A mashup of traditional sounds and Western pop, Cambodia had a fertile music scene from the mid 50’s to the mid 70’s, supported by a monarchy devoted to the arts. When capitol city Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge in 1975, however, that all changed. Communist dictator Pol Pot brutally stamped out self-expression, and […]
Dayna Papaleo
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Film Review: “Lambert & Stamp”
To fledgling filmmakers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, it seemed like a great idea: Find a rock group to manage and then make an artsy documentary about the process. Colleagues at England’s Shepperton Studios in the early 1960’s, Lambert and Stamp were unlikely friends; the former enjoyed a posh but closeted upbringing as the son […]
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Film Review: “The Water Diviner”
Just a glance at his filmography — “Gladiator,” “Master and Commander,” “Noah” — tells you that Russell Crowe knows about starring in sweeping historical epics, so it’s a little frustrating that he seems to have learned nothing from Scott, Weir, Aronofsky, et al., about how to direct them. Crowe stars in his disappointing feature-filmmaking debut, […]
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Film Review: “An Honest Liar”
“It’s okay to fool people as long as you’re doing it to teach them a lesson which will better their knowledge of how the world works,” James Randi tells us at the outset of “An Honest Liar,” an unexpectedly revealing documentary portrait of Randi the man as well as his alter ego, an illusionist known […]
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Film Review: “Cheatin'”
The thing about love is that there’s too much that our limited language prevents us from truly expressing, so it’s fortunate that there exist artists who are able to convey the tangled emotions that mere words can’t. If you’ve ever seen any of animator Bill Plympton’s award-winning work, you know that he rarely relies on […]
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Film Review: “The Salt of the Earth”
The images are positively biblical in nature, depicting thousands of muddy people at work in a massive pit. They could theoretically be laying the foundation for an ancient pyramid, but in actuality the famous photographs were taken in 1986 at Brazil’s Serra Pelada gold mine by acclaimed photographer Sebastião Salgado. It’s this photo-essay that first […]
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Film Preview: “Poster Girl”
The Reel Mind Theatre and Film Series returns for its seventh year of confronting the social stigma and real-world problems of those battling mental illness, addiction, and brain disorders, and the 2015 installment kicks off on Tuesday, May 5, with director Sara Nesson’s intense “Poster Girl.” This Academy Award-nominated documentary puts an unexpected face on […]
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Film Review: “Ex Machina”
If you’re like me, you tend to shy away from science fiction. Getting invested on any make-believe plane is difficult enough without all the chilly technical mumbo-jumbo required to craft a futuristic but still-plausible setting. Plus there’s always a Big Idea of some kind, usually a commentary on man’s hubris, which rarely results in anything […]
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Film Review: “Danny Collins”
Sorry to have to say this, but late-career Al Pacino is sort of cheesy and mildly creepy. I guess I’d pinpoint the evolution as beginning two decades ago with his Oscar-winning role in “Scent of a Woman,” which he seemed to take as a mandate to overact forthwith. Sure, he’s made some decent flicks in […]
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Film Review: “Woman In Gold”
You may not know her name, but anyone with even a passing interest in art has seen her face. Viennese socialite Adele Bloch-Bauer was a friend of painter Gustav Klimt, and in 1907 he introduced oil and gold to canvas in “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer,” an image that would go on to grace coffee cups […]
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Film Review: “Furious 7”
How’s tricks, Vin Diesel? I hope you’re not tired of my letters. I manage to confine them to one every two years, because all I want to talk about with you (or with anyone, really) are the “Fast and Furious” movies. You’ll remember that we originally had plans for July 2014, until your co-star Paul […]
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Film Review: “Serena”
Now that we’re firmly entrenched in the 24-7 information age, ubiquity can often be a byproduct of a successful acting career. Keeping that gravy train on track requires work, and since her Oscar-nominated breakthrough in 2010’s “Winter’s Bone,” Jennifer Lawrence has appeared in about a dozen films. Add to that the perpetual self-promotion of talk […]
