Click here to listen to the interview. Adam Elliot’s MEMOIR OF A SNAIL is an animated film that transcends its genre. Definitely not for children, it is an almost Dickensian tale of Grace Pudel, hoarder of snails, romance novels, and guinea pigs. Born to tragedy, Grace faces her life in 1970 Canberra with quiet courage… Read More »
SMILE
Among the primates, expect for humans, widening the mouth and showing the teeth is a signal of aggression. In humans, it’s called a smile, and I’m sure that anthropologists have made much hay about that behavioral disconnect between us and our cousins. Parker Finn, in his feature film debut as writer and director, also makes… Read More »
CAVEAT — Damian McCarthy Interview
Click here for the full review of CAVEAT. CAVEAT may be Damian McCarthy’s debut feature film, but he’s been honing his horror skills in short films for several years. When we spoke on June 11, 2021 via Zoom, I made a point of asking him where people can find those shorts, because after seeing the… Read More »
WANDER DARKLY
WANDER DARKLY is the antidote to the generic rom-com. Set in the subjective viewpoint of a woman who is convinced that she is dead, it explores a relationship gone wrong using the unencumbered honesty of retrospection. The woman is Adrienne (Sienna Miller), who is always quick to point out that the father of her infant,… Read More »
BRIGSBY BEAR — Kyle Mooney & Dave McCary Talk Trust, Wardrobe, and Matzo Ball Soup.
BRIGSBY BEAR is a unique creation. An absurdist comedy that heralds the triumph of innocence over cynicism, it is heartwarming in its celebration of creativity as applied to obsessive fandom, in this case of the eponymous star of a kid’s television show. It’s that last part that I wanted to discuss with Kyle Mooney and… Read More »
MIDSUMMER IN NEWTOWN
The word “safe” comes up over and over again in MIDSUMMER IN NEWTOWN, Lloyd Kramer’s elegiac yet emotionally gripping documentary about the aftereffects of the Sandy Hook Massacre on the survivors. As in, the sense of being safe has been taken from everyone involved forever. The question becomes how to deal with it. Kramer’s film… Read More »
John Pirozzi Promises DON’T THINK I’VE FORGOTTEN: THE LOST MUSIC OF CAMBODIA’S ROCK AND ROLL
John Pirozzi was a camera operator on assignment for a Matt Dillon film in Cambodia when he discovered the treasure that was and that country’s history of rock & roll. It was one of the first things we talked about on March 19, 2015. His documentary on the subject was one of the gems at… Read More »
Brian Sloan has A WTC VIEW
WTC VIEW was the first play from The New York International Fringe Festival to make the leap to the big screen in 2005, but playwright Brian Sloan resisted the temptation to fundamentally change the nature of his play by opening it up beyond the one apartment in which it takes place. The metaphor of a… Read More »