Director Roland Emmerich is expert at conditioning his audiences to delight in human suffering. A purveyor of the most soulless brand of disaster porn, Emmerich’s lowbrow forte is the special-effect-hemorrhaging eradication of masses of ant-sized people, their exterminators ranging from aliens (Independence Day) to Japanese monsters (Godzilla) to global warming (The Day After … [Read more...]
Lauderdale film fest shorter, but movie quality is high
Now in its 24th year, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival no longer talks about being the Guinness Book of World Records-sanctioned festival of longest duration. Cuts in state government arts funding, the dwindling of corporate donations and the economy in general makes this such a bad year that FLIFF is forced to fall back on touting the quality of its films. … [Read more...]
Film celebrates sitcom pioneer who created ‘The Goldbergs’
Aviva Kempner can pinpoint the moment she chose to make a film about radio and television pioneer Gertrude Berg, whose radio and television show The Goldbergs was a precursor of so many sitcoms, from I Love Lucy to Seinfeld. “I went to the Jewish Museum in New York, for an exhibit called Jews Entertaining America,” the 62-year-old documentary filmmaker recalls. “I walked in … [Read more...]
‘Gotta Dance’ charming film about unlikely dance sensations
The movies generally ignore the population over 55, unless it is to poke fun at the old geezers. But with so many Baby Boomers approaching that age range, they have become a subject of considerable fascination and, perhaps, box office. The latest documentary on this senior subculture, opening in Palm Beach today, is called Gotta Dance, the lighthearted tale of a group of fish … [Read more...]
Odd ‘Informant!’ relies on Damon’s star turn
Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh is like a box of chocolates. You’re never sure what you are going to get. His recent releases -- the epic political biography Che and the low-budget independent art film on the world of call girls, The Girlfriend Experience -- have virtually nothing in common with his newest film, The Informant!, a jaunty comedy about a real-life … [Read more...]
West Coast swing hits Lake Park in ‘Love N’ Dancing’
The still-fledgling Mos’Art Theatre, Lake Park’s independent art cinema playhouse, has a double coup this weekend. Not only is it presenting the South Florida premiere of Love N’ Dancing, a romance set amid the West Coast swing dance craze, but tonight and Saturday afternoon, producer Sylvia Caminer puts in a personal appearance to field moviegoer questions about the film. … [Read more...]
Tarantino’s ‘Basterds’ distinctive, but also idiotic
With a regard for history as erratic as his spelling, Quentin Tarantino brings us his idiosyncratic -- and occasionally idiotic -- vision of World War II, Inglourious Basterds, a fitfully amusing, frequently brutal spin on war movie clichés. The title, swiped from an obscure 1978 Italian film, refers to a small group of Jewish-American viligante G.I.s airlifted into … [Read more...]
‘In the Loop’ a smart, funny satire of war buildup
Is it too soon for an Iraq War comedy? Perhaps, but someone forgot to tell director/co-writer Armando Iannucci who made In the Loop, a giddy feature debut with a comic take on the bureaucratic skirmishes in the run-up to the war in the Middle East. Actually, neither Iraq nor Afghanistan get mentioned by name, but you would have to had avoided all news sources from the George … [Read more...]
Lake Worth auteur’s film spotlights SoFla musicians
This Sunday, Lake Worth singer-songwriter Talina Adamo adds “filmmaker” to her career hyphens. A recent graduate of the Palm Beach Film School, she unveils her first movie, a 47-minute documentary called The Love of Music, at a red-carpet premiere screening, live concert and reception at Fort Lauderdale’s Cinema Paradiso. The film turns the spotlight on a dozen … [Read more...]
See ‘Punchline’ before ‘Funny People’
Editor's note: There are no new ideas in Hollywood – only new spins on old ones. This occasional column looks at new releases and argues why you should see old ones first. Stand-up comedians are self-absorbed, narcissistic, snobbish, petty, antagonistic people. It’s a blanket statement, but it’s born of a stereotype that I’ve found true no matter how many places … [Read more...]