AFI Fest this year screened 137 films (93 features, 44 shorts) representing 53 countries. The program included 14 official Best Foreign Language Film Oscar??submissions. I managed to make it to 18 films (17 features) during my time at the festival. My top films for the festival were (in the order I saw them): What Will…
The final day at AFI Fest gave me a chance to finish off with two more films before I made my way home to a more reasonable schedule and eating habits. Both films played before good sized crowds for a Thursday afternoon. Claire Denis?s Bright Sunshine In (aka Let the Sunshine In) (World Cinema section)…
Justice League is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, but not because you get a DC team-up film. The anticipation comes because most people were wondering, “Will they finally get these characters right?” That, of course, was the big question going in–so much so that Rotten Tomatoes delayed their Tomatometer for the…
1971 was a year of turmoil in many places. But most of that seemed far away from a village in Switzerland. Life just goes on there. But there is to be an election about giving women the right to vote. (Of course, only the men will be voting on this issue.) In The Divine Order an unassuming housewife must take on a leadership role in the women?s suffrage movement in her locale.
There comes a time at a festival when you?re standing in line and someone asks what you?ve seen that?s good. You know you?ve seen a lot of movies when you can?t remember the titles anymore. It?s a good thing I take a notebook with me. Claire?s Camera (World Cinema section) from South Korean director Hong…
Dickens?s A Christmas Carol is a well-loved story that has had various screen and stage versions and has become as much a part of Christmas as a cr?che. The Man Who Invented Christmas is the story behind the story. It is a combination of a look at Dickens, his creative process, and enough of the…
For full audio of our interview with Miranda, stream below. Although she?s made over 20 films in her career, producer/director Miranda Bailey was not fully prepared for what she discovered while making her new film, The Pathological Optimist. Optimist delves into the personal life surrounding provocative scientist Andrew Wakefield, who claims to have uncovered a…
In Atomic Blonde, the story based on the graphic novel The Coldest City, Charlize Theron plays MI6’s Lorraine Broughton in a high stakes game of 1980s espionage. Interrogated by two senior officers (John Goodman and Toby Jones), Broughton tells her story retrospectively, as she navigated Berlin and a desperate search for a dangerous list of…
When I arrived at Hollywood and Highland on Sunday morning, there were some people on the street organizing a march about sexual assault and harassment in the entertainment industry. News in recent weeks has been full of stories about the issue and social media filled up with ?me too? comments. It is indeed a serious…
This week, while Steve is away, the Levac’s will play! ScreenFish’r Julie Levac and her husband, Paul step into the arena to battle over Marvel’s latest entry, THOR: RAGNAROK! With the end of the world fast approaching, the God of Thunder turns to… comedy? While it’s getting great reviews across the board, this is certainly…
