Apparently few read or studied Sir Gawain and The Green Knight in school, not that familiarity with the material will make or break your experience with David Lowery’s version. You’ve likely seen a film or two by director David Lowery: A Ghost Story, Pete’s Dragon, The Old Man and the Gun, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. […]
Filmmaker David Michôd (“Animal Kingdom,” “The Rover”) and fellow Australian Justin Kurzel (“Macbeth,” “True History of the Kelly Gang“) have more in common than hailing from the same country. Both are visionary filmmakers, not directors who can see the future of cinema necessarily, but artists who create an entire film around an initial or singular
Calling “Boy Erased” an emotional or powerful film doesn’t do it justice. Actor, writer, director, and producer Joel Edgerton (“The Gift,” “Loving”) delivers the type of film that can permanently change lives. “Boy Erased” takes a devastating look at conversion therapy as a “cure” for homosexuality. It’s a hard film to watch, but the remarkable
Joel Edgerton’s brother Nash is the director of Gringo, his sophomore effort behind the camera. Both Edgerton’s have found success in various roles of filmmaking, but Gringo doesn’t showcase either of their skills. The second consecutive miscast role for Joel Edgerton (Red Sparrow) who began as a poor man’s Aussie heartthrob but, but now quite
Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver Linings Playbook”) reunites with her “Hunger Games” director Francis Lawrence in “Red Sparrow”. My expectations for this film were low due the March release date, and the Hollywood star’s last project was nominated for a Razzie. It begins with one heck of an opening sequence, the first indication this film
Over the past weekend distributor A24 released their deceptively marketed It Comes at Night. The sophomore film from Houston born director Trey Edward Shults whose directorial effort Krisha won both the audience and grand jury prize at SXSW in 2015 (but mainstream audiences never heard of). This film has a budget, Hollywood actors, marketed as
If you didn’t know anything about Jeff Nichols’ Loving, the first few minutes of the film wouldn’t look any different than the beginning of a 1960’s love story between two people from small town Virginia. In his 5th film, Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter) tackles his first historical story, “an important story”, he says. While Loving
Midnight Special answers the question of what a “Jeff Nichols film” might look like on a larger budget. “It’s still a Jeff Nichols film,” he said at the packed North American premiere at SXSW. He wasn’t kidding, there are major notes from his two previous films Mud and one of my all-time favorites Take
Gavin O’Conner’s female western was plagued by production and post production problems that sealed its fate. Produced by Oscar winner Portman, co-written by Edgerton, this not so daring western had all the ingredients for something special, but like the Tommy Lee Jones / Hilary Swank western, never carves out its own unique piece of the
Director Scott Cooper certainly hit the ground running with his directorial debut “Crazy Heart” back in 2009 earning lead actor Jeff Bridges an Academy Award. His sophomore feature “Into the Furnace” in 2013 was hyped as an awards vehicle for lead Christian Bale, but that didn’t pan out so well after people saw the film.