 Homes”
A well-made western is fun as well as satisfying because the formula is one we’re familiar with, and we want that kind of movie experience. Directed by Ramin Bahrani, from a script he co-wrote with Amir Naderi, 99 Homes is not a western; it takes place in contemporary Florida. Instead of embattled, poor farmers (the […]
NY Filmcritics Series Event: “Shelter”
“Shelter” Discussion For the past two years, NY Filmcritics Series has been exhibiting films around the country before their theatrical release, and it seems to have hit on a winning formula: have the stars and filmmakers present for live interviews and Q and A with the audience. This week, I went to the screening of […]
Selections from 2014 Hamptons International Film Festival
Admittedly, we are movie buffs and watch several each week, either at the movie theatre or comfortably at home with family or friends over for movie nights. While most of our selections are from television cable channels, we also find wonderful films at the Montauk library. Our picks range from popular feature length films, independents, […]
New York Film Festival 2015
The Walk, chosen as opening night film The Festival The New York Film Festival is always an exciting event. It has been held at the same glorious venue, Lincoln Center, since it began. I attended opening night at the very first festival, in 1963. The film that was given the honor to open the festival that year […]