Japan Cuts: The Festival of New Japanese Film comes roaring back to life for another season of fresh flicks with the ninja-samurai action epic Mumon: The Land of Stealth kicking things off July 13 at the Japan Society in New York City. From the 13 - 23 of July, you can expect a veritable smorgasboard of cinematic treats, along with a wave of Q&As, special guests, and parties, before the fest closes out with the Kinema Junpo selected "best film of 2016" In This Corner of the World. Today I am joined by Dustin Chang and Christopher Bourne with a preview of ten films from this year's lineup. While the fest is as wide-ranging in subject and tone as ever, my colleagues and I find...
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- 7/12/2017
- Screen Anarchy
This weekend saw the première of James Ponsoldt's The Circle (read Christopher Bourne's review here), starring Emma Watson and, interestingly, Tom Hanks in one of his less avuncular roles. Two years ago we did a quiz on him and at the time, I wrote: Tom Hanks may be the most dependable actor of our lifetime. Never too butch or too handsome, he's the perfect example of a "regular Joe", which makes it almost ridiculously easy to identify with him, or root for him, especially when his characters are meant to be sympathetic. That's not to say he's never done villains or slapstick though, and it speaks volumes of his versatility that at different stages of his acting career he was pegged (typecast even) as a...
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- 5/1/2017
- Screen Anarchy
Emir Baigazin, director of Harmony Lessons (read Christopher Bourne's review here) and The Wounded Angel, which just screened in Berlin yesterday, is already planning another trilogy of films. Screen Daily is reporting that the new trilogy of films, starting with Over The City, will be about modern nightlife in the city of Almaty. His producer,Anna Vilgelmi spoke to Screen about the upcoming project..."Emir's new project Over The City will be the opening for a new trilogy about the modern nightlife in Almaty, his monument to the city and the real life of young people. When people think of Kazakhstan and Central Asian cinema, they think of sheep and mountains, but there's also something else."Although the script is still being kept under wraps, Over The City is...
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- 2/16/2016
- Screen Anarchy
There is a new cold war thriller in cinemas called Bridge of Spies, directed by Steven Spielberg (one of his finest works even, according to Christopher Bourne), written by a team including the Coen brothers, and starring Tom Hanks. And that immediately settled the question who we should feature in this week's quiz. For while we had many, many options this week, each discussion about them ended with: "Yes, but... Tom Hanks!" For Tom Hanks may be the most dependable actor of our lifetime. Never too butch or too handsome, he's the perfect example of a "regular Joe", which makes it almost ridiculously easy to identify with him, or root for him, especially when his characters are meant to be sympathetic. That's not to say...
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- 10/16/2015
- Screen Anarchy
At Twitch, Christopher Bourne suggests that for "the last decade or so, China has been the source of some of the most provocative, innovative and artful independent fiction films and documentaries being made today." But those that are independently made "cannot be legally shown in China, because they are made outside of the official film system." The Beijing Independent Film Festival has struggled to keep from being shut down, so producer Karen Chien, critic Shelly Kraicer and filmmaker J.P. Sniadecki are bringing the best of the fest to New York. The program, screening at various venues from tomorrow through September 13, features Ai Weiwei's Ping’an Yueqing, Jia Zhitan’s I Want To Be a People’s Representative, Cong Feng's Stratum I: The Visitors, Yang Mingming’s Female Directors and more. » - David Hudson...
- 8/6/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
At Twitch, Christopher Bourne suggests that for "the last decade or so, China has been the source of some of the most provocative, innovative and artful independent fiction films and documentaries being made today." But those that are independently made "cannot be legally shown in China, because they are made outside of the official film system." The Beijing Independent Film Festival has struggled to keep from being shut down, so producer Karen Chien, critic Shelly Kraicer and filmmaker J.P. Sniadecki are bringing the best of the fest to New York. The program, screening at various venues from tomorrow through September 13, features Ai Weiwei's Ping’an Yueqing, Jia Zhitan’s I Want To Be a People’s Representative, Cong Feng's Stratum I: The Visitors, Yang Mingming’s Female Directors and more. » - David Hudson...
- 8/6/2015
- Keyframe
A summer staple for NYC, the New York Asian Film Festival (affectionately known around these parts as Nyaff) swings back into action at The Film Society Of Lincoln Center and Sva Theater, June 26 - July 11. Jam packed with rare retro screenings and new fare alike, our ace New Yorkers, Dustin Chang and Christopher Bourne step up to bat today with a fiery preview for what is one of the most fun fests this side of the Mississippi. ...
