The Magnificent Seven is a remake of the classic 1960 film of the same name. Based on a 1954 story by Akira Kurosawa, writers Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk provided enough fresh changes, characters and plot […]
review – blair witch
Blair Witch is a scarily fun sequel to the 1999 Blair Witch Project about young James Donahue and several of his friends, Lisa, Peter, and Ashley, who go trekking into Maryland’s Black Hills Forest together. […]
review – lazy eye
Writer / Director Tim Kirkman has rendered a delicate and touching love story in his recent feature film effort, Lazy Eye. While the film has played quite well on the LGBQT film festival circuit, the […]
review – sully
Sully is a dramatic recreation of the 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson,” which found Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger at the command of US Airways Flight 1549, after it struck a flock of geese and began […]
review – the light between oceans
Director Derek M. Cianfrance brings the depth of his directorial prowess into full force with the delicately rendered film, The Light Between Oceans. Adam Arkapaw’s subtle, yet visually stunning cinematography serves as a perfect counter-point to […]
review – don’t breathe
Don’t Breathe is a spine-tingling home invasion genre movie that will have you on the edge of your seat! A box office hit, this film makes great use of the simple sets, laying down a […]
review – war dogs
Todd Phillips directs this action filled comedy romp, which is loosely based on the real life account of a couple of unlikely war-profiteers that bungled their way into supplying munitions to the United States military. […]
review – hell or high water
Director David Mackenzie wastes no time in getting his latest film rolling. Taking the old editor’s adage of “get in late, and get out early” to heart, Hell or High Water stomps right into the […]
review – pete’s dragon
Pete’s Dragon is a delightful remake of the classic 1977 animated musical film about the adventures of a young boy named Pete and a dragon that befriends him after a terrible accident. The film was […]
review – sausage party
Directors Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan take a huge bite out of the Pixar cake and flip the formula right on its head in the wonderfully crude Sausage Party. Written by the four-man team of […]
review – rehearsal
This powerful film from writer / director Jennifer Silver is actually a student effort from the film program at Florida State University. Short, and anything but sweet, this film explodes onto the screen with a […]
review – the paper store
The Paper Store is a delightful indie from the husband and wife filmmaking team of Nicholas and Katharine Clark Gray. Based on a play written by the latter Gray, the duo expertly adapted the work […]
review – me
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, writers Jefrey Levy and Susan Traylor have created a veritable masterpiece of schizophrenic cinema with their disarmingly titled film Me. Featuring perhaps one of the least reliable narrators to grace […]
review – ice
Australian writer / director Madison Pelzer’s Ice is a near text-book perfect example of visual storytelling. Haunting visuals captivate from the first frame, with DP Matt Wilson’s deft camera work giving a great sense of […]
review – the ideal
This unique and highly stylized film hails from the country of Latvia. The surreal journey opens with a decidedly less than “ideal” aging rock star and a young beauty immeshed in a bizarre relationship, where […]
review – welcome to the last bookstore
This touching short documentary from filmmaker Chad Howitt chronicles, as the title suggests, the Last Bookstore and its self-effacing owner, Josh Spencer. Growing from humble beginnings in 2005, the store has arguably become a center-piece […]
2016 LAFR Award Winners Announced!
Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 LAFR Independent Film Awards. All winning filmmakers should have received an email by now, and if not, please check your spam folder. The complete list of winning films […]
review – batman vs. superman: dawn of justice
With Batman vs. Superman, the march of comic books turned into movies continues its seemingly never ending parade. It’s perhaps not surprising considering the ridiculous amounts of money these titles command at the box office. […]
review – the revenant
I have to warn you: what follows is a minority opinion. Although this movie (or its cast or crew) is nominated for an Oscar in twelve categories and although some critics are calling this “epic […]
review – carol
This is the story of two restless women in a repressed time. It’s almost Christmas 1952. Therese (Mara), a young waif-of-a-shop-girl works in Frankenberg’s Department Store where Carol (Blanchett), a sophisticated almost-a-divorcee, is shopping for […]
review – star wars: the force awakens
Oh, but this movie is so much fun. Everything you’ve heard about it is true. It was worth waiting for. If you’re a fan, you don’t need to read any further. You’ve already seen it […]
review – joy
Sometimes, it’s all just so obvious, right from the very beginning. The first scene comes on screen and we just know: this movie is not going to be very good. And yet, we keep watching […]
review – room
This is generally not my kind of movie; it’s dark, depressing, a bit of a downer. And yet, this is the most emotionally powerful movie I’ve seen in a very long time. There were times […]
review – the big short
In the end, they finally lost me. I understood the basics of course: the American housing bubble finally burst, taking down the livelihoods and futures of millions of people and leaving the bankers wealthy in […]
review – alvin and the chipmunks: the road chip
“As long as Alvin is around,” Simon observes at one point, “we’ll always be in trouble.” Three chipmunks making trouble – mixing mayhem, mischief and music – has created this family-friendly franchise: three prior movies […]
