In the opening scenes of John Michael McDonagh’s rather violent drama (that I perversely still insist of calling a black comedy despite its tragic ending), we see a Priest taking confession from an unseen man. “I first tasted semen when I was 7 years old’ are the first words out of his mouth and then … Continue reading
In 1990 in a small New England town Pamela Smart, an attractive blond sexpot teacher who was having an affair with one of her students, was accused of plotting her husband’s murder. This rather scandalous cause celebre was the first ever trial to be televised and this new HBO documentary from filmmaker Jeremiah Zagar focuses … Continue reading
Childhood sweethearts Celeste and Jesse promised each other they would be together forever, but after six years of marriage they call it quits. But they never really plan to move on with their lives as Jesse just moves out to the studio in the backyard of their L.A. house and they still share all their meals together. Their … Continue reading
What better way to celebrate Chinese New Year at Sundance than selecting ‘CHINA HEAVYWEIGHT’ as my first movie of the day. Evidently that old curmudgeon Chairman Mao banned boxing in China as he said it was the sport of capitalism and thus very bad. It wasn’t until after Mohammed Ali visited China in 1979 as a goodwill ambassador that … Continue reading
This coming-of-age story tells of two teenage girls, who are best friends, dealing with all the restrictions of growing up in Iran today. The girls are exploring their emerging sexuality as they become part of Tehran’s underground party scene. When an older brother straight out of drug rehab becomes a religious zealot and even joins … Continue reading