“I AM COMIC”: AN INTERVIEW WITH JORDAN BRADY
I caught up with the always honest, always funny director, Jordan Brady, to talk about his newest creation, “I Am Comic”…
Posted on October 20, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
MURNAU’S SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS (DVD)
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  Year Released: 1927 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 93 minutes |
Long before “Twilight” and “The Vampire Diaries,” cinematic visionary F.W. Murnau directed the first vampire feature ever made for the big screen…
Posted on September 29, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
KINGS OF PASTRY
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  Year Released: 2010 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 84 minutes |
2010 PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL SELECTION! Crying over spilled milk may be a toddler-thing but really, grown men weeping over broken sugar sculptures????
Posted on September 16, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
THE MILLION HIT MAN: AN INTERVIEW WITH SEAN DUNNE
When Sean Dunne uploaded his short documentary “The Archive” to Vimeo, he had no idea he’d become an overnight cult sensation. Still it happened, a mind-blowing, life changing explosion—proving once again, that dreams really can come true in the 21st century…
Posted on August 15, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
THE STORYKEEPER: AN INTERVIEW WITH NEIL JORDAN
The multifaceted Neil Jordan is not only a profound filmmaker and screenwriter, but also a brilliant novelist. In a recent telephone interview, I had the opportunity to discuss Jordan’s newest feature “Ondine,” and to flesh out all those intricacies lurking beneath the mundane, that eventually veer into questionable places…
Posted on August 4, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
PHANTOM VIOLIN: AN INTERVIEW WITH PAUL MERCER
I caught up with Mercer to discuss his score for Dimitri Kirsanoff’s eery silent film, “Ménilmontant” (1926) in the brief interview that follows. Kirsanoff’s grisly murder-thriller is unique in that there are no intertitles—an ideal backdrop for Mercer’s potent score…
Posted on August 1, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
HEY HEY IT’S ESTHER BLUEBURGER
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Year Released: 2010 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 103 minutes |
I must admit that I cringed at the thought of sitting through yet another coming of age comedy drama. Still, its quirky title and female writer/director did peak my interest long enough to actually see Australia’s newest flick, “Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger” and I’m very glad I did. It just goes to show that even the most jaded of us can still be moved by an intelligent and provocative film…
Posted on May 19, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
INDIES DO WIN OSCARS: INTERVIEW WITH JOACHIM BACK, DAVID RAKOFF AND RUSSELL ICKE
“The New Tenants” is a 21-minute, low budget, independent film that recently won an Academy Award. I recently caught up with director Joachim Back, screenwriter/actor David Rakoff and editor Russell Icke by telephone. In the interview that follows we discuss the creation of “The New Tenants” and the film’s fascinating journey to the Oscars…
Posted on May 3, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
SEAN CHRISTENSEN’S “SHAVE”
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Year Released: 2009 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 6 minutes |
Christensen’s short film, “Shave,” is a brilliant, experimental documentary drama. It is a joyous yet disturbing autobiographical disconnect of a toddler’s violent clash with the adult world…
Posted on April 29, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
FINDING THE RED BARON: AN INTERVIEW WITH NIKOLAI MÜLLERSCHÖN
Yes, the Great War is the historically accurate backdrop of “The Red Baron” but the film concerns so much more. It is life and death seen through the eyes of a legally exonerated killer, who but for the grace of God could be any one of us…
Posted on March 31, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
FINDING THE RED BARON: AN INTERVIEW WITH MATTHIAS SCHWEIGHÖFER
In my opinion, “The Red Baron” is a superbly researched, sensitively enacted exploration of a man torn between doing his duty in a raging war and to his own conscience. In this respect, von Richthofen’s dilemma is one of eternal relevance. More than anything else, the film succeeds in its ability to raise provocative questions. For me, there is nothing greater than this…
Posted on March 24, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
THE NOTORIOUS MS. GUY
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Year Released: 2009 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 626 minutes |
For Guy, experimentalism concerned how the narrative was presented, and the manner in which she camouflaged or sabotaged this. Some films incorporated documentary and then proceeded to merge this with fiction, making it difficult to perceive where one ended and the other began…
Posted on March 22, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
RISING TO “SATURDAY MORNING”: AN INTERVIEW WITH FILMMAKER ROB GREENBERG
Every so often a new filmmaker enters the arena and commands our immediate attention. Rob Greenberg is such a man…
Posted on March 8, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
EMPTY HOUSE
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  Year Released: 2009 MPAA Rating: G Running Time: 5 minutes |
While the film’s concept is interesting, its consistent somberness, accented by monotonous voice-over and lengthy black-screen transitions, becomes claustrophobic and exhausting…
Posted on March 7, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
SKELETONS
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  Year Released: 2008 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 15 minutes |
As is often the case, creating a short film is far more difficult than shooting a feature. “Skeletons” is a massive film squeezed into a tiny space…
Posted on March 2, 2010 by Amy R. Handler
