Having gone to my fair share of film festivals, it is rare that I agree with the juries who award the prizes for “best of the fest.” They often see far more in films that I dismiss and frequently don’t give enough credence to those that I love, because as anyone knows my opinion is always correct (wink, wink). The one time I attended a fest that got it 100% was the 2004 Chicago International Film Festival when Nimrod Antal‘s mesmerizing Kontroll took home the Gold Hugo. Now, while I didn’t see every film at this year’s Indy Film Fest, Lance Edmands’ Bluebird was far and away my favorite of those that I saw and certainly worthy of the Grand Jury Prize, tops of the fest, as well as the American Spectrum Prize for the best film made by an American director (the Audience Award has yet to be awarded). So, bravo to the jury! Read More →
Tag Archives: Lena Dunham
Liz’s Review: Joe Swanberg’s Not So ‘Happy Christmas’
Drinking Buddies was on my Top 10 list of Films for 2013. It was refreshing to see Olivia Wilde cast against her “usual type”, and thank God for that. She is incredibly talented. Jake Johnson is always funny. The two together, completely believable best friends with an edge. What was awkward in Drinking Buddies is still awkward in Joe Swanberg’s latest improv driven film, Happy Christmas. That something is Anna Kendrick. Read More →
Jeremy Goes to the Indy Film Fest: Lance Edmands’ Grand Jury & American Spectrum Prize Winner ‘Bluebird’ a Well-Deserving Winner
Having gone to my fair share of film festivals, it is rare that I agree with the juries who award the prizes for “best of the fest.” They often see far more in films that I dismiss and frequently don’t give enough credence to those that I love, because as anyone knows my opinion is always correct (wink, wink). The one time I attended a fest that got it 100% was the 2004 Chicago International Film Festival when Nimrod Antal‘s mesmerizing Kontroll took home the Gold Hugo. Now, while I didn’t see every film at this year’s Indy Film Fest, Lance Edmands’ Bluebird was far and away my favorite of those that I saw and certainly worthy of the Grand Jury Prize, tops of the fest, as well as the American Spectrum Prize for the best film made by an American director (the Audience Award has yet to be awarded). So, bravo to the jury! Read More →
Jeremy Goes to the Indy Film Fest: ‘Fort Tilden’ Is a Hilarious and Poignant Snapshot of Privileged Millennial Discontent
Many are the films that depict the haze that young people are in once they graduate from college. Few are the films that depict that haze in a convincing and fresh way. To me, Noah Baumbach‘s Kicking & Screaming has always been the bellwether in this cinematic realm. Many have tried and mostly all have failed to capture what he, his cast and crew did with that film. Now, enter Fort Tilden, a quirky film about two women, Harper (Bridey Elliott) and Allie (Clare McNulty), who make a plan to go to the beach at Fort Tilden, New York City, to meet up with two boys they met the night before. It treads on this same cinematic terrain and succeeds admirably. Read More →
‘Happy Christmas’ In Theaters July 25th – On Demand June 26th
When Jenny (Anna Kendrick), a hard partying 20-something moves in with Kelly (Melanie Lynskey), a budding novelist, her film director husband (Joe Swanberg) and their two-year-old son after a break up, the family’s idyllic life is shaken. Jenny begins a rocky relationship with their baby sitter-cum-pot dealer (Mark Webber), and she and a friend, Carson (Lena Dunham), bring Kelly to the realization that an evolution in her life, career and relationship is necessary for her happiness. A new comedy from the director of Drinking Buddies.
Written and directed by Joe Swanberg
Starring Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey, Mark Webber, Lena Dunham, Joe Swanberg Read More →
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