Director Spike Lee Has His Red Hook Summer by Brad Balfour When New York-based director Spike Lee makes a film, it’s almost always an event. That’s been the case virtually from the moment he emerged as a hot young indie filmmaker breaking both the color barrier by dealing with subject matter most mainstream directors neither touched … Continue reading
Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin Like The Film’s Subjects, Undefeated Directors Defy Odds and Get An Oscar Nom by Brad Balfour I was glad to have interviewed doc directors Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin – whose film Undefeated cleared nearly all the award hurdles and got into that rarefied place of being a Best Documentary … Continue reading
WARRIOR (2011) Starring Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, Noah Emmerich, Kevin Dunn, Frank Grillo, Denzel Whitaker, Gavin O’Connor, Fernando Chien, Jake McLaughlin, Kevin Christy, Brenna Roth, Laura Kenley, Vanessa Martinez, Maximiliano Hernández, Kurt Angle, Dan Caldwell and Bryan Callen. Screenplay by Jonathan Newman. Directed by Gavin O’Connor. Distributed by Lionsgate Pictures. 140 … Continue reading
SOUL SURFER (2011) Starring AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Craig T. Nelson, Kevin Sorbo, Lorraine Nicholson, Sonya Balmores Chung, Carrie Underwood, Ross Thomas, Chris Brochu, Jeremy Sumpter, Branscombe Richmond and Cody Gomes. Screenplay by Sean McNamara & Deborah Schwartz & Douglas Schwartz & Michael Berk. Directed by Sean McNamara. Distributed by FilmDistrict. 105 minutes. … Continue reading
Baseball: The Tenth Inning Top of the Tenth (1992-1999)/Bottom of the Tenth (1999-2009) (PBS/Paramount Home Video-2010) In the early 1990s, documentarian Ken Burns became a PBS sensation through his acclaimed documentary series on The Civil War. As the follow-up, he decided that he wanted to look back at something even more American than the war of the states. In … Continue reading
INVICTUS (2009) Starring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng, Matt Stern, Julian Lewis Jones, Adjoa Andoh, Marguerite Wheatley, Leleti Khumalo, Patrick Lyster, Penny Downie, Sibongile Nojila, Bonnie Henna, McNeil Hendricks and Scott Eastwood. Screenplay by Anthony Peckham. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Distributed by Warner Bros Pictures. 134 minutes. Rated PG-13. Invictus had the potential … Continue reading
TOE TO TOE (2009) Starring Louisa Krause, Sonequa Martin, Gaius Charles, Silvestre Rasuk, Ally Walker, Leslie Uggams, Anwan Glover, Dionne Audain, Erica Chamblee, Hina Abdullah, Julia Garro, Maha Chehlaoui, Anthony Del Negro, Thuliso Dingwall, Stephanie Rigizadeh and Michael Gable. Screenplay by Emily Abt. Directed by Emily Abt. Distributed by Strand Releasing. 104 minutes. Not Rated. … Continue reading
Taylor Firth Through Her Eyes by Jay S. Jacobs Sometimes opportunity presents itself in the most unusual of places. Like, for example, the spam folder of your email account. Take the case of Taylor Firth. Firth is an eighteen-year-old upcoming figure skater that had never considered doing anything else. However, unexpectedly, her coach was emailed … Continue reading
Michael Sheen British Actor Fights for The Damned United by Brad Balfour Whether playing everyone’s best known Brit – be it former Prime Minister Tony Blair (The Queen) or talk show host David Frost (Frost/Nixon) – veteran actor Michael Sheen has become known to American audiences for playing an incredibly versatile range of characters from werewolves to … Continue reading
WHIP IT (2009) Starring Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Daniel Stern, Landon Pigg, Alia Shawkat, Andrew Wilson, Jimmy Fallon, Zoë Bell, Ari Graynor and Eve. Screenplay by Shauna Cross. Directed by Drew Barrymore. Distributed by Fox Searchlight. 111 minutes. Rated PG-13. You may be surprised to consider that one … Continue reading
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