Okay, okay, I'm on a roll. No, no, just let me say it: This flick moves at the speed of life. No, seriously, I get it: if you don't quite know how to make a movie make people feel something, then SLOW IT DOWN. Even if they don't feel something, the slow pace will convince them that there's some prof...

The joke is so obvious, I'm almost ashamed to make it. But cut me some slack, I had to sit through two hours of this stuff: This movie doesn't have a running time, it has a half-life. Okay, I got it out. Now: it's not that bad. Yes, slow pacing is something American audiences are allergic to, but th...

A week into the Berlinale and the general critical response ranges from "meh" to bloody awful. I'm more in the so-so camp, having seen a few films that spoke to me in certain ways, but not having seen anything that blows me away. Nothing like The Counterfeiters from 2007 or Hallam Foe from the same ...

After sixteen years of festival going, you'd think I'd understand about opening night films. In short, they suck. For every Four Weddings and a Funeral, there are about 400 Enemy at the Gates and for every Good Night and Good Luck, there are a few dozen stinkers like this year's Berlinale opener, Th...

There were a number of old-school Hollywood heavy hitters at the Palm Springs Film Festival. Donald Sutherland, Dustin Hoffman and Clint Eastwood represented for the silver-haired crowd. Clint, the grizzled old bastard, showed up to accept his Career Achievement Award. Good for him. I saw him once o...

Ever since it won the Golden Lion at this year's Venice Film Festival, Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler has beet hotly anticipated and those not lucky enough to catch it in Toronto or at the NY Film Festival should now understand why. While The Wrestler is continually being referred to as the filmmak...

Happy-Go-Lucky Director: Mike Leigh Screenwriter: Mike Leigh
 Producer: Simon Channing-Williams Cinematography: 
Dick Pope
 Editor: Jim Clark Music: Gary Yershon
 Cast: Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Samuel Roukin 
U.K., 2008, 118 minutes Mike Leigh is one of my all-time fav...

Mamma Mia star Amanda Seyfriend and her on-screen dude Dominic Cooper were supposed to make an appearance at Outfest in LA, which is a gay film festival. They were going to traipse the red carpet and give interviews. There's really no need. It's Meryl Streep selling ABBA songs. It's like hosting a g...

I've got my boarding pass printed out. I'm about to go back to my apartment and pack. Yes, it's time. Once a year I go to Houston for the Slant Film Festival, hosted by the Aurora Picture Show. The festival starts on Friday night with a program of narrative and experimental short films. Saturday eve...

A few pix from the 2007 Denver Film Festival. I know, I know...6 months late. But at least I'm getting to them and they ain't just rotting on my hard drive! See the rest here! Late Night Lounge honcho Alex Reshetniak and filmmaker Doug Prey (Scratch, Surfwise, Hype!): indieWIRE's Brian Brooks, filmm...