Tokens on a coffee table. Tokens on a different one. Tokens on the wall and on the shelves next to the bookcase of an old TV with VHS included. Tokens of a family life that has spanned for years, for decades, for the better part of one century. Portrayals of a timeline that starts and…
American philosopher William James said that, “Reality, life, experience, concreteness, immediacy, use what word you will, exceeds our logic, overflows, and surrounds it.” This statement is especially true for children whose goals and dreams are subject not only to the real problems they face but are in part determined by their parent’s ability to handle…
You’ve probably been through it: You’ve just managed to make your way through your pockets and reached six to seven quarters in the midst of keys and keychains and used gum wrappers, get them into the coin slot of the vending machine, anticipating with your wet tongue the promised relief of your favorite snack when…
In the summer of 2007, I sat at the drive-in theater, waiting excitedly for Michael Bay’s “Transformers” to begin (it was my childhood on screen! Peter Cullen’s voice!!), and I was blown away by a trailer that no one saw coming. Choppy home-movie footage showed us a New York party that descended into chaos when…
Love has an incredible ability to warm and soothe the soul (fireplaces can do that, too!) and it’s interesting to find stories of unexpected romances set in different times and spaces. It can present the illusion of freshness for a tale as old as fuzzy cucumber slices underneath a car seat. But the illusion is…
The laser-like focus afforded by a compact running time is used to intensely impactful use in Phil Sheerin’s North, a 20-minute short about a teen boy wrestling with the inevitability of his ailing mother’s impending death. It’s rough subject matter, bleak and tragic, the kind of thing that would tempt many filmmakers to tug at…
With just a handful of mostly stationary wide shots and a mere twelve minutes of actual screentime, writer/director Jörn Threlfall examines a cinematic crime scene with a clinical curiosity and an eerie air of mystery. He introduces no character arcs in his powerful short Over, instead engaging his audience by putting us in the role…
