OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Category Archives: The Grab Bag
From Our Members’ Desks (Dec. 7, 2020)
OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Best of Lists
The 25 Greatest Actors of 21st Century (So Far)
Candice Frederick @ New York Times
5 Favorites Redux #56: Favorite DreamWorks Animation Films
5 Favorites Redux #57: Favorite Tommy Lee Jones Films
Interviews
Echo Boomers
Dan Lybarger @ www.arkansasonline.com
- Excerpt: If the Denver native’s Little Rock education (he moved to Arkansas as a toddler) prepared him for the challenges of his current profession, trying to make a living while dealing with crushing student debt from the University of Central Arkansas and Columbia College Chicago, put him into the heads of his activist robbers.
Interview with Dana Nachman about “Dear Santa”
Nell Minow @ Alliance of Women Film Journalists
- Excerpt: When I think I’ve done a good job is when people laugh in the film, cry in the film, and get chills in the film.
Kiera Allen Has Become Her Own Hero in ‘Run’
Candice Frederick @ Shondaland
Awards Coverage
From Our Members’ Desks (Nov. 23, 2020)
OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Best of Lists
5 Favorites Redux #55: Favorite Nicolas Cage Films
Awards Coverage
2020 Oscar Nominations Predictions: November
Enough With The Oscar Diversity Requirements. The Academy Needs To Change Its Mindset.
Candice Frederick @ Harper’s Bazaar
The Friday Face-Off, Losers Bracket Round One #14
Oscar Preview: Weekend of Nov. 13-15, 2020
Poll: Remaking Best Original Screenplay, 2000
Other Types of Articles
From Our Members’ Desks (Nov. 16, 2020)
OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Best of Lists
5 Favorites Redux #54: Favorite Diane Keaton Films
The Best Films of 2020 (So Far)
Candice Frederick @ Harper’s Bazaar
Interviews
The Dark and the Wicked Star Marin Ireland Has Her Own Survival Plan
Candice Frederick @ W Magazine
Kindred Star Tamara Lawrance Will Not Be Put Into a Box
Candice Frederick @ W Magazine
Festivals: General Coverage
Saint Louis International Film Festival 2020 Preview
- Excerpt: The 29thedition of SLIFF will be a little different, however: due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everything will be run online. Which is not entirely a bad thing–it’s true that you miss the fun of seeing a film on the big screen in a communal setting, to say nothing of choosing your snacks from the concession stand, but on the plus side you don’t have to deal with weather, parking, getting a babysitter, and in most cases scheduling.
Festivals: Individual Reviews
From Our Members’ Desks (Nov. 9, 2020)
OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Best of Lists
5 Favorites #52: Favorite Horror Films, Part 3
5 Favorites Redux #53: Focus Features Films
Festivals: Individual Reviews
Festival du nouveau cinéma – Apples / Undine
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: Apples and Undine are two painfully relevant films in 2020: one about a pandemic, the other about a woman’s struggle against patriarchal myth.
I am Greta
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: Setting aside the issues regarding climate change and any kind of agenda, I am Greta is also about the weight of celebrity.
NewFest 2020: Report 9
- Excerpt: Ben Anthony’s documentary Keith Haring: Street Art Boy offers a fresh and well-rounded look at Haring’s life and art, aided by unparalleled access to materials held by the Keith Haring Foundation.
Once Upon a Time in Venezuela
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
Shiva Baby
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
Spring Blossom
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
Under the Open Sky
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: Under the Open Sky is notable for the tour-de-force performance by Koji Yakusho. Even if the name is not immediately familiar, even those not following Japanese cinema would have seen Yakusho in Babel or Memoirs of a Geisha.
Undine
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: The film stars Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, the two main actors in Petzold’s Transit. For myself, Undine is more successful than the previous film, where I think the filmmaker’s imagined updating worked against the realities of the source novel.
Awards Coverage
From Our Members’ Desks (Nov. 2, 2020)
OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Interviews
Director Maïmouna Doucouré Was Inspired by Her Own Adolescence to Create Cuties
Tony Todd on the Joy of ‘Candyman,’ and the Role of Black Horror
Candice Frederick @ New York Times
Festivals: General Coverage
NewFest 2020: Report 1
NewFest 2020: Report 2
NewFest 2020: Report 3
NewFest 2020: Report 4
NewFest 2020: Report 5
NewFest 2020: Report 6
NewFest 2020: Report 7
NewFest 2020: Report 8
Festivals: Individual Reviews
Ema
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: Ema is basically a showcase for actress Mariana Di Girolamo. Ema is a force of nature who refuses to deal with anyone else other than her own terms.
Minari
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: What is unexpected is that Chung’s film does not have the cliches one might expect in a story about Asian immigrants in America, especially in a region one might perceive of as less hospitable.
Thou Shalt Not Hate
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: While (Mauro) Mancini admirably keeps any messaging from being heavy handed, he also errs in being a bit too cautious.
