Commentary

A few years back, I spoke with a guy named Sevé Schelenz, who was out peddling a found-footage flick that he wrote and directed called “Skew” on the festival circuit. I caught him at the Spooky Movie Fest in DC where I took maybe the best photograph of a Canadian horror filmmaker ever. Then I found […]

We sat down with Kung Fu Panda 3 directors Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni earlier this month. Click here (or use the embedded player below) to hear about the journey Po (Jack Black) has taken, what he’s learned, and the things that go into making one of the best-looking animated films to come out […]

Betsy Cox delivers an urgent message in a twenty-year-old story….still in the making. This is not a film about Washington, DC, or political ideologies concerning education, though its socioeconomic undercurrent is critical in establishing the odds of the era. This is a film about people and what they are capable of when afforded the opportunity […]

Here’s a quick Top 20 list to supplement my End-of-Year Review. But first, some brief thoughts on Thursday’s Oscar nominees (Full List Here): Opinion: As for period dramas, “Carol” should have taken the “Brooklyn” slot; “The Revenant” and “The Big Short” absolutely, one hundred percent, belong on that list (both in my Top 5); an unbelievable 8 nominations for “Mad Max: […]

By Michael Parsons As I emerge from a fugue state after a slew of awards screenings, I’m reminded of why I love movies so much. Not because I’ve seen almost ever Oscar contender out there, but because the ever-expanding art of cinema never fails to churn out some surprises. As far as I’m concerned, every year is a great year in […]

Perhaps the most wildly diverse portfolio ever to emerge from Hollywood belongs to Dalton Trumbo, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who also cranked out more B-movie scripts than Ed Wood. But the paradox that is his résumé — much of which is invisible (even on IMDb) — remains a symbol of  something far greater than anything the nation’s […]