Writer/director Ron Morales’ Graceland is a gripping and all-too-real feeling story of a kidnapping gone wrong. Ron’s work is very limited but his sophomore feature Graceland is so well-crafted and engaging you’d think he’d culled this from a lifetime of working in the film business. Before making his debut film Santa Mesa (with Melissa Leo) Ron had been working in the industry (in the camera/electrical department and as a key grip) for about 13 years and it’s likely he’s picked up a more than a few things watching/working on high profile films like Spider-Man 3, Michael Clayton and The Departed. His passion project Graceland, shot entirely in his home country of the Philippines,…
-
-
[DIFF Review]…Sweetwater
Set in the American Old West, Sweetwater is a story of one woman’s vengeance against a religious extremist (Jason Issacs) who claims himself a prophet, and the town that allows him to rule with tyranny. After Sarah’s (January Jones) husband goes missing a chain of events eventually lead her to take justice into her own hands. With a little help from an eccentric sheriff, played by Ed Harris, whose brilliant performance is something everyone will be talking about, she may just get her revenge. The film is set in New Mexico sometime in the 1800s. We are first introduced to Sarah (Jones) and her husband Miguel (Eduardo Noriega), as a…
-
[DIFF Review]…Between Us
Between Us deals with the harsh realities that exist in friendships, love marriage and life that are rarely depicted in films. Director Dan Mirvish, co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival, adapted the film from an Off-Broadway play by Joe Hortua. The film revolves around the lives of Carlo (Taye Diggs) and Joel (David Harbour), two friends who first met in art school, and moves between present moments and flashbacks into the past where we are introduced to Joel and his wife Sharyl (Melissa George) as they are hosting Carlo and his new wife Grace (Julie Stiles) at their large home in the Midwest. At this point we learn Joel and…
-
[DIFF Review]…Diving Normal
Character-driven narrative feature Diving Normal that tells the story of a love triangle that occurs when two unlikely friends fall for the same girl. The film is an adaptation of the critically acclaimed play of the same name, and centers around the lives of Fulton and Gordon (played by Philipp Karner and Scotty Crowe, respectively, who also produced and co-wrote the adapted screenplay with playwright Ashlin Halfnight). Fulton and Gordon are an odd pair; Fulton is an adorable, successful graphic novelist who has no problem attracting attention from the ladies, despite (and maybe slightly because of) brief moments of insecurity, and Gordon is his sweet, yet extremely socially awkward neighbor…
-
[DIFF Review]…A Teacher
While A Teacher may appear on the outset to be a typical tale of the inappropriate student/teacher relationship that has become all too familiar due their sensationalized media coverage, writer/director Hannah Fidell takes an in-depth, psychological approach, asking the audience to ponder the inner workings of a mind capable of such a taboo. The film begins in medias res, though Fidell chooses not to fill us in on how a lonely teacher named Diana (Lindsay Burdge), and her student Eric (Will Brittain) who epitomizes what every teenage boy is really like, confident and carefree as if invincible, ignorant to the hard truths of the world and therefore naïve to the…
-
‘Willow Creek’ Gets An Amazing Poster
Let’s keep this short and sweet since it’s the end of the day: I might not love all of Bobcat Goldthwait’s films (I found God Bless America to be pretty repugnant despite being really, really well-crafted), but he’s an incredibly magnetic and interesting character and an exciting filmmaker. So it stands to reason that I’m pretty much guaranteed to see Willow Creek, his next picture, which happens to be premiering at this year’s Independent Film Festival of Boston. There’s really no way I can say no to kismet of that variety. But wait- there’s more. Willow Creek shows Goldthwait stepping outside his wheelhouse of dark, uncomfortable, comedy blended with social commentary- at least, that’s…
-
[DIFF Interview]…’PIT STOP’ Writer/Director Yen Tan
Gabe (Bill Heck) struggles with his identity as a gay man living in a small, rural Texas town, finding comfort in his relationship with ex-wife Shannon (Amy Seimetz) after his recent breakup. Ernesto (Marcus DeAnda) is also plagued with the demons of a failing relationship, as he is simultaneously forced to deal with another past lovers impending death. Pit Stop follows the lives of these two men as they unknowingly drift toward one another, demonstrating the way life often has a funny way of pointing us in the right direction, even in the moments we feel most lost. Go, See, Talk chatted with Pit Stop writer/director Yen Tan about his writing process, collaboration, and filming…
-
Dallas Film Society Announces First 10 Films To Screen at the 2013 Dallas International Film Festival
The Dallas Film Society announced today the first 10 films chosen to screen at the 7th edition of the Dallas International Film Festival, presented by AutoNation Volkswagen Dealers on April 4 – 14, 2013. Overall, approximately 180 films from all over the world will be screened during the 11-day Festival. These first 10 films not only represent works from America, and Texas in particular, but also films from the United Kingdom, Canada, Africa and France — truly an international offering. DIFF is excited to announce that the 2013 Festival will include the following films: BUCK WILD (USA) Director: Tyler Glodt Set in Texas, BUCK WILD follows four friends whose hunting…
-
Off the Shelf…Drafthouse Films’ ‘Miami Connection’
Story has it that one afternoon in 2009, a curator from Austin, TX’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema stumbled across an eBay listing for a 35mm print of something called “Miami Connection.” The Alamo bought Connection unseen and just as blindly added the print to their film archive. Like opening a time capsule that no one (including the people involved with the film) hoped would ever be found came a film that most likely would be a dud. Well luck favored the Alamo that day as Miami Connection was not a bad investment. Quite the opposite in fact as this deliciously wretched B-Movie has been wonderfully accepted at off-beat festivals and movie houses across…
-
Exclusive: Interview…Disney Animator & ‘Paperman’ Director John Kahrs
Editor’s Note: This interview was held following the animated short film sequence back in September at the 2102 Fantastic Fest. We held on to this to coincide with its screening ahead of Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph which opens Friday November 2nd. Part passion project, part experiment, Disney animator John Kahrs‘ short film Paperman is a wonderful combination of traditional 2D animation and CG. This hybrid style (achieved by creating CG animatics and then laying 2D drawings over those polygons) yields something that has the look of traditional hand drawn animation but moves with the fluidly of CG. Sounds simple but apparently it’s a lot of work. However, looking at the end result, it has the potential to be a…
