Oxford Film Festival 2012The Oxford Film Festival follows closely on the heels of the Sundance Film Festival, which, in my book, officially launched the 2012 independent film season.
A Pleasing AffairThe poster for "The Artist" reveals a raffishly handsome gentleman gazing into the soft, wide eyes of a beautiful ingénue. They are glamorous in the high-contrast, black-and-white photo.
‘The Matchmaker'Avi Nesher's "The Matchmaker" is a gold-dusted fable of love, friendship and everlasting hope. The movie opens at the end of the story, in war-torn Haifa, Israel, where Lebanese missiles have left casualties, and rescue personnel race to save any …
Jewish Film Fest: Best of the BestMichael Steiner screened about three dozen films for the upcoming Jewish Cinema Mississippi 2012 film festival. As co-chairman of the January event, he and the other screening committee members narrowed that batch of 30-something movies down to four that they …
Walking the Thin Purple Line"Carnage," based on the Tony award-winning play "God of Carnage" ("Le Dieu du Carnage") by French dramatist Yasmina Rez, explores civility, savagery and vomiting on art books. The movie opens without drama on a long, static shot of a local …
Tinker, Tailor, Texture"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," based on John Le Carré's classic espionage thriller of the same name, is a lyrical poem of intrigue told in bits and pieces of flashback from different perspectives. It has many moving parts, and it is …
Silent CrusaderDavid Fincher's film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's international bestseller, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," scorches the screen with a new-millennium Joan of Arc on a social crusade against violence. "I want you to help me catch a killer of …
Worst and Best Films of 20112011 was an incredibly fascinating year in cinema. America's two finest directors, Martin Scorsese and Stephen Spielberg, elevated children's cinema with efforts that far outshone Hollywood's apparent monopoly ruled by Pixar and Disney.
Poignant, Comic Gift"The Descendants" bubbles to the top of critic lists and Golden Globe nominations. The film goes against the current of behemoth blockbusters; it defies the prevailing philosophy of franchising prior successes, recycling and repackaging old stories under new names.
The Holiday PlaylistDefining when the holiday season begins gets more complicated every year. A growing number of retailers pull out the Christmas garlands and ornamentation around Halloween. Black Friday and cyberspace Monday overshadow the annual homage to pilgrims and turkey feasts. Not …
Jesus the RadicalIt's easy to imagine historical events in the context of our own time, place and worldview. It can be highly deceptive, however, to separate a person, his or her words and works from their historical context. It tends to skew …
Scarticia of Jackson"Greetings, animals." A gaunt witch stared through the television screen at late-night viewers in Jackson, taunting them for several years in the early 1970s.
MIFF: A Cinematic ExtravaganzaEdward Saint Pe and his team of organizers and volunteers commandeer the indie-film scene from Friday through Saturday with the 2011 Mississippi International Film Festival. "We're showing 50 films all day Friday and Saturday at the Russell C. Davis Planetarium …
Unmasked LettererGloria's eyes grow bigger. Fear turns to defiance. Her face zooms in and out as Johnny Lowe's fingers deftly move across the screen of his iPad. His eyes shine.
How Brunson Green ‘Helped'Much has been written lately about the friendship between Jackson natives Kathryn Stockett and Tate Taylor, the author and director, respectively, of "The Help." But a third Jackson native served as producer of the hit movie. Brunson Green, 43, will …