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Welcome, one and all, to the Festival of Films blog! Here, we strive not just to review films but to discuss how the art of film reflects society and the broader human condition. Comments and spirited discussion are always strongly encouraged. Just remember to keep it respectful, of course. Here's lookin' at you, readers!
Category Archives: Drama
How do you even begin to explain a film as unconventional as Upstream Color that defies categorization, description, and total understanding? Let’s start here: Shane Carruth, an engineer turned self-taught, multi-hyphenate filmmaker, only had a $7,000 budget when he first made … Continue reading
Posted in Drama, Features, Independent Films, Indie Features, Sci Fi
Tagged Amy Seimetz, Andrew Sensenig, Jeremy Kibler, Primer, Shane Carruth, Upstream Color
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F. Scott Fitzgerald probably had no idea his 1925 “Great American Novel” would receive three more film adaptations after 1926′s silent version. If any director could bring Gatsby’s rich, decadent, and grandiose lifestyle to the screen, it would thought to … Continue reading
In The Great Gatsby, the eponymous Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) throws extravagant parties at his Long Island mansion in hopes of attracting his beautiful former love Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan). Director Baz Luhrmann takes the same approach in trying to … Continue reading
Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) was a family man. He married his first and only love, Deborah (Winona Ryder), and together they had two beautiful daughters, Anabel and Betsy (McKaley Miller and Megan Sherrill). They moved into a nice house in … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Drama, Features
Tagged Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Nick DeNitto, Ray Liotta, Richie Kuklinski, The Iceman, Winona Ryder
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Since Matthew McConaughey has stopped straining to be likable (but came off smug and smarmy) with a renissance of dark, slippery roles in Bernie, Magic Mike, Killer Joe, and The Paperboy, he has really formed into a star with genuine acting … Continue reading
Posted in Drama, Features, Thriller
Tagged Jacob Lofland, Jeff Nichols, Jeremy Kibler, Matthew McConaughey, Mud, Ray McKinnon, Reese Witherspoon, Take Shelter, Tye Sheridan
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If Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine was an intimate, heartbreakingly hopeless look at the slow disintegration of love, his latest film, The Place Beyond the Pines, is a sprawling, heady generational drama with tragedy and a glimmer of hope. Co-written by … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Drama, Features
Tagged Blue Valentine, Bradley Cooper, Dane DeHaan, Derek Cianfrance, Emory Cohen, Eva Mendes, Jeremy Kibler, Ray Liotta, Ryan Gosling
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In 2012′s Oscar race, Hyde Park on Hudson seemed to get lost in the shuffle, most surprisingly an acting nod to Bill Murray. The great comedic actor playing President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt would seem like a joke, but as it turns … Continue reading
Today’s Experiment: Cosmopolis Why I Wouldn’t Ordinarily Watch it: It stars Robert Pattinson. Why I Gave it a Chance: I remember it being a hot topic movie when it was first released, so I thought I’d see what all the … Continue reading
Posted in Drama, Features, Sci Fi
Tagged Cosmopolis, David Cronenberg, Nick DeNitto, Robert Pattinson
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Multi-hyphenate Tyler Perry must mean well, purveying distinct products for his African-American fanbase, and nobody can knock him for making a movie that’s been tampered by a studio. With that said, there is some sort of compulsive fascination in watching … Continue reading
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