Film
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Ed Burns Nice Guy Johnny
Williamstown Film Festival: It’s a Wrap
By: - Oct 26th, 2010In addition to a superb schedule of seminars, an evening with Alec Baldwin and Robert Osborne, features and short films the Williamstown Film Festival explored new approaches to independent films. A case in point was the final film Nice Guy Johnny. It was written and directed by Edward Burns on a minuscule budget of $25,000 in twelve days.
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Cropsey Screened as BIFF Special
Great Barrington Triplex Oct.29
By: - Oct 26th, 2010In honor of the Halloween weekend, the BIFF’s REEL FRIENDS Film Society will present the special screening of the documentary film, CROPSEY directed by Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio. The film will be screened only once at the Triplex on Friday, October 29th at 9 p.m. with a Q&A with the filmmaker immediately following.
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Marge Champion Keep Dancing
Screened at Williamstown Film Festival
By: - Oct 23rd, 2010Now 91, Marge Champion drove over from Stockbridge to attend a matinee screening of the documentary film, Keep Dancing, that features her with Donald Saddler. She was an original board member of Williamstown Theatre Festival as well as Jacob's Pillow. It was delightful. Which was not the case that evening at Mass MoCA when the Vincent Price cult classic was accompanied by a live rock score by Marco Benevento. The music obliterated rather than enhanced the film.
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The Perfect Host at WFF
Williamstown Film Festival Resumes
By: - Oct 22nd, 2010First time director, Nick Tomnay, was on hand to discuss The Perfect Host after a screening of the thriller during the Williamstown Film Festival. He lucked out in convincing the veteran actor David Hyde Pierce to appear more or less pro bono. He delivers a total gonzo performance in a low budget film shot for just $1 million in a remarkably brief 17 days.
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Williamstown Film Festival Part Two
Three Films Featuring Women: Cattrall, Hunt and Leo
By: - Oct 19th, 2010The first weekend of the two part Williamstown Film Festival offered three features with compelling performances by mid career women: Kim Cattrall, Melissa Leo and Helen Hunt. All three films also include juvenile actors. Significantly, these superb independent films are looking for distribution deals. Right now they are making their way around the festival circuit, connecting with enthusiastic audiences. Veteran character actor, Brian Dennehy, appeared in two of the three films.
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Williamstown Film Festival: Week One
Baldwin and Osborne on Wilder Pack MoCA
By: - Oct 18th, 2010Steve Lawson, the artistic director of the Williamstown Film Festival has created a remarkable program for its 12th season. In addition to a program of shorts and three feature films the highlight of the first of two weekends was a packed house at Mass MoCA for a tribute to Billy Wilder with a dialogue between actor Alec Baldwin and Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne.
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Inside Job
Real Greed, Theft and Villainy On Wall Street
By: - Oct 17th, 2010"Inside Job" is the first film to expose the shocking truths behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, "Inside Job" traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia. It is all appalling and scary. And the story isn't over yet.
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A Backstory on Hereafter
Clint Eastwood's New Film a Tossup
By: - Oct 14th, 2010Hereafter, Clint Eastwood's new film, opens in limited release on October 15 and in general release on the 22nd. Damon talked more about going begging to Ben Affleck for jobs in his appearance on Letterman, but Letterman, not one to show deep emotion often, was clearly moved by the film.
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BIFF Howls October 15
Special Screening About Allen Ginsberg Poem
By: - Oct 08th, 2010Howl by Allen Ginsberg is the most enduring poem of the Beat Generation. There will be a special screening of a new film about the controversial poem on October 15 at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington. It is being presented by the Berkshire International Film Festival.
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Affleck’s The Town
Cops and Robbahs
By: - Oct 01st, 2010Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is the master mind of a gang of bank robbers from Charlestown. While The Town is better than most of the dogs Affleck has starred in, since his 1997 Oscar he shared with boyhood friend Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting, it's more good than great. It was fun to see all those shots of Boston but other than nostalgia and scenery this was pretty run of the mill.
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The Social Network
Facing Up to Facebook
By: - Sep 28th, 2010Advance reports on "The Social Network," which opens this weekend, report an entertaining and provocative film with a really evil man at its center. This simply isn't so. Yes, the film is terrific, but no, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is not the sinister character his detractors portray. Neither the film nor his life suggests this.
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Rick Harlow's The Black Line Journey
Screened Oct. 2 at Eclipse Mill Gallery
By: - Sep 22nd, 2010For a number of years the North Adams based artist, Rick Harlow, has spent extended periods of time living and working with the indigenous peoples of Colombia. He has created a film which documents The Elders Project which entailed visiting more than fifty sacred sites in January, 2010. The film The Black Line Journey will be screened at the Eclipse Mill Gallery on Saturday, October 2, at 7 PM, followed by a discussion with the artist. The film will premiere during a documentary festival in Bogata, Colombia later in the month.
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Toronto International Film Festival 2010
Ten Days of Cinematic Immersion and Revelation
By: - Sep 17th, 2010Ten days in September marks the Toronto International Film Festival. It is the largest film festival in the world in terms of films shown and the most highly attended in terms of audience. It is an escape into the world of cinema that is enjoyed annually by the film community and film lovers. As any year, this year there were the good, the bad and the ugly. This year the buzz was about a very British film that could get a lot of Oscars. TIFF is a wonderful way to get lost and found in the dark.
