Category: Xpired Categories
-
89th Oscars: Screener Watch: Nov. 13-20, 2016
It’s time for another round of screeners. This time, we have one from Fox Searchlight (Birth of a Nation), two from Amazon Studios (Cafe Society and Love & Friendship), one from CBS Films (Hell or High Water), one from Sony Pictures (Sausage Party), and one from Roadside Attractions (Touched with Fire). The Birth of a…
-
89th Oscars: Screener Watch: Nov. 6-12, 2016
Precursor week began this month with a raft of screeners. Last year, I posted for each individual screener. This year, I’m doing a weekly wrap-up. Anthropoid Oscar Chances: None Campaign-Proposed Categories: Best Picture (Sean Ellis, Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon) Best Director (Sean Ellis) Best Actor (Cillian Murphy, Jamie Dornan) Best Supporting Actor (Toby Jones, Harry…
-
89th Oscars: Screener Watch: Nov. 1-5, 2016
Precursor week began this month with a raft of screeners. Last year, I posted for each individual screener. This year, I’m doing a weekly wrap-up. Hello, My Name Is Doris Oscar Chances: Weak: Roadside Attractions is attempting to get this film recognized with its early screener release, but other than at the Golden Globes, I…
-
Eyeing the Truth: Nov. 2016
13th (Netflix) More of a cinematic essay than a straight-out documentary, Ava DuVernay’s 13th traces the African-American experience from the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, to today’s Black Lives Matters movement. Her main thrust is the continued forced labor of black men post-slavery, as they have been increasingly incarcerated and the prison numbers in America have…
-
The Top Tens: Films We Put on Repeat
Every month, our contributors submit lists of ten films fitting certain topics. Each month, we feature an alphabetical list of films along with commentary explaining our selections. There will also be an itemized list at the end of each of our individual selections. When we sat down to this list, we wanted to do something…
-
Eyeing the Truth: Oct. 2016
Holy Hell (Netflix) At first glance, Buddhafield, the cult at the center of the new documentary Holy Hell, can seem a tad more innocuous than the cults we normally see in documentary films. There are no drugs, no compounds, no stockpiles of ammunition, no uniforms, no talk of Armageddon, and no one seems forcibly trapped…
-
The Top Tens: Our Favorite Directors
Every month, our contributors submit lists of ten films fitting certain topics. Each month, we feature an alphabetical list of films along with commentary explaining our selections. There will also be an itemized list at the end of each of our individual selections. For the third month in a row, we focus on individuals within…
-
The Top Tens: Our Favorite Actresses
Every month, our contributors submit lists of ten films fitting certain topics. Each month, we feature an alphabetical list of films along with commentary explaining our selections. There will also be an itemized list at the end of each of our individual selections. As a companion to Our Favorite Actors list last month, we’ve put…
-
Eyeing the Truth: Sept. 2016
Hitchcock/Truffaut (HBOGo/HBONow) Your level of patience with Hitchcock/Truffaut, Kent Jones’ documentary tribute/video essay on the classic film book, may stem from how highly you hold the book and its subject in esteem. I knew about the book for many years (Hitchcock was a teenage favorite of mine, and still is) before finally tracking down a…
-
Eyeing the Truth: August 2016
Suited (HBOGo/HBONow) A brief synopsis of Suited, the new Lena Dunham-produced documentary, is simple: Rae Tutera and Daniel Friedman are New York-based tailors who specialize in custom-made suits for transgender and gender non-conforming clients who have trouble feeling comfortable in off-the-rack options. The film, by first-time documentarian Jason Benjamin, does a lot more than merely…
-
The Top Tens: Our Favorite Actors
Every month, our contributors submit lists of ten films fitting certain topics. Each month, we feature an alphabetical list of films along with commentary explaining our selections. There will also be an itemized list at the end of each of our individual selections. For August and September, our contributors have decided to approach our top…
-
Eyeing the Truth: July 2016
O.J.: Made in America (ESPN.com) After 20 years of obsessing over the O.J. Simpson trial, from my teenage years glued to the live coverage of the trial to various TV specials to Jeffrey Toobin’s definitive The Run of His Life to the recent FX miniseries The People vs. O.J. Simpson, I thought I was done…
-
The Top Tens: Let’s Hear It for the Songs
Every month, our contributors submit lists of ten films fitting certain topics. Each month, we feature an alphabetical list of films along with commentary explaining our selections. There will also be an itemized list at the end of each of our individual selections. Last month, we took a look at music in the movies. We…
-
Eyeing the Truth: June 2016
Welcome to Leith (Netflix) Leith, North Dakota is the sort of American small town, with a population of 24, that seems to scream out for a documentary. So when white supremacist Craig Cobb moved into town and started buying up property, you can only imagine filmmakers Christopher K. Walker and Michael Beach Nichols running towards…
-
The Top Tens: Tell Me If You’ve Heard This One
Every month, our contributors submit lists of ten films fitting certain topics. Each month, we feature an alphabetical list of films along with commentary explaining our selections. There will also be an itemized list at the end of each of our individual selections. When we decided to do this monthly feature, one thing we wanted…
