The arrival of a new local film festival should be something to celebrate, yet another opportunity to witness the latest cinematic treasures in the company of equally enthusiastic cinephiles. But DocMiami, which unspools Memorial Day weekend at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa, has awoken the inner skeptic who lies beneath my cheery movie buff exterior, and he’s in a foul [...]
As movie lovers from around the globe gather in Cannes for the festival’s 63rd edition, let us celebrate the desire for human connection that drives two recent releases. Nothing in Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi’s previous work (A Time for Drunken Horses, Turtles Can Fly), which chronicle life in his native rural province of Kurdistan, prepared [...]
Stories propelled by religious conflict have fascinated filmmakers since the silent era. D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc immediately spring to mind as examples of how the tensions that arise from people’s differing spiritual paths are, more often than not, tailor made for the moving image. Ajami Consider [...]
The end of spring is a dead zone nestled between awards season and the forthcoming onslaught of summer blockbusters (“tentpoles” in studio speak). Never mind that it’s only the first weekend in May; as far as Hollywood is concerned, summer is already here. As you’re reading this, family members are planning their sneaking-off strategy to [...]
Miami is picture perfect. Its light and its dark, its skyline and its shoreline, and, yes, even its people, are all suitable for framing. Furthermore, Miamians behave as if they’re living their very own movie; and at any given moment each of us is ever ready for that proverbial close-up.
Documentaries about filmmakers are like catnip to a movie buff like myself. Films like The Kid Stays in the Picture, based on the book by legendary producer Robert Evans, and Tell Them Who You Are, about cinematographer Haskell Wexler, give viewers a rare peek into the life and career of individuals who have left an [...]
Beginning this weekend, the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (MGLFF), now in its twelfth edition, brings lavender-tinged images front and center on local movie screens.
For a movie lover, few pleasures match the discovery of a new talent. The thrill that comes from witnessing the arrival of a previously unknown filmmaker or performer to the international scene gives goose bumps to even the most jaded cinemaniac. That’s the feeling I got when I saw the lovely and captivating Noomi Rapace [...]
What draws us toward movies dealing with mentally unstable people? Is it the chance to see familiar faces flex their acting muscles? Or do these films also tap into a primal urge to explore darker, unrestrained aspects of our psyche from the comfort of our theater seat? Three recent releases from internationally renowned directors peer [...]
Michael Haneke is a cold-hearted bastard. His perverse world view is hard on his characters and even more unforgiving on his audiences….
Are you an adventurous filmgoer? Do you seek out alternatives in your movie diet to the comfort food provided at the local cineplex? Do you hunger for the work of directors who refuse to defer to the taste of one particular demographic? If you’re vigorously nodding your head, then we have much to discuss. Contrary [...]
The 27th annual Miami International Film Festival is back in town and it promises to be mesmerizing….
