The Playlist

L.A. Film Fest Review: 'The Iran Job' Is A Warm, Winning Tale of One Basketball Player's Experience In Iran

By Katie Walsh
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June 27, 2012 4:59 PM
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1 Comment

Reviews

During the Q&A after the screening of “The Iran Job,” director Till Schauder described how the idea for a documentary about “journeymen” professional basketball players in Iran came to him before he had a subject that could carry his documentary. His wife and producer Sarah Nodjoumi is Iranian-American, and the political repercussions surrounding these athletes pursuing a dream to play professionally, anywhere, intrigued the filmmaking duo. After starting to film the documentary with a few players who were “nice enough,” they happened upon an American player named Kevin Sheppard, from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and instantly knew he was their man. And aren’t they lucky that they did find Kevin, because “The Iran Job” could be much different if it weren’t for Kevin’s big hearted friendliness and disarming sense of humor that obliterates cultural barriers. The result is a documentary that combines elements of the sports movie, fish-out-of-water story, political film and personal portrait that is an entertaining and fascinating look at this one man in this country.

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L.A. Film Fest Review: Entertaining Romp 'Magic Mike' Will Put Its Spell On You... And Shake It Like Nobody's Business

By Katie Walsh
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June 25, 2012 12:16 AM
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5 Comments

Reviews

There’s just something about Channing Tatum. Clearly, he’s got that magic touch (why else would Paramount be reshooting “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” to add more Chan?), a certain je ne sais quoi that would inspire veteran auteur Stephen Soderbergh to bring his early life story as a Florida stripper to the silver screen, while making the ultimate male stripper movie in the process. It just so happens to be a really good film too, one that’s about more than just shakin’ what the good Lord bestowed on Mr. Tatum and pals.

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L.A. Film Fest Review: 'A Band Called Death' Rewrites Punk History, And Tells An Emotional Story of Faith And Family

By Katie Walsh
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June 22, 2012 12:01 PM
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3 Comments

Reviews

Nope, not The Ramones, The Clash or the Sex Pistols. Not even Bad Brains. The true punk pioneers were a band called Death, straight out of the Motor City, Detroit, and you’ve probably never heard of them until now. Thanks to some obsessive record collectors, a whole lot of serendipity, and a new documentary from Mark Covino and Jeff Howlett, Death just might be getting the retroactive respect they are more than overdue. As Henry Rollins states, it’s a great music story and Covino and Howlett have successfully transferred it into an entertaining, moving rockumentary.

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L.A. Film Fest Review: The Skillfully Shot ‘Thursday Till Sunday’ Is Slow To Make Its Arrival

By Emma Bernstein
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June 20, 2012 7:01 PM
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2 Comments

Reviews

Whether you are separating from your spouse or a child of parents who decide to split, divorce is a complex, sorrowful, bewildering event. It may leave questions unanswered, hearts broken, and individuals unfulfilled and without closure. Relationships are so layered that when it comes time to dissolve them, the process is anything but easy. And yet, it is at these most difficult times when the simplest words serve best. In her film, “Thursday till Sunday,” Chilean writer and director Dominga Sotomayor uses unfussy dialogue and a straightforward shooting style to translate the confusion and pain inherent in a couple’s withering marriage through the eyes of their quiet, precocious daughter.

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L.A. Film Fest Review: 'Sister' Is A Beautifully Bleak Coming Of Age Story

By Emma Bernstein
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June 20, 2012 6:05 PM
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1 Comment

Reviews

A young child is dressing in a bathroom stall. We can’t tell what he looks like, as he layers on shapeless winter clothing and a neoprene mask hides all discernible features save for a pair of bright, knowing eyes. He goes through the pre-ski ritual, bundling up before braving the windy, snowy landscape of the mountain ahead. Except that this child isn’t dressing for a day of skiing, but rather a day of stealing. It isn’t until he lifts a backpack and a jacket, returning to the stall to sort through his loot, that his babyish face and soft, dirty blonde hair are revealed. This is the opening scene of “Sister,” the sophomore feature from Swiss director and co-writer Ursula Meier. The film, which won a Special Mention Silver Bear award at this year's Berlin Film Festival, examines the process of coming of age, and the challenges that face us as we arrive at adulthood.

