By Gary M. Kramer. Newton is co-writer/director Amit Masurkar’s nifty film about title character (a charismatic Rajkummar Rao), an election official who is sent to the jungle in central India to monitor a particular voting district. He is warned about Maoist guerrillas operating in the area, as well as explosives. […]
Six Windows onto Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe – An Interview with Maria Schrader
May 11, 2017
By Matthew Fullerton. Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe, Austria’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film for the 89th Academy Awards, tells the story of the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) in exile, from 1936 to 1942. Written and directed by German actress (Aimee & Jaguar, 1999; Deutschland 83, 2015) and director […]
A look back at the Alien franchise, and why fans have reason to be cautiously optimistic about Alien: Covenant
By Vanessa Crispin. A milestone for many and still going strong with the fans, Alien (1979), was not only the first film in a successful franchise, but also a first in many other ways. Just in time for the upcoming Alien: Covenant, let’s take a look at what made the […]
Taking Chances: An Interview with Doug Liman on The Wall
By Jeremy Carr. Doug Liman’s lifelong interest in filmmaking first paid off with the breakout indie hit Swingers in 1996, his second directorial effort (his first was the little-seen 1994 comedy Getting In). The stylishly frenetic Go (1999) followed, then came The Bourne Identity (2002), the initial installment of the […]
A Tradition All Its Own – Forgotten British Film: Value and the Ephemeral in Postwar Cinema by Philip Gillett
A Book Review by Tony Williams. Despite appearing in an independent press publication, this study deserves neither to be forgotten nor regarded as ephemeral since it represents a very distinctive and well researched contribution to the area of British Cinema. Although this field has been well documented over the past […]
In Need of Russian Heroes: An Interview with Alexander Nevsky on Black Rose
By Sergey Toymentsev. Alexander Nevsky is a Russian bodybuilder turned actor, writer, producer, and now director. Before coming to Hollywood in 1999, he established himself as an enthusiastic promoter of fitness as a lifestyle in post-communist Russia. Besides being a media star and hosting his own TV show there, he […]
It’s a Family Affair: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
May 5, 2017
By Elias Savada. Yeah, a lot of folks have been waiting for this one. Three years ago, the creative and marketing folks behind Guardians of the Galaxy tossed the big budget dice and won big. The visionary sci-fi mashup wowed worldwide audiences and nine out of every ten critics, while also pulling […]
Destination Unknown (Tay Garnett, 1932) at the Museum of Modern Art
May 3, 2017
The Museum of Modern Art is screening the extremely rare 1933 Tay Garnett film Destination Unknown as part of its “Son of Universal: More Rediscovered Gems from the Laemmle Years” retrospective. Starring Pat O’Brien and Ralph Bellamy, the film has been unseen for decades and was rescued from oblivion by […]
Film Scratches: The Underside of Desire – For Your Pleasure (2015)
May 2, 2017
Film Scratches focuses on the world of experimental and avant-garde film, especially as practiced by individual artists. It features a mixture of reviews, interviews, and essays. A Review by David Finkelstein. For Your Pleasure, a ten-minute black and white short shot on 16mm by Miguel Maldonado, begins with an Oscar Wilde quote: […]
Film Scratches: Monuments to Guilt – Schuld Sind Alle (2014)
May 2, 2017
Film Scratches focuses on the world of experimental and avant-garde film, especially as practiced by individual artists. It features a mixture of reviews, interviews, and essays. A Review by David Finkelstein. Schuld Sind Alle is Viktor Dill’s thoughtful five-minute Super8 elegy to the Invalid’s Cemetery in Berlin. The film begins with a […]