Way late review: Being Elmo

It’s Elmo’s world, we only get to watch it. That’s until Being Elmo exposes the red furry one’s diabolic plans to rule the world! OK, so maybe the documentary Being Elmo isn’t anything like that. Part of me wishes it was or at least dared to take a bizarre twist in the third act in …

Way late review: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

When I saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind a number of years ago for the first time I remember being disappointed. I wanted E.T. and instead I got a bizarre story of a man who sees a UFO and proceeds to lose his mind. Years later I appreciated Spielberg’s first alien movie much more …

Way late review: Project Nim

If the story of a chimp raised by humans told in Project Nim sounds vaguely familiar to the blockbuster Rise of the Planet of the Apes, there’s a good reason for that. The screenwriters for Rise were well aware of Nim, the chimp whom scientists wanted to see if they could teach sign language as …

Way late review: The Ides of March

George Clooney’s The Ides of March is a political thriller that attempts to thrill with the revelation that human beings are not inherently good. Not much of a revelation and not much of a thriller. Ides of March attempts to make grandiose gestures set to menacing music and shadowy backdrops but ultimately ends up being …

True/False Film Fest 2012: Sunday

All good things come to an end and I ended my three days at True/False 2012 in Columbia, MO intentionally early. The docs I was most interested in seeing were later in the afternoon and most of them I believe I’ll be able to catch later this year as they either have distribution or soon …

True/False Film Fest 2012: Friday

Last year I heard about the True False Film Festival in Columbia, MO. The timing wasn’t right for me so I didn’t attend. I was determined to make it this year. I’ve never attended a film festival before now. The location is close enough, the price is fair and the films are all documentaries which …

Way late review: Floored

After watching Floored, a documentary about old-school traders on Chicago’s exchange floors, I wonder (once again) if there is much difference between gambling and trading commodities. One can’t help but notice the subjects of the film, struggling to adapt to the new ways of doing business (computer vs. in-person trades), resemble professional poker players. They …

Way late review: Higher Ground

Daring to tackle a subject that seems to be ever harder for even a small Hollywood film to cover as each day passes, Higher Ground paints a heartfelt and honest picture of one woman’s journey in and through and eventually out of the Christian faith. Corinne (Vera Farmiga) is a young girl at what appears …

Way late review: Beauty Day

Before Youtube and before Johnny Knoxville and his crew there was Ralph Zavadil, aka Cap’n Video. A local access cable show in St. Catharines, Ontario, Cap’n Video existed in obscurity until Zavadil’s alter ego attempted one too many dangerous stunts. And it is that stunt, a botched plunge into a covered pool off a shaky …