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Spanish Masters of Cinema at the Clark
Film Series June 18 to August 27
By: - Jun 07th, 2010In a summer when the Clark is featuring the work of two great Spanish artists, its “Spanish Masters of Cinema†film series, June 18 through August 27, will look at the work of six acclaimed Spanish directors. In the long history of Spanish filmmaking, the great director Luis Buñuel was the first to achieve universal recognition, followed by Pedro Almodóvar in the 1980s. More recently Spanish cinema has achieved high marks from critics and filmgoers alike as a result of its creative and technical excellence, notably Guillermo del Toro’s Academy-Award-winning 2006 masterpiece, Pan's Labyrinth, the final film in the six-part series
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Berkshire International Film Festival
Jason Lehel’s GAIA Won for Best Feature
By: - Jun 06th, 2010The Jury for Berkshire International Film Festival had 8 films in competition; 4 films in the feature documentary category and 4 in the narrative feature category. In the documentary category were AHEAD OF TIME, CLIMATE REFUGEES, FAMILY AFFAIR, and THE OATH. ATLETU, GAIA, MAD SAD & BAD, and MY YEAR WITHOUT SEX were in competition for best feature.
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Little Cinema at Pittsfield Museum
Hosts Berkshire International Film Festival June 5 & 6
By: - May 26th, 2010Pittsfield Museum’s Little Cinema celebrates 60 years of cinematic excellence . One of the longest-running film festivals in New England, Little Cinema presents first-run foreign and independent films. Little Cinema presents films nightly at 8 p.m. plus a weekly Monday matinee at 2 p.m. Kicking off this historic season is an appropriately historic film, Vincere, (128 minutes, rated R), running from Sunday, May 30 to Thursday, June 3.
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Jidl Mitn Fidl (Yiddle With His Fiddle) at Mahaiwe
Berkshie International Film Festival Event June 6
By: - May 26th, 2010Based on the classic 1936 Yiddish film musical comedy Yidl Mitn Fidl starring the irrepressible Molly Picon, this new English-language adaptation was written by screenwriter and author Stephen Glantz and will be directed by Susan Merson.
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Exit Through The Gift Shop Reels Art
World's First Street Art Disaster Movie
By: - Apr 23rd, 2010Mysterious Banksy is a street artist with a global reputation whose clever and often poignant work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to a Palestinian segregation wall on the West Bank. Guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be identified. Exit Through the Gift Shop is the story of how an eccentric French vintage clothes shop owner and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist eventually turn the camera back on its owner with spectacular results. This film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Space Invader, Ron English and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work. But is it real or just a reel?
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Berkshire International Film Festival
In Great Barrington and Pittsfield June 3 to 6
By: - Apr 16th, 2010A documentary on comic Joan Rivers launches the Berkshire International Film Festival on June 6 preceded by a short documentary on Marge Champion celebratng her 90th birthday. This year the festival is expanding from Great Barrington to Pittsfield with a schedule of more than 75 features, documentaries and shorts. Actress Patricia Clarkson will be honored.
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Ray Kurzweil's Impressions of Avatar
Responses from a Reader
By: - Apr 14th, 2010I have never had the good fortune to meet nor communicate with Ray Kurzweil. I have been aware of him and an admirer of his work for forty years. If you do not know of him, you certainly know or have benefited from and/or probably have used at least one or more of his creations.
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The Art of the Steal At the Coolidge
Heist of Barnes Foundation Art Documentary
By: - Mar 28th, 2010Dr. Barnes hired the best Philadelphia Lawyers he could to protect his collection in Merion, PA from the Philadelphia Main Line toffs and phonies. Yet, somehow the estimated $25 billion collection of Modern and Post-Impressionist masterpieces has been appropriated through politics, power, wealth and subterfuge. This well-crafted documentary by Don Argott shows what, how and where it happened.
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Polanski's Ghost Writer at Images
Updates from Williamstown Theatre
By: - Mar 23rd, 2010Rainy Mondays are perfect for taking in a movie. The non profit Images in Williamstown will screen controversial director Roman's Polanski's latest The Ghost Writer starting on Friday, March 26. There will be a one night screening of Who Does She Think She Is and panel with women artists on Monday, April 5.
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It's Not Me, I Swear Is Wonderful Cinema
Museum of Fine Arts Hosts Quebec Film Series
By: - Mar 07th, 2010Our neighbors to the North, the Province of Quebec, have a tradition of culture and regional cultural awareness. Their filmmakers are a strong and vibrant creative voice internationally. Currently, being presented at the Boston Museum of fine Arts is a series of fascinating and provocative films from Quebec. The festival began with "It's not me, I swear." This is a brilliantly made and acted film about a young boy seemingly from Hell.But is he really? It is an unexpected treat.
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Jonathan Demme Honored At Coolidge
Films and Colleagues Celebrate Coolidge Award
By: - Mar 02nd, 2010The Coolidge Award presented yearly to a distinguished filmmaker or actor is celebrated by film series, special screenings, This year's recipient, Academy Award winning Director Jonathan Demme, is one of the truly great film directors. His work has embraced not only commercial and independent films, but documentaries and music videos. Accessible, urbane and well-spoken, Demme is a man of his times. The Coolidge Corner Theatre is one of those special institutions, and Demme is a special cinematic artist. The 2010 Coolidge Award celebration was just right.
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Williamstown Film Festival: Images to March 8
Faith, Hope, Identity: Religious and Cultural Diversity in Contemporary French Film
By: - Feb 03rd, 2010Over five consecutive Mondays at 7PM, from February 8 to March 8, 2010, the Williams College Department of Romance Languages will screen five recent films from France at Images Cinema on Spring Street in Williamstown, Mass. The screenings are free and open to the public.
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