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- 6/26/2015
- Screen Anarchy
This week sees the wide release of Henry Hobson's debut film Maggie, a zombie drama. The big eye-catcher here is that it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, cast against type as a father trying to cope with the impending death of his fatally ill daughter. And for once, "cope with" doesn't mean "shoot, slice, dice and blow up people". In his review, Christopher Bourne calls the film "an elegantly made, moody and restrained piece, capped with an equally restrained and quiet central performance by Schwarzenegger." That's good news, so this week it is Arnold's turn to become the centerpiece of our weekly screenshot quiz! Once again I'm going to use a gallery of screenshots of one of my favorite thespians to make a quiz. Click through the...
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- 5/8/2015
- Screen Anarchy
This weekend, Michael Keaton could be receiving an Academy Award for Best actor, for his role in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman. Indeed, many people over here at TwitchFilm central think he's going to get the gold, and Birdman itself was on many of our Top-10 lists for 2014. In his review, Christopher Bourne called it "an incredibly impressive achievement in artistry and entertainment", and rightly predicted the current Oscar-buzz. Therefore, let's make this week's quiz about Michael Keaton! To be honest, Michael Keaton holds a weird position in my pantheon of favorite actors, in that he is incredibly good in some roles, yet insufferably irritating in others. While I was looking for screenshots in the archives, the ones I found for one particular film made...
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- 2/20/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Gabriel Serra Argüello's La Parka (aka The Reaper) is a Mexican short documentary, produced by the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (Ccc), which is nominated for the Academy Award. It was described by our own Christopher Bourne as a film that "focuses closely on Efrain, known as "The Reaper," who works at a slaughterhouse, and has worked at this job for 25 years. Efrain intermittently narrates his own story, telling of how he got in the business, how constantly being around death has begun to wear on him, and the nightmares he has about the tables being turned, of the animals taking revenge on him for killing so many of their brethren. It's a compelling portrait, one that ends on images of him being around his...
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- 2/15/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Christopher Bourne first brought Death Metal Angola to our attention in his coverage of Doc NYC 2013. Following its successful festival run, the film is currently in consideration for a Best Documentary Oscar nomination, and will be unleashed in the Us this Friday.Sonia Ferreira and Wilker Flores live and breathe hardcore rock and roll. They run the Okutiuka orphanage in the war-ravaged city of Huambo, Angola and dream of mounting the first-ever national rock concert. Raucous and righteous, Death Metal Angola follows their story, giving audiences a look at a rock show off the grid that is fulfilling, haunting, and real.Check out the images below, and definitely don't miss the fantastic trailer for this *spoiler alert* marvelous documentary. Then come back for our full review...
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- 11/20/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Josephine Decker's two first features, Butter on the Latch (2013), with Isolde Chae-Lawrence, Sarah Small and Charlie Hewson, and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (2014), with Joe Swanberg, Sophie Traub and Robert Longstreet, are opening today in New York—and premiering online, too, right here on Fandor. At Twitch, Christopher Bourne argues that Butter "impressively renders the psychological state of its protagonist in striking visual terms, and represents a wonderful artistic symbiosis among its collaborators." For Kate Erbland at the Dissolve, this "double feature serves as an effective, evocative introduction to Decker, who knows how to subvert demands while still serving up something fresh and compelling." We've got more reviews and trailers. » - David Hudson...
- 11/14/2014
- Keyframe
Josephine Decker's two first features, Butter on the Latch (2013), with Isolde Chae-Lawrence, Sarah Small and Charlie Hewson, and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (2014), with Joe Swanberg, Sophie Traub and Robert Longstreet, are opening today in New York—and premiering online, too, right here on Fandor. At Twitch, Christopher Bourne argues that Butter "impressively renders the psychological state of its protagonist in striking visual terms, and represents a wonderful artistic symbiosis among its collaborators." For Kate Erbland at the Dissolve, this "double feature serves as an effective, evocative introduction to Decker, who knows how to subvert demands while still serving up something fresh and compelling." We've got more reviews and trailers. » - David Hudson...
- 11/14/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
Danny Glover toplines the cast of From Above (formerly titled Chasing Shakespeare), a romantic drama with a twist that aims to jerk tears. After playing the festival circuit, the film arrives on home video today. When it played at the African Diaspora International Film Festival in November 2013, our own Christopher Bourne had this to say: As per the title, the Bard's plays and poetry make superficial appearances in this maudlin would-be tearjerker, which opens this year's festival. [The film begins] with a scene in a torrential, lightning-filled rainstorm in which William Ward (Danny Glover) bids a teary goodbye to his dying wife Venus (Tantoo Cardinal). William deals with the aftermath of his wife's death as awkward flashbacks are interspersed, showing us how the younger...
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- 2/4/2014
- Screen Anarchy
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