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 […]

By - Nick Adrian For fans of All the President’s Men, Snowden, and conspiracy stories In 2017, former U.S. Air Force member and NSA translator Reality Winner was arrested for leaking an intelligence report on Russian interference in the 2016 United States Presidential Elections. Her interrogation, held and recorded by two FBI agents, R. Wallace Taylor and Justin C. Garrick was the basis for a 2019 stage play titled Is […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Christian Bale, Edgar Allan Poe, American Folk Horror Murder Mystery Former actor Scott Cooper has now written and directed six films.  Three of those have starred Christian Bale.  As he has done with other directors, Bale works best when he has a strong collaborative relationship.  That is certainly the case with Cooper.  Starting with Out of the Furnace in 2013, continuing with Hostiles […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Agnès Varda, short travel documentaries, poetic cinema Planning a trip to the beach or to the country? Schools are finally out and summer vacations have begun.  My daughters are fortunate to be going on a trip to France with their school.  I have never been to France so being the film professor, I immediately thought about getting them ready by watching some French […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of newspaper/journalism dramas, the origins of fake news, indie film supporting casts extraordinaire Released 20 years ago in 2003, Shattered Glass is worthy of being discovered or re-evaluated.  The first film directed by successful writer Billy Ray (who has a varied resume as a writer including The Hunger Games, Flightplan, Overlord, and Captain Phillips) it tells the true story of the rise and fall […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Kelly Reichardt, films about the artistic process, films that explore female friendship and family relationships, slow burn emotional films Kelly Reichardt and Michelle Williams have now made four films together.  Starting in 2008 with Wendy and Lucy (a devastatingly powerful film) then moving to the Western Meek’s Cutoff in 2010, then on to the adaptation of three short stories Certain Women in 2016, […]

By - Gareth Jones For fans of Ari Aster, personal psychological examinations in the form of art, experimental narratives, hallucinogenic and psychedelic movies without the drugs, challenging art As you can see from that list, this film pushes the audience to extremes including lengthy lists of comparisons. It has already polarized audiences and critics alike and will most likely be a substantial financial loss. Ari Aster has become synonymous with […]