AltWeeklies Wire
A Week Without Movie Stars at the 33rd Montreal World Film Festivalnew
For years Montreal's festival ran neck and neck with the Toronto Film Festival, competing to premiere films from the same pool of foreign and independent releases. But as Toronto secured its position by bringing in more big Hollywood pictures, Montreal continued to rely on foreign films. And with fewer of those picked up for North American distribution every year, the pool of high-profile picks shrank steadily.
'Transit' Aims for High Intrigue on a Low Budget, With Mixed Resultsnew
Shot on video and with minimal lighting, the film has a cheap aesthetic that it struggles to overcome. The plot doesn’t break out of the genre’s clichés. It’s a common case of a filmmaker’s ambition being greater than his means.
Montreal Mirror |
Malcolm Fraser |
01-30-2009 |
Reviews
Six Directors, 126 Actors, and Two Days in North Chucknew
Two days, six directors casting as many as nine film and stage productions, and 126 actors — most of them previously unknown to the directors and their companies — cycled through a mass casting call in five-minute segments. Nerve-jangling for the actors? Sure. But a tangible step toward a better-connected local indie community.
Charleston City Paper |
Dan Conover |
01-28-2009 |
Movies
Michelle Williams Finds a Safe Haven With Outsider Director Kelly Reichardtnew
It's a rare bankable star who lends her name to a tiny project budgeted at $300,000 and shot over 18 days with a mostly volunteer crew by a director whose name, had Williams bothered to ask permission from her agents, would doubtless have inspired the response "Who?"
L.A. Weekly |
Ella Taylor |
12-19-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Mongol' Gets to the Heart of the Genghis Khan Legendnew
Mongol hinges on its revisionist notion of an enlightened Temudjin, who was dubbed with the title "Genghis Khan" after his death. Throughout the film, Temudjin comes across not as a bloodthirsty superwarrior, but a reasonably sensitive guy whose military success derives from the love of a good woman and belief in the rule of law.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
06-18-2008 |
Reviews
'Hats Off': Dull at Heartnew
Mimi Weddell, at 93, remains an elusive subject.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
David Lee Simmons |
06-05-2008 |
Reviews
