By: debbie lynn elias A film that cast its spell over the 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival earlier this year, and one of my top “Must See Festival Films” picks, was Sebastian Silva’s CRYSTAL FAIRY AND THE MAGICAL CACTUS AND 2012 which now flies into theatres across the country. Any
By: debbie lynn elias UNFINISHED SONG . . . quiet, sad beauty that fills the heart and the soul. Saccharine sweet but brimming with heart, the love and warmth that fills this film is unparalleled. But I warn you up front – bring tissues, lots of tissues – as the
By: debbie lynn elias When William Lustig’s now classic 1980’s horror film MANIAC first opened in theatres in Center City, Philadelphia, it wasn’t playing at any of the more “respectable” theatres. It was showing in what was once the “XXX” theater area, an area my father always deemed unsafe for
By: debbie lynn elias “Hi-Yo, Silver, Away!” And sadly, that’s what you may be doing – going away – before reaching the 2 hour 17 minute mark (plus credits) of the latest Jerry Bruckheimer, Gore Verbinski, Johnny Depp vehicle, THE LONE RANGER. Over-directed by Verbinski, over-mugged by Depp and just
By: debbie lynn elias One of my greatest gripes about filmmaking stems from remakes. If a film is so well done or so beloved, it need never be remade unless the remake or reimagination adds something new, takes a new tact, etc. and doesn’t denigrate the vitality, excellence or classicism
By: debbie lynn elias Previously unfamiliar with the work of writer/director Antoni Stutz (who last directed 2001’s You’re Killing Me), after seeing his sophomore feature RUSHLIGHTS, you can bet he’s on my radar for the future. Co-written with Ashley Scott Meyers based on a true story of events that occurred
By: debbie lynn elias For Aaron Eckhart fans the world over, as ERASED’s ex-CIA operative Ben Logan, this is the performance you wanted to see from him in Olympus Has Fallen as opposed to what that film delivered – presidential Milquetoast rather than Commander-in-Chief. With ERASED, a non-stop espionage thriller,
By: debbie lynn elias While school may be out for the summer for most of you, for everyone’s favorite scarers, the beloved Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan, they’re not only heading back to movie theatres after 12 years, but back to school in the much anticipated, long overdue and
By: debbie lynn elias As is becoming tradition with Disney•Pixar, not only do you get to see a fantastic feature, but an animated short of unparalleled excellence. Last year we were treated to the Oscar-winning Paperman. Now, paired with MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, is writer/director Saschka Unseld’s soon to be Oscar-winning THE
By: debbie lynn elias A tour de force performance piece, and one of my top 3 “Must See” Festival Films at Los Angeles Film Festival 2013, is BOXING DAY. Written and directed by Bernard Rose, BOXING DAY is an adaptation of Tolstoy’s contemplative The Master and The Man. A wonderful
