Thompson on Hollywood

LAFF Review: Joe Burke's 'Four Dogs' Is Breezy Buddy Showbiz Comedy with Bite (TRAILER)

Festivals

While micro-budget, plotless indies about sad sack dudes and their lonely lives are old hat at a time when anyone can pick up a camera and shoot, Joe Burke's "Four Dogs" stands a cut above as a portrait of two emotionally impotent man-children.

By Ryan Lattanzio
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June 18, 2013 2:01 PM
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Review: Tragi-Comedy 'Act of Killing' Confronts the Killer Inside (TRAILER)

Festivals

With his documentary "The Act of Killing," Joshua Oppenheimer has reset the bar for tragi-comedy. As in, don’t even bother trying, Hollywood. Ever again. In fact, why don’t we just dispense with next year’s Oscar race right now and give both the best documentary and the best feature award to this film? It even has a musical within it, so it could take that category at the Globes, too.

By Tom Christie
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June 17, 2013 2:43 PM
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The Hitchcock 9 Kicks Off at San Francisco Silent Film Festival

Festivals

The carefully-orchestrated release of Alfred Hitchcock's nine surviving silent films, freshly restored by the British Film Institute National Archive, is burnishing his already polished reputation. Cinephiles around the world are gathering to watch the movies, made between 1925 and 1929, in venues from coast to coast. The first United States performances were held in San Francisco under the auspices of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, at the venerable 1922 movie palace the Castro, on June 14, 15, and 16th. Following the Silent Film Festival's most excellent tradition, the movies were shown with live musical accompaniment, ranging from solo piano to the five-member Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

By Meredith Brody
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June 17, 2013 1:50 PM
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LAFF: Destin Cretton Talks SXSW Grand Jury Winner 'Short Term 12,' Immaturity and the Mystery of Indie Film's Future (TRAILER)

Festivals

Destin Daniel Cretton talks his "Short Term 12," from Sundance winning short to SXSW Grand Jury prize-winning feature...

By Sophia Savage
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June 16, 2013 1:11 AM
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LAFF Kicks Off with Almodovar's Sexy 'I'm So Excited,' What To See at 2013 Fest

Festivals

The 19th edition of the Los Angeles Film Festival kicked off ten days of screenings and events Thursday night (our recommendations are below) with Pedro Almodovar's sexily escapist romp "I'm So Excited" (review here), which played well for the North American premiere crowd downtown at LA Live. The Spanish auteur was on hand in a splendid lime suit, shilling for Hollywood roles for his cast.

By Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna
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June 14, 2013 3:50 PM
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Review: Coppola's 'The Bling Ring'

Reviews

Confession: going into "The Bling Ring," I was hopeful that I’d find the Sofia Coppola of "Marie Antoinette" rather than the Sofia Coppola of "Somewhere" parked behind the camera. Surely, a true-life Hollywood tale as fundamentally ludicrous as fame-and-celebrity-obsessed hipster teens targeting freebie-laden homes of the rich and famous cried out for the leering (but not sneering) pop-art approach Coppola brought to her portrait of the pampered French queen, rather than the deadpan, going-round-in-circles approach she applied to her tale of an alienated movie star.

By Matt Mueller
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June 13, 2013 12:58 PM
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LAFF: Bernard Rose and Danny Huston Reunite with 'Boxing Day,' Third in Tolstoy Series (VIDEO)

Interviews

Transplanted Brit writer-director Bernard Rose and Hollywood scion Danny Huston have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship. Casting Huston in "IVANSXTC," a llittle-seen 2002 success d'estime that in many ways presaged the indie digital age, jumpstarted the would-be director's career as an actor. Huston keeps coming back for more, because with Rose he winds up doing his best acting.

By Anne Thompson
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June 12, 2013 4:08 PM
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2013 Los Angeles Film Festival Jury Announced

Festivals

The Los Angeles Film Festival has announced its jurors for the 2013 fest, running June 13-23 in downtown L.A. Jury members include directors Sean Baker ("Starlet") and Clay Tweel ("The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters") and producers Harry Lennix ("Man of Steel") and Lesley Chilcott ("Waiting for Superman," "An Inconvenient Truth"). Full list below.

By Beth Hanna
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June 12, 2013 1:35 PM
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Palm Springs International Shortfest Announces Star-Studded Lineup

Festivals

The 2013 Palm Springs International Shortfest and Short Film Market has announced its showcase of 330 films, including 70 world premieres. This is the beginning of winnowing for the Oscars, as all films that win first place in the fest's four programs -- which span action, comedies, dramas, thrillers and more -- are Oscar eligible. An array of celebrities sprinkle the film lineup, including Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, Lauren Ambrose, Mireille Enos, Elle Fanning and Emma Thompson.

By Beth Hanna
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June 10, 2013 3:18 PM
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Paul Schrader to Head Orizzonti Jury at 70th Venice Film Festival, 'The Canyons' Will Screen Out of Competition

Festivals

Director and screenwriter Paul Schrader has been chosen as the president of the International Jury for the Orizzonti section of the upcoming Venice International Film Festival, celebrating its 70th year this August. Schrader's new film "The Canyons," starring Lindsay Lohan and porn star James Deen, will screen out of competition at the Italian fest.