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Review and Ranking of the 2012 Oscar-Nominated Live Action Shorts

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • February 9, 2012
Reviews
I wasn’t too thrilled with last year’s Oscar nominees in the live action short category. It was my first time seeing and reviewing all the films, though, and I wasn’t aware that it was such an off year. The 2012 nominees, on the other hand, are all excellent. Whether this is evidence of a typical year for short film or an inverse fluke of this being an especially on year I can not say. But I’m happy to genuinely recommend the annual theatrical release of this category’s contenders, a program that hits cinemas nationwide this Friday.
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More: Reviews, Reviews, Shorts, Short Film, Oscars, Academy Awards, Academy Awards

"If a Tree Falls" Director Marshall Curry on His Second Oscar Nomination, What He Looks for in a Subject and What Keeps Hollywood Interested in Remaking Docs

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • February 8, 2012
Since his debut in 2005 with "Street Fight," documentary filmmaker Marshall Curry has remained one of the most acclaimed nonfiction directors working today. That first film, about the 2002 Newark mayoral race, went on to receive many major festival awards before snagging nominations for an Oscar, an Emmy and a Writers Guild award. His next doc, "Racing Dreams," about young NASCAR hopefuls, won the Best Documentary honor when it premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. It also quickly attracted the attention of DreamWorks, which announced plans for a dramatic feature adaptation. 
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More: Interviews, Oscars, Academy Awards, Marshall Curry, Documentary

Review and Ranking of the 2012 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • February 7, 2012
Reviews
Curious which Oscar-nominated animated short film will win the Academy Award on February 26? Well, I'm no prognosticator and I honestly don't really care which little-known filmmaker takes home the golden statue. But I am happy the Oscars exist and have the animated short category because it means that moviegoers have at least one chance a year to see at least five (supposedly) exceptional animated shorts in the theater. There's usually at least one in the bunch I'm not that in love with, but even 4 out of 5 makes for a great program, especially when the best films are really something special. And maybe you, like the Academy, will enjoy them all.
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More: Shorts, Short Film, Awards, Oscars, Academy Awards, Pixar, Animation, Reviews, Reviews

Short Starts: Watch Two Tim Burton-ish Films by "Journey 2" Director Brad Peyton

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • February 6, 2012
Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at two early films by director Brad Peyton, whose latest feature is the sequel "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island."
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More: Shorts, Short Film, Short Starts, Animation, Brad Peyton

The Doc Option: Instead of "Big Miracle" See "The Whale"

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • February 3, 2012
I can understand the appeal of "Big Miracle," the cheesy looking new movie about a whale trapped in Arctic ice. I was once a preteen kid obsessed with marine life and I definitely would have gone to see it. Now I'm a thirtysomething kid obsessed with documentary so I have other films to see. If you're with me on wanting a more grown-up alternative, I've got another Doc Option for you:
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More: Documentary, Doc Option, Ryan Reynolds, Scarlett Johansson, The Whale

Short Starts: Watch "Ghost Closet '07" - Written by "Chronicle" Screenwriter Max Landis

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • January 30, 2012
Blogs
Short Starts is a column devoted to kicking off the week with a short film, typically one tied to a new release. Today we look at an earlier film by screenwriter Max Landis, who wrote "Chronicle."
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More: Shorts, Short Film, Short Starts, Max Landis

Sundance 2012: Reviews of "The Other Dream Team," "The Law in These Parts" and "Love Free or Die"

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • January 27, 2012
Festivals
As a documentary fan and critic who discovered so many great nonfiction films at Sundance last year, including some of 2011’s very best, it’s been extremely painful not being in Park City this week. To make things easier I could have tried to ignore the festival, stayed off Twitter, not read reviews, definitely not researched and talked about films ahead of time let alone written about the resulting most anticipated docs in my last Doc Talk column. Hearing enormously positive buzz on "The Imposter," "Searching for Sugar Man," "Detropia," "The Queen of Versailles," "The Ambassador," "West of Memphis and others is driving me absolutely bonkers.
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More: Sundance Film Festival, Sundance 2012 Reviews, Sundance 2012, Documentary, Reviews

Slamdance 2012: Alexandra Berger Talks “Danland,” Finding a Narrative in Verite Style and Being a Woman Documenting the Porn Industry

  • By Christopher Campbell
  • |
  • January 26, 2012
Festivals
One of the highlights at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival is the documentary "Danland," which follows the romantic pursuits of a well-known producer and star of amateur pornography. The film begins with this man, ‘Porno’ Dan Leal, on his wedding day, but we can’t really see who the bride is. Then we go back a few years and watch his relationships grow and die, some resurrected, others gone for good. It’s truly a movie for equal enjoyment among couples. There’s the porn stuff for the guys and the romance for the girls. And for just general doc lovers it’s an entertaining look into a strange and complicated world. 
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More: Interviews, Slamdance 2012, Slamdance 2012, Documentary, Danland, Alexandra Berger, Porn

Sundance 2012: Managing Cynicism - This Year’s Great Crop of Sundance Online Shorts

  • By Daniel Walber
  • |
  • January 26, 2012
Festivals
Maybe I’m a bit cynical. That’s not true. I’m excessively cynical. I could claim it comes naturally once you’ve seen too many movies, but that doesn’t seem like a good enough excuse. And the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s online shorts are a perfectly illustrative example of why any exhausted approach to new movies is a bad idea.
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More: Sundance Film Festival, Sundance 2012 Reviews, Sundance 2012, Reviews, Reviews, Shorts, Short Film

Sundance 2012: Top Online Shorts "Long Distance Information" and "The Debutante Hunters"

  • By Daniel Walber
  • |
  • January 25, 2012
Festivals
All of the nine shorts Yahoo and the Sundance Film Festival have put on the web are pretty good. It’s an impressive crop, and I’d say more consistent than a lot of the stuff festivals have put online in the last year. Yet in any batch of films a few rise to the top. I’ve rounded up the other seven, and the oddly consistent problem they have. Here are my two favorites and some gushing about why I think they’re absolutely worth your time.
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More: Sundance Film Festival, Sundance 2012 Reviews, Sundance 2012, Shorts, Short Film, Full Films, Documentary, Reviews, Reviews

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