Friday , March 29 2024

Editor Pick: Film

Anthem FilmFest: Putting People Back Together

At the Anthem Film Festival, part of the libertarian FreedomFest conference July 8-11, 2015, at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, I was discussing films with a young woman who commented, “I like documentaries, but so many of them are so depressing. I want to see positive stories.” She was in the …

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Movie Review: ‘Rubble Kings,’ Narrated by John Leguizamo

New York City was on the verge of bankruptcy, gangs thrashed out conflicts in all city boroughs, arson was a daily occurrence in the Bronx and crime was its main income. From the rubble and ashes of the Bronx where there was little to live for and much desolation, a small spark of hope ignited. What happened amidst the devastation and misery was a change that occurred for all time and it had nothing to do with politics.

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LA Film Fest:  ‘Seoul Searching’ – an Homage to John Hughes and the 1980s

The LA Film Festival chose to make 'Seoul Searching' one of its Gala Presentations. After the red carpet arrivals, the film was introduced by its director-screenwriter Benson Lee, and had its LA debut in Regal Cinemas’ Premier House. The entire event and the film itself gave that evening at the festival an old-time Hollywood feel. 'Seoul Searching' takes viewers on a nostalgia trip. Its theme, its style and its presentation are all retro in a good way. Prior to the screening, the audience did a stadium-style wave for the director. That’s getting into the 80s!

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LA Film Fest: Kiernan Shipka of ‘Mad Men’ and Meg Ryan make ‘Fan Girl’ Fun

'Fan Girl', by director Paul Jarrett and screenwriter Gina O'Brien, was a total trip when it premiered at the LA Film Festival. A “trip”? Dude, that’s so last century. If there is anything this movie isn’t, it’s last century. Fan Girl is a winner of a movie because of the writing, the casting, and the acting. If all that works together, the director deserves credit as well. On the surface Fan Girl is a story of teenager Telulah Farrow, played by Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men, Flowers in the Attic), who adulates the punk band All Time Low. She thinks she needs to connect with the band and create a music video for her filmmaking class to launch her movie career. What she really needs, and the story beneath the surface, is to learn what is really important in human relationships.

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