Can someone explain Alex Ross Perry to me? Every time this guy knocks out a film, cinephiles routinely praise it as one of the best American movies in years, which to me says that either a) they have shit taste in movies, or b) they don’t watch a lot of American movies. (That’s coming from … Continue reading
I’m happy enough to sneak a terrible-on-purpose play on Shakespeare into my review of Maya Forbes’ very good The Polka King that I don’t mind my reference to Phanuel being cut from the final copy. Take that bad with the good, or maybe in this case the bad with the very bad. Whatever. I don’t know. … Continue reading
“Making new friends isn’t easy when you’re grown-up and married. It’s that kind of anxiety first felt by the leads in Patrick Brice’s sophomore feature, The Overnight, a dizzying, debauched, excruciatingly funny film about knitting new connections through discomfort. Brice has made the trend-forward sprawl of suburban Los Angeles his backdrop, and his story begins … Continue reading
“There may be no more fitting way to kick off a celebration of storytellers than with a portrait of a storyteller, so combining Independent Film Festival Boston with The End of the Tour feels simply felicitous. This is the second time a James Ponsoldt film has commenced festivities at New England’s largest film festival; he … Continue reading
Moonrise Kingdom marks the most singularly Wes Andersony film of Wes Anderson’s career to date. It also represents a perfect vehicle for the quirks and tics that define his vision as a filmmaker– that impeccable and odd sense of style, seen in his set designs, costuming choices, and musical accompaniments, as well as the trademark … Continue reading
If there’s one cinematic companion to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World that leaps immediately to my mind, it’s not the obvious sugar-rush action movies that director and English national treasure Edgar Wright tends to favor but rather the very genuine and down-to-earth 2007 romantic comedy Knocked Up. Cut out the super-powered bass battles, sword fights, … Continue reading
To say that Funny People represents Judd Apatow’s first career stumble would be a lie. He’s been writing and producing since the mid-90’s, and stuffed in between the rousing success of his directorial debut and follow-up, The 40-Year-Old-Virgin and Knocked Up, respectively, as well as his numerous producing and writing credits (Forgetting Sarah Marshal and Pineapple … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 