Film Festival – The 4th Reel

June 21, 2013

Provincetown International Film Festival

Good Day, Movie Lovers! I’m here at the Provincetown International Film Festival in scenic Provincetown, MA, on the tip of Cape Cod. Some very notable movies playing here this week. I’m psyched to see “Lovelace,” about 70’s porn star Linda Lovelace of “Deep Throat” fame. Hopefully afterwards I’ll be able […]

June 23, 2013

Lovelace

Screened at the Provincetown International Film Festival – June 22, 2013 Lovelace Release Date: January 22, 2013 (Sundance Film Festival) Runtime: 92 minutes Rating: R Studio: RADiUS – TWC Director: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman Cast: Amanda Seyfried; Peter Sarsgaard; Sharon Stone; Chris Noth; Hank Azaria; Robert Patrick; Bobby Cannavale; Eric […]

June 24, 2013

Passion

Screened at the Provincetown International Film Festival – June 22, 2013 – US premiere Passion Release Date: August 30, 2013 Runtime: 105 minutes Rating: R Studio: Entertainment One Director: Brian De Palma Cast: Rachel McAdams; Noomi Rapace; Karoline Herfurth; Paul Anderson De Palma is up to his […]

June 21, 2014

Compared to What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank

Controversial. Witty. Acerbic. Straightforward. No bullshit. These are all words that can describe the former US Congressman from Massachusetts, Barney Frank. His voyage from local politician to the national stage is documented in Sheila Canavan and Michael Chandler’s “Compared to What: The Improbably Journey of Barney Frank,” which screened last night at the 16th Annual Provincetown Film Festival.

June 22, 2014

Naked Lunch

OK, full disclosure: this is one weird fuckin’ movie. David Cronenberg has never been the most mainstream of directors, but this one is truly odd. Talking cockroaches that masquerade as typewriters; horny centipedes; Judy Davis shooting up roach killer…it’s all here. Welcome to “Naked Lunch.”

June 29, 2014

Mike’s Murder

This is an often overlooked, unseen 1984 film from director James Bridges (“The China Syndrome,” “Urban Cowboy”). While not entirely successful, it’s still an interesting curio and a helluva time capsule for 1980s enthusiasts.

April 30, 2016

King Cobra

A movie as salacious and lurid as the story it’s telling, “King Cobra” has its flaws, but is generally an effective, lean, and very mean piece of “ripped-from-the-headlines” cinema. Boasting a cast including James Franco, Molly Ringwald, Alicia Silverstone, Keegan Allen, a hasn’t-been-this-good-in-years Christian Slater, and former teenybopper Garrett Clayton, ejecting himself from tweendom straight into the tighty-whities of grown-up films, “King Cobra” offers a stylish though straightforward, yet not uncompelling, dramatization of this tawdry tale of murder and sex.

October 17, 2016

Elle

Paul Verhoeven’s first feature in 10 years is a complex work. The director of “Basic Instinct” and “Showgirls” is in fine form stylistically, yet provides much more depth of meaning into this piece than we’ve seen in his previous films as he examines the aftermath of a brutal assault. “Elle” is definitely not for everyone (like most of Verhoeven’s films) and will likely not sit well with those moviegoers who lean more towards the politically correct. However, for those of us who have admired the director’s work in the past and understand his general approach to cinema, there is much to recommend here.

August 17, 2017

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson

Here is a documentary that should be required viewing in high schools, in gender studies classes, and in history classes from now on. “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson” is an important and indispensable piece of work about one of the foremost founders of the modern LGBT movement.

September 13, 2017

I, Tonya

Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya takes a ripped-from-the-headlines true story and infuses it with unexpected empathy. Invaluable assistance is provided from star Margot Robbie, whose performance here is even more star making than her showy breakout turn in Wolf of Wall Street. Her work, as well as that of co-stars Sebastian Stan and Allison Janney (not to mention director Gillespie and cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis) should garner plenty of attention come awards time.

September 13, 2017

I Love You, Daddy

Louis C.K. produces and films a movie under the cloak of secrecy from Hollywood and it proves to be a big, fun, surprisingly poignant treatise on the modern relationship between parent and child.

September 13, 2017

Valley of Shadows

While there is stuff to admire in Valley of Shadows, this Norwegian import really wasn’t my cup of tea. This is one of those movies that is long on atmosphere, but short on action or dialogue. A very European movie in style and nature, Valley of Shadows will only appeal to filmgoers who are into minimalist exercises in style.