Wet Season
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
Awards Coverage
From Our Members’ Desks (Oct. 26, 2020)
OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Best of Lists
5 Favorites Redux #50: Favorite Horror Films, Part 2
Interviews
Aaron Sorkin on “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
- Excerpt: “In my head, the film organized itself into three stories that would be told at once: the courtroom drama, the evolution of what was supposed to be a peaceful protest into a riot, a violent clash with the police and the National Guard, and the third story, one that wasn’t in any of the books or the trial transcript, and that I would only be able to get from Tom, was the relationship between Tom and Abbie , two guys on the same side who can’t stand each other, who each think the other is doing harm to the movement, but in the end they come to respect each other..”
Radha Blank’s Lockdown Breakout Film Doubles as Her Own Origin Tale
Candice Frederick @ Harper’s Bazaar
The Studio Wanted Cameron Diaz’: Salma Hayek On The Role That Changed Her Life
Festivals: Individual Reviews
[Nightstream] Short Films: Coil / The Nurturing
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: Two short films from Nightstream: one about the dread of anxiety, the other about returning to childhood figuratively and literally.
[Nightstream] Short Films: Gutterwitch / Weirdo / Landgraves
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: Three films from Nightstream: one about modern witchcraft, one about bullying, and another about the potential danger of macabre art.
[Nightstream] Short Films: Thorns / Jeff Drives You / At the Edge of Night / Susie
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: Three films from Nightstream, each about important LGBTQ2IA issues.
Dinner in America
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: Dinner in America takes a look at imperfect people rejected by a capitalist U.S. society that values only those who fit a perfect mould.
Jazzberry
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: There are very few films like Jazzberry. It has all the absurd satirical spirit of something like Brazil crossed with the artistry and surreal strangeness of Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle.
NewFest 2020 Report 1
Awards Coverage
From Our Members’ Desks (Oct. 19, 2020)
OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Best of Lists
5 Favorites Redux #50: Favorite Horror Films, Part 1
Festivals: Individual Reviews
Anything for Jackson
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: Anything for Jackson uses its main characters to explore the Gothic side of ageing, and flips the idea of family on its head with Satan.
Bloody Hell
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: Grierson’s film is a must-see that’ll crack some up, gross some out, and make many others think.
Honeydew
Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: As sharply edited and unsettling as “Honeydew” is, the final result is about as pleasant as eating lemons dipped in milk.
An Unquiet Grave
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: An Unquiet Grave is a deeply emotional view of grief, and wonderfully macabre.
Awards Coverage
The Friday Face-Off, Losers Bracket Round One #9
Poll: Remaking Best Costume Design, 2015
Video Essays, Video Reviews, Vlogs & More
The Wolf of Snow Hollow
Reviews of Short Films
From Our Members’ Desks (Oct. 12, 2020)
OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Best of Lists
5 Favorites Redux #49: Favorite Elle Fanning Films
Interviews
2067
Father Leahy on the Quibi Series Benedict Men
- Excerpt: You see in the series it gets rough at the end because of difficulties in giving up “what I want” for “what we need.” That’s the nature of community because if you live in community you’ve got to give up what you want for what the community needs; not easy to do and none of us can do it consistently.
Rick Rowley on “Kingdom of Silence”
Nell Minow @ Alliance of Women Film Journalists
- Excerpt: To me, Jamal’s story is fascinating. It is both epic and also deeply personal. It twists together two things. It’s his personal story of transformation and redemption but he’s also the man who risked his life at the center of this whirlwind.
Festivals: General Coverage
Denver Film Festival – The Line-Up
Peter Nellhaus @ Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
- Excerpt: After dealing with the various uncertainties plus factoring current local health mandates, the Denver Film Festival will return, albeit totally virtual, and lower key.
Festivals: Individual Reviews
Bloodthirsty
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: The view of monstrosity, from predators to artists, in Bloodthirsty is unforgettable.
Paper Spiders
- Excerpt: Though there may be more hard-hitting films about paranoia, “Paper Spiders” is more low-key and told on a human scale without any horror or hallucinatory tendencies.
The Queen of Black Magic
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: The Queen of Black Magic is a nasty ride to Hell.
Awards Coverage
From Our Members’ Desks (Oct. 5, 2020)
OFCS members don’t just write film reviews. Here are several articles you might find interesting.
Interviews
The Boy Behind the Door
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: What’s so chilling about The Boy Behind the Door is the plausibility of its premise and how real the plot feels, particularly once the story’s horrors fully reveal themselves.
How to Deter a Robber
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: An intriguing exploration of what happens when a young person finally experiences an event in their life that shatters the illusions of youth.
The Stylist
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: The Stylist is a unique horror that ratchets up to an expected yet terrifying conclusion.
Festivals: Individual Reviews
The Boy Behind the Door
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: What’s so chilling about The Boy Behind the Door is the plausibility of its premise and how real the plot feels, particularly once the story’s horrors fully reveal themselves.
How to Deter a Robber
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: An intriguing exploration of what happens when a young person finally experiences an event in their life that shatters the illusions of youth.
The Stylist
C.H. Newell @ Father Son Holy Gore
- Excerpt: The Stylist is a unique horror that ratchets up to an expected yet terrifying conclusion.