By - Gareth Jones For fans of Nicole Holofcener, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, films set in New York, well-written comedies with emotional punch  In between directing a ton of television, Nicole Holofcener has directed eight feature films.  Her first, Walking and Talking, released in 1996 set a bit of a blueprint not only for her but many others.  It starred the always brilliant Catherine Keener, who along with Parker Posey, ruled the […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of WWII historical films, Brendan Gleeson, Emma Thompson, reminders of the effects of fascism, the literary work of Hans Fallada  Based on the best-seller Every Man Dies Alone by noted German author Hans Fallada, Alone in Berlin is a fascinating adaptation of a story based on true events. During World War II an older couple, Otto and Anna Quangel, lose their son in the […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Jacques Rivette, Jane Birkin, poetic and talkative cinema Jacques Rivette remains one of the titans of the French New Wave.  Along with Jean-Luc Goddard, Francois Truffaut, and Eric Rohmer, Rivette started as a writer for Cahiers Du Cinema during the late 1950’s and went on to change the way cinema was seen and made. He made epic, lengthy examinations of humanity including the […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Shinya Tsukamoto and his takes on violence and sexuality, new perspectives on the samurai genre Shinya Tsukamoto exploded into the cinematic world in 1989 with his shocking and innovative feature, Testuo: The Iron Man.  Ever since then, he has continued to push boundaries of audience expectations and tolerance for representations for violence and sexuality.  Killing is his sixteenth feature length film and his […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of thoughtful, sensitive, slower cinema like Minari or Moonlight or the work of Kelly Reichardt and Chloe Zhou. Stories about human connections and life changing decisions.  Elegant cinema.. I saw Past Lives for the first time at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.  It was a magical screening and I left Utah confident that this was the best film at the festival.  However, I always […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of simple, DIY documentaries, stories about underdogs and the service industry, Slacker/ films with people sitting around philosophizing I decided to write about this film after researching the amazing Yo La Tengo (who put on an astonishing show at Saturn) and discovering that James McNew had been a parking lot attendant and was interviewed throughout a documentary about parking. I immediately knew I needed […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Ida Lupino, documentary-like but still melodramatic depictions of disease, 1950’s small budget independent films, complex stories For a period of time, Ida Lupino was the only female director working in Hollywood.  She had immigrated from England to act in Hollywood in the 1930’s and had some amazing roles including a couple of great film noirs with Humphrey Bogart, They Drive By Night and […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Kurosawa’s Ikiru, Kazuo Ishiguro screenplays (in particular Remains of the Day), Bill Nighy, slow building films with big rewards Every year I return to the snowy peaks of Park City to work and to recharge my cinematic battery.  Each year, there are a few films that re-establish my belief in the continued, artistic evolution of cinema and in a bigger way, my hopes […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Mexican folk/body horror like Tigers Are Not Afraid, thought-provoking and challenging themes regarding bodily autonomy, strong female directors This is an astonishing debut feature length film from MichelleGarza Cervera. Of course, she comes with a successful run of short horror films.and strong training at The Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica. It is unfair to compare, but her assurance and mastery of film language is […]