Author Archive
SXSW Interview – Todd Katzberg and Jason Smilovic – Condor
While at the SXSW Film Festival which now includes an episodic category, I sat down with executive producers and writers Todd Katzberg and Jason Smilovic to talk about their new show, Condor. We spoke about this new adaptation, the constraints of building the first season,…
READ MOREFilm Review – Hereditary (Spoiler-free)
Hereditary may be one of the most talked about films of the year, having significant word-of-mouth and excellent reviews from Sundance and SXSW to carry it to its release date of June 8, 2018. That is precisely what brought me to the screening, expecting to…
READ MOREFilm Interview – Leigh Whannell – Upgrade
I was given a chance to speak with writer and director Leigh Whannell about his new film, Upgrade, while he was on a press tour in Dallas, Texas. We touched on the filming effects for Stem, one of the themes of the film, a change…
READ MOREFilm Review – Upgrade
The opening credits of Upgrade immediately immerse you in the world of its future. A woman speaking the production companies’ names along with sound waves accentuating the speech pattern sets the film apart from all others from the beginning. With Upgrade, writer and director Leigh…
READ MOREFilm Review – First Reformed
The slow zoom into the First Reformed Church with “old-school” opening credits gracing the screen with an iconic scrolling type-face presents a pleasing introduction to writer and director Paul Schrader’s First Reformed. We meet an introverted, middle-aged pastor, Reverend Toller (Ethan Hawke), tasked with leading…
READ MORESXSW Film Interview – Brady Jandreau – The Rider
With all the films I’ve seen this year so far, The Rider is my favorite film of 2018. I saw the film as part of SXSW 2018 and had the pleasure of speaking with Brady Jandreau, who plays a partially fictionalized version of himself. The…
READ MORESXSW Film Review – The Rider
Once in a while, I will go blind into a screening. Sometimes it works wonderfully, and other times, it does not. Having not much to go on except for a photo of a young man and a horse and the title, The Rider, I took…
READ MORESXSW Film Review – Wildling
“Do you want to hear a story?” That is how Wildling opens, with Daddy (Brad Dourif) speaking both to the small child, Anna, and the audience. Anna is laying in a small bed in an attic, and she is told of these harmful creatures named…
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