Ciro Dapagio From the Web To Cinemas, MobKing is a Name to Reckon With by Brad Balfour With a name like Mike White one might assume he’s a pretty bland character — one who might blend into the background. But like so many things that seem to be background-able, there’s much more to the story. … Continue reading
Rebecca Schull and Jeff Lipsky Saving the Best for The Last by Jay S. Jacobs What would you do? That is the main question in the new independent film The Last, a movie that has a shocking and inflammatory subject matter but looks at it from a smart and philosophical viewpoint. What would you do … Continue reading
Sam de Jong Dutch Film Director Crowns a Prince by Brad Balfour English-language movies documenting society’s underbelly include such classics as the hard-nosed Last Exit To Brooklyn or the comparatively benign West Side Story. There’s a body of work that’s emerged out of England’s rock subcultures from the ’50s on up. But fewer films detail … Continue reading
TWO-BIT WALTZ (2014) Starring Clara Mamet, Rebecca Pidgeon, William H. Macy, Jared Gilman, David Paymer, Matt O’Leary, Ella Dershowitz and John Pirruccello. Screenplay by Clara Mamet. Directed by Clara Mamet. Distributed by Monterey Media. 79 minutes. Not Rated. Sometimes a film can be rather shocking, when you consider the highs of the highs compared to … Continue reading
Jonatha Brooke – How We Met Her Mother by Jay S. Jacobs A few years ago, acclaimed singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke had to put her career and life on hold when her mother was afflicted with Alzheimer’s and dementia. For two years, Brooke, her husband and a cousin took on the full-time positions of caretaker and … Continue reading
About Time About Time is literally about time: time travel, to be exact. But more to the point it is about love and family and embracing all the moments that are special in life. The time travel aspect, while certainly intriguing, is at service to the storyline, it is not the whole thing. The ability … Continue reading
Asghar Farhadi Iranian Writer/Director Gets Oscar For A Separation & Retrospective at Lincoln Center by Brad Balfour Iranian director Asghar Farhadi manages to both enlighten and mystify. Maybe that’s why he’s been able to evade both the censors and jailers who police filmmakers for thought crimes against the mega-fascist Iranian state. Or maybe because this … Continue reading
ALEXANDER PAYNE STAYING STRAIGHT WHILE MAKING SIDEWAYS by Brad Balfour With Sideways, Alexander Payne really proves he’s a true contender, not just the creator of smart, snarky idiosyncratic comedies but solid filmmaker who tackled humanity with aplomb. In this humorous on-the-road buddy flick, leads Paul Giamatti (failed writer Miles Raymond) and Thomas Haden Church (former hot actor Jack) grapple with Jack’s … Continue reading
RICHARD PRICE BETTER THAN FICTION BY RONALD SKLAR If Richard Price’s life story were made into a movie, you would accuse the joint of being too far-fetched. But, as the old cliché goes, truth is stranger than fiction. Price came up in a Bronx housing project, but his gift for writing gained him entrance into the … Continue reading
Joshua Malina Hail to the Chief by Jay S. Jacobs There are lots of ways that people go about trying to get their first big break in acting. Some people kill themselves working a minimum wage job while floating from audition to audition. Some try other arts, like music or modeling, as an entrance. Some people sit on a stool in … Continue reading
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