?He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts? and the angels ministered to him.? (Mark 1:13, NRSV) ?To prepare for his mission, the holy man went into the desert to fast and pray, and to seek guidance.? -opening title card in...
Before the screening I attended of Captain America: Civil War, the screen was filled with a message encouraging people to take part in the social media strategy of the film by tweeting either #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan to designate which side they favor. Welcome to the...
While at the Newport Beach Film Festival, I visited with Justin Roberts, whose film No Greater Love was one of the festival selections. A former Army chaplain, Roberts made this documentary based on footage he took while deployed in Afghanistan and then meeting later...
As the Newport Beach Film Festival comes to an end, I need to give kudos to the staff and volunteers for their wonderful work in making the festival a outstanding event. While it has an interesting premise, I had problems with Love Is All You Need? The premise of the...
?The only value we have as human beings is the risks we are willing to take.? Ernest Hemingway, winner of a Pulitzer for fiction and the Nobel Prize for literature, may be as well known for his lifestyle as his writing. He lived--shall we say--boldly and with...
It was a dark and moody day at the festival. The day opened with Call of the Void a noirish tale of love and madness. Steve is determined to win back the love of his life Veronica yet it seems clear she wants nothing to do with him. In fact, even his therapist tells...
The Chinese film Red Mountain is a minor family saga, told by a son about his father and grandfather who served as mountain rangers in a remote section of China. When the (then) young father wants to leave to go to college and see the world, the grandfather forbids...
The Easter Rising of 1916 may be the Irish equivalent of America?s Battle of Lexington. It marks the effective beginning of the road to independence. To celebrate and commemorate the centennial of the Rising, the Irish Film Board curated ?After ?16?, a collection of...
It seems that most every festival has a time travel conundrum, which I love. Something about the paradoxes involved appeals to me. This year at NBFF that is the French film House of Time. A reclusive genius invites a group of his friends to spend a weekend at a...