After a successful debut last year, the people at SIFF are doing another DocFest and it has a pretty impressive lineup. It …
Author: Chris Burlingame
Kevin Smith brings together his Extended Cinematic Universe for Clerks III
Some twenty-eight years later, Kevin Smith has brought the characters of Randal and Dante back for a third movie. They now own the convenience store but look mostly the same. They still play hockey on the roof and still have signs up assuring you they’re open and asking to be alerted if you plan on shoplifting. Jay and Silent Bob are still hanging out in front of the video store (they run) but now they sell weed from it, with only slightly more legitimacy. The movie is, like a bag of Cheetos or a can of Red Bull or a lukewarm flauta, empty calories, unnecessary but completely comforting.
Spin Me Round star Alison Brie talks to us about her hilarious new movie, opening this weekend at SIFF
Spin Me Round is the latest collaboration between Alison Brie and Jeff Baena, whose other films include The Little Hours and Horse Girl. Often, as with The Little Hours and Spin Me Round, Baena’s spouse Aubrey Plaza also stars. Alison Brie’s character is Amber, a young manager in the Exemplary Manager program at Tuscan Garden who finds there may be in Italy for reasons other than her potential in restaurant management.
Emily the Criminal is Ocean’s 11 for gig workers
It’s not difficult to have sympathy for Emily, the character Aubrey Plaza plays in the great new movie Emily the Criminal. She understands that a person in her circumstances (loaded with debt from student loans for an expensive art school education and a permanent record that includes some legal infractions) has no shot at “the American dream.”
Medusa: A Feminist take on Slasher-flicks that asks WWJD?
By day, best friends Mari and Michele are devout women in a Christian pop group called Michele and the Treasures of the Lord. They sing bubblegum pop songs about Jesus and Michele runs a YouTube channel that tells young, God-fearing women how to take the most holy selfies. By night, they channel their Christian devotion into a girl gang that menaces the streets of Brazil, eager to attack any woman that they perceive to be sinful.
Bodies Bodies Bodies is an Agatha Christie whodunit for Generation Z
Bodies Bodies Bodies involves a group of zoomers who plan on spending a weekend at the home of their rich friend David (Pete Davidson). A hurricane knocks out the cell signal and everything quickly goes to hell.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a charming fairy tale for adults
The adjective I can’t escape when thinking about the new movie Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is “delightful.” It’s a charming little mid-century, working-class, romantic comedy led by the wonderful Lesley Manville that is just a joy to watch.
Mel Brooks elevates Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank into something enjoyable and very funny
The story is predictable with the usual messages about the power of being different and earning trust and all of that usual stuff. It is also consistently silly but has a surprisingly high batting average of jokes that land.
Let Baz Luhrmann razzle and dazzle you with Elvis
There is a lot of razzle dazzle in Elvis and it honestly made me not care about some of the movie’s very large flaws. I had a great time watching this movie even though most of the criticisms I and others have are valid.
Lux Æterna will shock the senses and the mind
Reportedly shot in about five days, it is meant to capture behind-the-scenes drama about the filming of a medieval-era movie about three women being burned at the stake.