— by JESSIKA OWENS — Novels turned film, as anybody who knows me will tell you, are one of my biggest pet peeves. It’s not logically acceptable for time constraint purposes, setting purposes, and a varying degree of other factors to be taken into consideration. It’s a task that writers and directors take on and, […][...]
Jimi: All is By My Side: Trailer
— by BEV QUESTAD — If you would like to experience a resurrected Jimi Hendrix, it’s possible. The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is presenting John Ridley’s “Jimi: All is By My Side” at its magical opening night gala on May 15, 2014. Ridley’s film is a shocking biopic starring André Benjamin – who becomes[...]
Review: The Double
— by RON WILKINSON — Writer/director Richard Ayoade follows up his well-received “Submarine” with a gutsy adaptation of Dostoevsky’s redoubtable novel. Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska, “The Double” trots out a remarkable cast of famous actors, even more remarkable for their appearing in parts so diverse and bizarre that they may go unnoticed. Jesse […][...]
DocumentaMadrid IX kicks off tomorrow
— by SEAN GERSKI — The ninth edition of DocumentaMadrid — the international festival covering documentary cinema in the Spanish capital — will begin tomorrow, April 30, and run through May 11. This year’s festival will include more than 70 titles and 120 projections, with more than 60 professionals, directors, producers and, in some cases, […][...]
Video explores Star Wars Expanded Universe
— by SEAN GERSKI — While the vast majority of the public is familiar with the Star Wars universe primarily through the movies — and the animated series to a lesser extent — many people have followed further adventures in the Star Wars galaxy through what is known as the Expanded Universe. The Expanded[...]
All Is By My Side to open 2015 SIFF
The Seattle International Film Festival has announced that the Opening Night Film for its 40th annual festival will be “All Is By My Side.” Musician/actor André Benjamin stars as Seattle rock legend Jimi Hendrix in this film from Academy Award-winning screenwriter John Ridley (“12 Years a Slave”). Ridley is scheduled to attend the Opening Night […][...]
Review: Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
— by RON WILKINSON — The buzz about Lars von Trier’s sex lollapalooza “Nymphomaniac” has preceded the film like a tidal wave. As might be expected, von Trier had bigger things in mind when he decided to invite viewers inside the head of a very disturbed person. If you want porn, buy porn. This is […][...]
Review: Particle Fever
— by RON WILKINSON — The greatest experiment taking place today is the proton smashing in the Large Hadron Collider buried deep underground at the Swiss-French border outside of Geneva. This collider is an order of magnitude more powerful than any collider that has gone before it. This means more smashing collisions between sub-atomic particles […][...]
Review: Afternoon of a Faun
— by RON WILKINSON — Known as “Tanny” to several generations of American ballet insiders, Tanaquille le Clercq lived the perfect life of the ballerina in pre-war America. Married to one of the legends of ballet, George Balanchine, and pursued by another, Jerome Robbins, she dominated the American ballet scene and was loved the world […][...]
Review: The Last of the Unjust
— by RON WILKINSON — Director Claude Lanzmann’s sweeping documentary of the Holocaust screened at the 2013 New York Film Festival to mixed reviews. The rambling 220-minute saga centered on interviews with, and information provided by, Benjamin Murmelstein. Murmelstein was the last Jewish elder, or city leader, of Theresienstadt, Eichmann’s “model ghetto.” In the Third […][...]