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L.A. Film Fest Review: 'Girls' Star Alex Karpovsky's 'Red Flag' Is A Hilarious Meta Dark Comedy That Showcases Some Promising Talent

By Katie Walsh
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June 20, 2012 2:57 PM
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0 Comments

Reviews

Watching “Red Flag” at a film festival is a delightfully meta affair. In fact, the whole film is delightfully meta, a darkly funny autobiographical road movie from "Girls" and "Tiny Furniture" star Alex Karpovsky. Yes, he's not just one of Dunham's boys on the hit HBO show, he's also a promising filmmaker in his own right, and he plants his 'Flag' definitively.

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L.A. Film Fest Review: 'Four' Is A Remarkable & Moving Portrait of Solitude

By Emma Bernstein
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June 19, 2012 1:59 PM
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5 Comments

Reviews

We are all faced with loneliness at one time or another, perhaps for longer periods than we can understand or accept. In a modern world, with all the connectivity our technology and our society have to offer, we may still be confronted by the looming threat of isolation. This condition of being alone, of lacking a friend, lover, or confidant in which to share your most personal self is the subject of “Four,” written and directed by Joshua Sanchez. In its relatively brief 76 minutes, the film provides a beautiful commentary on this state, a quiet and poetic meditation on the solitude of the human condition.

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L.A. Film Fest Review: 'Gayby' Is A Slightly Amusing Little Comedy About...You Guessed It, Babymaking With Your Best Gay

By Katie Walsh
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June 19, 2012 12:58 PM
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0 Comments

Reviews

You have one chance to figure out what “Gayby” is about. If you said “gay baby,” ding ding ding, you got it! Or maybe it should be “baby with a gay,” but at any rate, “Gayby” treads the familiar narrative path of the contentious relationship between the single woman and her biological clock. Much like Madonna and Rupert Everett in “The Next Best Thing,” college buds Jen and Matt (Jennifer Harris and Matthew Wilkas, real life college buds, check out their snapshots in the title sequence) decide to make a go of this whole babymaking business (yes, the old fashioned way).

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L.A. Film Fest Review: 'The Queen Of Versailles' Is A Bundle Of Sarcastic Laughs With A Little Heart Thrown In

By Emma Bernstein
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June 19, 2012 9:56 AM
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0 Comments

Reviews

“The Queen of Versailles” lives up to the dual meaning of its title. The documentary, directed by Lauren Greenfield, follows Jackie and David Siegel and their eight children – one of the wealthiest families in America – as they task themselves with building the largest home in the country, a mansion estate that they have dubbed Versailles. Midway through construction, however, comes the onset of the current economic recession, sending the family’s finances reeling and work on their new home screeching to a halt. Documented over the course of three years, this film showcases the slow demise of the closest thing this country has to an aristocracy, equating the Siegels’ financial downfall with the dethroning of a King and Queen.

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L.A. Film Fest Review: 'Ruby Sparks' A Delightful Romantic Comedy That Tugs At The Heartstrings & Rings Of An Instant Classic

By Katie Walsh
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June 18, 2012 3:13 PM
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7 Comments

Reviews

It’s been six long years since Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ narrative feature debut, the much beloved “Little Miss Sunshine.” But the directing duo is back with a new film, “Ruby Sparks,” and with it, prove that some things are worth the wait. With a script by its 28 year old star, Zoe Kazan, and co-starring her real life boyfriend Paul Dano, “Ruby Sparks” is a winning, charming yet bittersweet exploration of love and relationships, those that exist in both in reality and fantasy.

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