BENNY LOVES KILLING
|
  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 100 minutes |
While on the surface the film could be just another tale of a starving artist walking the path to self-destruction, the truth is that it is not only not that cut-and-dry, it may not even be an accurate assessment. There’s much more going on here than outward appearances…
Posted on December 18, 2012 by Mark Bell
MADE OUT ALIVE
|
  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 80 minutes |
The matter-of-fact nature of the sudden onset of zombies adds a bit of energy and strength in its immediacy. That, coupled with a visual style that is ugly, lo-fi altered for a sometime sepia, sometimes faded look, makes the overall experience that much more visceral…
Posted on December 17, 2012 by Mark Bell
JACKED
|
Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 10 minutes |
Aaron Kheifits’ short film “Jacked” is a darkly funny romantic comedy about a sad sack and the woman who can’t wait to take advantage of him…
Posted on December 16, 2012 by Mark Bell
THE TEST
|
  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 89 minutes |
On the filmmaking side of things, the film is pretty on-point. Some scenes are a little dark for my tastes, but generally the cinematography does its job well and the film looks good. The performances are solid, the writing strong and the pacing tight…
Posted on December 15, 2012 by Mark Bell
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
|
  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 166 minutes |
It’s epic in scale, the actors perform their roles as hobbit, dwarf, elf and/or wizard as they have in the past, or as we would hope they would based on how others have performed in the previous films, and it’s all a very comfortable and familiar experience…
Posted on December 14, 2012 by Mark Bell
ENVISAGE
|
  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 79 minutes |
Kudos must be given to the camerawork and the filmmaking that enabled that first-person point-of-view to work as well as it does. For the most part, unless you see the main characters in a mirror or in another segment, it’s as if you are indeed seeing, and experiencing, the world as they are…
Posted on December 10, 2012 by Mark Bell
THE DIARY OF PRESTON PLUMMER
|
Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 83 minutes |
Trevor Morgan and Rumer Willis are engaging leads with a natural onscreen chemistry that helps you believe that they’d be intrigued with each other, if not necessarily head-over-heels in love with each other; honestly, the dry and almost stoic nature of Preston made it hard for me to buy that he’d be head-over-heels in love with anybody…
Posted on December 10, 2012 by Mark Bell
DAVE GROHL’S “SOUND CITY” GETS FEBRUARY 2013 DAY-AND-DATE THEATRICAL AND DIRECT DOWNLOAD RELEASE
If you’re bummed that you’re not going to be able to catch Dave Grohl’s documentary “Sound City” at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, be bummed no more as the documentary will be released shortly thereafter on February 1, 2013, in theaters and via direct download…
Posted on December 10, 2012 by Mark Bell
HITMAN 101
|
Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 87 minutes |
While the segments do have some episodic elements to them that cannot be avoided, the overall narrative is so tight that the shorter tales only serve to complement the main story arc, as it should be…
Posted on December 10, 2012 by Mark Bell
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
|
Year Released: 2011 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 15 minutes |
Honestly, if upon hearing the premise you had thoughts about where the short could go, it probably matches up with what happens (unless you’re a real sick bastard, in which case it probably doesn’t go far enough for your depraved tastes); maybe the exact details are a little different…
Posted on December 6, 2012 by Mark Bell
FOODIE
|
Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 14 minutes |
In the end, as a short film with a dark sense of humor, Foodie succeeds all around. It made me laugh, made me feel more than a little grossed out and kept me entertained throughout…
Posted on December 6, 2012 by Mark Bell
2013 OXFORD FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FILM LINEUP FOR 10TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT
Running February 21-24, 2013 in Oxford, Mississippi, the 2013 Oxford Film Festival has announced its lineup of films playing the 10th anniversary event…
Posted on December 4, 2012 by Mark Bell
ARKHAM RISING
|
Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 5 minutes |
My main issue with this short fan film is that it is all tease. The lead-up to this short can be found in “The Dark Knight Rises,” and the aftermath of characters such as Riddler, Mad Hatter, Calendar Man and the Joker getting their freedom is… nowhere to be seen…
Posted on December 4, 2012 by Mark Bell
ON TOP
|
Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 8 minutes |
Other films have looked upon prostitution as empowering to some degree or another, but they also eventually become cautionary tales and let the damaged realities of the lifestyle intrude. Not so in this film, which sticks with the empowering idea and posits that the right entrepreneurial personality, with the right clientele, can transcend the potential pitfalls…
Posted on December 4, 2012 by Mark Bell
2013 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SHORTS PROGRAMMING
While more news will be coming leading up to the fest, this is the final of the annual programming announcements, revealing the 2013 Sundance Film Festival short film selections…
Posted on December 4, 2012 by Mark Bell