The Review.

San Francisco International Film Festival

Stories We Tell (Canada, 2012)

“When you’re in the middle of a story, it isn’t a story at all,” reads the Margaret Atwood quote that opens Stories We Tell, and to which the film’s director Sarah Polley heeds unwearyingly in her startling and revelatory documentary debut. Finished in the gap between her first two exceptional dramatic features – the wintry Away from Her and the conversely summer-drenched Take This Waltz – the self-discovery of Stories We Tell bridges that space evenly, guiding the former’s plaintive elegance to the thematic terrain of the latter, which also maps the restlessness of a married woman with likewise fair-mindedness.

Read More

San Francisco International Film Festival

Much Ado About Nothing (USA, 2012)

There isn’t much in the way of astute critical insight that I can offer regarding Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, a delight, yes, but also a lark. Shot on a micro-budget in the span of just 12 days at Whedon’s actual house, the end result reflects all of the pros and cons that are inherent in that manner of production.

Read More

… if only for a little while. Coming soon: reviewing the cinematic year that was. Stay tuned! Did you miss The Review.?

The 84th Annual Academy Awards, as hosted by Billy Crystal, were a somewhat uninspired but appropriately classy affair. Prediction-wise, I was 19 for 24, which - I’m not going to lie - makes it one of my better years. Of the five categories I missed, I correctly anticipated the spoiler three times. I could say more about this or that… But it’s been a long season. And I’m kind of burned out. We can talk later; now it’s time to catch up on sleep. If (god forbid) you missed watching the ceremony, you can read the full list of winners here.

Photo credit: AMPAS