At one point during Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen’s documentary The Alpinist, the filmmakers remark that it was terrifying filming mountain climber Marc-Andre Leclerc do his adventurous thing. I can say the feeling of watching is mutual. Full of vertical … Continue reading Review: ‘The Alpinist’

Masculinity, the idea of honorable fatherhood, and the gentle art of drinking until your body is immune to the punches taken (and given) at the neighborhood bar seem to be the overriding theme in John Pollono’s Small Engine Repair. They’re … Continue reading Review: ‘Small Engine Repair’

I can imagine French filmmaker Leos Carax has wanted to make a musical for decades now. Just picture the exuberance captured in the single take of Denis Lavant writhing down the street to David Bowie’s “Modern Love” in the 1986 … Continue reading Review: ‘Annette’

I would never have guessed the next documentary about a well known actor coming down the Hollywood pipeline would involve Val Kilmer, but here we are. Yes it can be a bit self indulgent at times, but it’s also an … Continue reading Review: ‘Val’

Inside a burning car as windows crack. The vertigo of a swirling plane underwater. A cleanly framed shootout in a dilapidated apartment building. These are the exciting set-pieces that keep Stefano Solima’s adaptation of Tom Clancy’s novel chugging along. And … Continue reading Review: ‘Without Remorse”

Films about addiction call to Hollywood. They give performers the opportunity to linger down in the gutter for a bit. Or they give full permission to develop a performance based on tics and nervous scratching. In short, it’s a method … Continue reading Review: ‘Four Good Days’