If you are at all interested in six weeks of paid vacation, an extra month’s salary and a two-hour lunch break, you just might have to go to Italy to find it. Filmmaker Michael Moore (“Capitalism: A Love Story,” “Sicko”), a welcome voice for sanity, returns to the big screen in his first film in…
Not since 2009’s “Up” has Pixar Animation Studios/Walt Disney Pictures fashioned a clever, emotional, family-friendly film that could be embraced by children and adults alike; one that has not only a heart and brain, but a conscience, as well. After commercially-successful and Oscar-winning — but bland and unfulfilling — features such as “Brave” and “Big…
Stet, a troubled and angry Texas boy of eleven lives on the less affluent side of the tracks in Boychoir, Quebecois director François Girard’s (“The Red Violin”) feel-good story about a musically talented boy’s climb from adversity to self-acceptance. Written by Ben Ripley (“Source Code”), Girard’s first film in seven years boasts an outstanding cast…
I’ve always sworn there were little people roaming aimlessly around the brains of my brother’s children. With their animated feature, Inside Out, Pixar Animation Studios has finally put a face to them. And a color. And funny shaped bodies. Swirling around the head of a young girl names Riley, these emotional embodiments guide and help…
Films — especially those in the genre of comedy — can often be enjoyable and interesting without really having anything of importance to say. Sex Ed, on the other hand, has something valuable to say, but its method of communication is somewhat lacking. That’s not to say it isn’t at all enjoyable or interesting, but…
Maker of music pieces, mood pieces, moving pieces, Xavier Dolan is a one-man filmmaking tour de force. And yet he knows that in order to tap into the meaty emotional center of his stories, he must trust his actors and allow them to run away with their roles. Somehow, this adventurous approach, of being both…
The social and psychological effects of bullying are graphically observed in Emir Baigazin’s remarkable first feature Harmony Lessons. Honored at Tribeca and Seattle, the Kazakh-German co-feature also won a Silver Bear for best artistic contribution at the Berlinale, honoring the cinematography of Aziz Zhambakiyev who brilliantly captures the stark beauty of the desolate Kazakhstan landscape….
