Film: Robert Oppenheimer had a very good idea of what his Manhattan Project had unleashed in the New Mexico desert in 1945, but at the time, his team was all alone in having become “Death, the destroyer of worlds.” Today, an estimated 23,000 nuclear weapons exist, and the makers of the powerful Countdown to Zero want you to understand how terrifying a prospect that is. Approved … [Read more...]
Film Q & A: Nicole Holofcener and Catherine Keener, on collaborating
There’s Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. There’s Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. And on the female side, there’s Nicole Holofcener and Catherine Keener: Film directors and the actors with whom they frequently collaborate. Keener has been in all four of Holofcener’s films -- Walking and Talking (1996), Lovely and Amazing (2001), Friends with Money (2006) and her latest, Please … [Read more...]
The View From Home 8: New releases on DVD
For My Father (Film Movement) Release date: June 1 Standard list price: $22.49 I normally reserve the space for the largest review in this column to wonderful films that are worthy of your time, but occasionally a film so indefensible – so patently contemptible – will arrive on my doorstep that it prompts the need to vent for more than 150 words. For My Father, the latest … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: April 23-25
Film: Yes, you could check out the foreign movies at the 2010 Palm Beach International Film Festival, which continues through Monday, but it seems unlikely that it has an entry as enjoyable as Mid-August Lunch, opening Friday at several area theaters. This puckish Italian comedy stars writer-director Gianni Di Gregorio as a middle-aged guy stuck looking after his 93-year-old … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Film Fest fading on 15th anniversary
Cut down to five days, and minus the glitzy gala that always seemed more important to its organizers than the movies themselves, the Palm Beach International Film Festival at 15 is reportedly on its last legs. After a decade and a half, the event never really caught on with the local public and has become a financial drain on the county as recession-strapped corporate sponsors … [Read more...]
Boca native’s film of Nepali rebels screens at Delray fest before HBO
Kiran Deol discovered the subject of her first film while studying at Harvard University. “I learned the statistic that 40 percent of the rebel army in Nepal's fighting forces were women,” says Deol, a 2001 graduate of Spanish River High School in Boca Raton. “That statistic had my jaw on the floor. So the idea of showcasing the story of a woman that showed women as agents of … [Read more...]
Film expert Osborne to sound off on Oscars at Crest talk
The Academy Awards have been going through a transition lately, with notable rule changes to either improve the voting process or at least increase ratings for the annual telecast. Still, the awards themselves remain of value, says film historian Robert Osborne, the genial host of Turner Classic Movies. “I care about the process, and I do think we wouldn’t have as many good … [Read more...]
Southeast film critics cheer ‘Up in the Air,’ ‘Hurt Locker’
See, I told you Up in the Air was the best picture of 2009, and now I have two critics’ groups -- the two that Palm Beach ArtsPaper just happens to be a voting member of -- to back me up. Both the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA), representing reviewers in nine states in this region, and the Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC), representing reviewers in our state, … [Read more...]
Three worth watching at Jewish film fest
Only a few of the 20th annual Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival’s entries were made available for advance reviews, but here are a few of them worth at least partial attention: * Hello, Goodbye (France, 99 min., Sat., Dec. 5, 7:20 pm, Cobb Dowtown) -- For many Israel is an idealized promised land, but director Graham Guit puckishly examines the details of that promise in his … [Read more...]
Jewish film fest offers 11-day nosh of 35 movies
To paraphrase a line from Fiddler on the Roof: “So if the economy had a bad year, why should the Jewish Film Festival suffer?” Beginning tonight and continuing through Sunday, Dec. 13, here comes the 20th anniversary Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival, slightly smaller due to belt-tightening by the sponsoring Jewish Community Centers of the Palm Beaches, but still artistically … [Read more...]