Well Shy Of Welles (2000)

Frances Ha (2012)

Discovered my love for Noah Baumbach with 2005’s The Squid and the Whale. He’s a unique writer/director with a distinct and dark sense of humor. Frances Ha showcases this in a new way.

The Place Beyond The Pines (2013)

It’s been weeks since I’ve seen The Place Beyond The Pines and while I should have written about it weeks ago, I feel compelled to write about it now as I continue to think about it to this day. To me, that’s an indicator of a film worth watching.

I’ve heard a few critics do what they do and criticize Pines for being too simplistic with it’s message as well as too long winded with it’s tale. Yes, it does take about 140 minutes to tell, but when your spanning more than a dozen years and two generations, ample time is needed. As for the simplicity in what turns out to be a lesson of cycles and breaking said cycles, the same thing could be said of HBO’s The Wire and I would disagree with that as well.

I won’t waste time and space going over the headlining cast as you can see that on the uninspired poster to the left, however, two kids that didn’t make that studio flyer are Chronicle‘s  Dana DeHaan and  a sullen Emory Cohen. Sure, Dana looks like a young DiCaprio and has a bright future, but it’s Emory’s all too realistic portrayal of a privilaged teen without a soul and or moral compass that really sticks with me. I know and despise guys like that and Emery does as well or he simply is one. (more…)

Disconnect (2012)

Way back in 2005 a low budget documentary called Murderball about quadriplegic rugby players competing in the Paralympics won me over in a big way. I loved that movie and continue to tell people they have to see it to this day. I’ve been waiting for another documentary from one of Murderball’s two directors. Well, Henry Alex Rubin has a new movie, but I’ll have to wait for another documentary. Disconnect is as raw and feels as real as a documentary at times, but is in fact a serious, no frills dramatic narrative and an effective one at that. (more…)

Mud (2013)

Mud unfolds like a classic novel you’ve never read. Jeff Nichol’s third feature is his best yet. That says a lot when you consider his first two are Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter, two fine films in their own right. Each film he’s done has been better than the last. Nichols is on my short list of great directors of the not too distant future.

Two kids in rural Arkansas stumble across a fugitive on a river island and vow to help him. That fugitive is Mud, brilliantly played by a chip toothed McConaughey who really does get better with each year and every role. Mud could not have worked without a spot on performance from the kids and Ty Sheridan delivers. Time to get excited about David Gordon Green’s upcoming Joe where Ty costars with Nic Cage. (more…)