Tag: 2016 Sundance Film Festival

Lovesong | Review

Her Best Friend’s Wedding: Kim’s Poetic Exploration of Muted Desire Indie auteur So Yong Kim continues in English with her fourth narrative feature, Lovesong, a...

The Lure | Review

They Could Go on Singing: Smoczynska’s Debut a Fairy Tale Grim Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska crafts a memorable directorial debut with The Lure, a 1980s...

Frank & Lola | Review

A Lover I Don’t Have to Love: Ross’ Debut Explores Troubled Romance Notions of monogamy and ownership hover on the troubling periphery of Matthew Ross’...

2016 Sundance Film Fest Video: Nicolas Pesce’s The Eyes Of My Mother

Not only one of the more temptingly tasty items from the NEXT section but the entire 2016 Sundance slate, the B&W, economically compact title...

The Eyes of My Mother | Review

And Soon the Darkness: Pesce’s Debut a Superbly Stylized Nightmare If Portugal were the portal to some Lynchian netherworld of dreams deferred, it would look...

Manchester by the Sea | Review

The Fire Last Time: Lonergan’s Austere Portrait of Razed Emotions in Chilly New England Kenneth Lonergan musters yet another masterful portrait of pervasive trauma with...

Christine | Review

Mad as Hell: Campos Paints a Moving, Psychological Portrait of Sensational Subject For his third and most psychologically complex feature to date, Antonio Campos presents...

Certain Women | Review

All I Desire: Reichardt’s Exceptional Triptych of Tenacious Women Though she’s already touted as one of the most talented American contemporary directors, Kelly Reichardt accomplishes...

The Birth of a Nation | Review

Born Again: Parker Resuscitates Turner Narrative in Painful Labor of Love An odd, continued legacy of unquestioned applause greets the reception of actor Nate Parker’s...

The Greasy Strangler | Review

Grease is the Word: Hosking’s Repellant Debut Revels in Grotesque There’s a certain insane glee lurking within Jim Hosking’s directorial debut, The Greasy Strangler, a...

Spa Night | Review

Hot and Bothered: Ahn’s Debut a Knowing Character Study As proof of the multitudinous, untold human stories happening at any given period within the sprawling...

Little Men | Review

Gentrified Agreement: Sachs’ Poignant Examination of a Childhood Friendship For his sixth feature, Ira Sachs returns to Brooklyn with Little Men, a perceptive study of...

Interview: Anne Fontaine (The Innocents)

I sat down with Anne Fontaine shortly after her latest film, The Innocents (formerly “Agnus Dei”) premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. The increasingly...

Wiener-Dog | Review

Every Dachshund Has His Day: Solondz Provides Droll Despair It’s been five years since we were last graced with Todd Solondz’s particular brand of muted...

The Fundamentals of Caring | Review

Careworn Crucibles: Burnett’s Clichés Prove Reading is Fundamental Writer and producer Rob Burnett, who has a healthy television resume with contributions such as “Ed” and...

The Fits | Review

Get in Where You Fit In: Holmer’s Impressive Allegory of Assimilation Although it may feel a bit too allegorical or stylistically esoteric for its own...

Viva | Review

Blame it on Fidel: Breathnach Circles the Boiler Plate with LGBT Coming-of-Age Flick A Havana set coming-of-age tale concerning a young, gay hairdresser, Paddy Breathnach and...

Best of Fest: Sundance 2016’s Top 10 New Faces

Yesterday, Nicholas Bell and I issued our Top 10 New Voices, and now we launch into our New Faces. They range in age, amount of...

Mammal | 2016 Sundance Film Festival Review

The Many Things You Gave Me: Daly’s Icy, Perverse Sophomore Film Unfit or disinterested mothers still seem to be taboo subjects, at least to center...

Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women Leads Eric Lavallee’s 2016 Sundance Film Fest Top Ten

With a decent sized sampling of thirty-one features and several four star quality shorts viewed, my assessment of the '16 edition is as follows:...

Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women Leads Nicholas Bell’s 2016 Sundance Film Fest Top Ten

Sundance 2016 has come to a close, once more showcasing a lack of differentiation based on what constitutes the Audience and the Grand Jury....

Unlocking The Cage | 2016 Sundance Film Festival Review

Breaking Through The Bars: Hegedus & Pennebaker Go Ape In Court With Animal Rights Activist Steven Wise Having long ago been crowned the king and queen...

2016 Sundance Trading Card Series: #11. Steven Caple Jr. (The Land)

Eric Lavallee: Name me three of your favorite “2015 discoveries”. Steven Caple Jr.: The story of Wendell Scott. 2) J.Cole's HBO documentary "Homecoming." 3) Eric...

2016 Sundance Trading Card Series: #9. Bernardo Britto – Jacqueline Argentine

Eric Lavallee: Name me three of your favorite “2015 discoveries”. Bernardo Britto: Jacques Demy’s Lola, Mexican singer Daniela Romo, Cool Cat Saves The Kids. Lavallee: What...